Let's cut through the noise: if you're running Google Ads for contractors and your phone keeps ringing with tire-kickers, price shoppers, or people calling from three provinces away, you're probably running the wrong type of campaign.
Google gives you two main options right now: Performance Max (PMax) and good old Search campaigns. One promises AI magic and maximum reach. The other gives you boring, reliable control. And if you're trying to actually book jobs instead of just racking up clicks, choosing the right one matters more than your ad copy ever will.
What You're Actually Comparing
Search campaigns are what most people think of when they picture Google Ads. Someone types "plumber near me" or "emergency furnace repair Regina" into Google, and your ad shows up at the top of the search results. You pick the keywords. You control when your ad appears. You pay when someone clicks.
Performance Max campaigns are Google's newer, AI-driven approach. Instead of targeting specific keywords, you give Google your business goals, some creative assets, and a budget: then their algorithm decides where and when to show your ads. That could be Search, YouTube, Gmail, Google Display Network, Maps, or anywhere else Google owns digital real estate.
The pitch sounds great: let the AI figure it out while you focus on running your business. But there's a catch.
The Quality vs. Quantity Problem
Here's where it gets interesting for lead generation for trades businesses.
Performance Max typically delivers more leads at a lower cost per lead. Data shows PMax campaigns for local service businesses average around $41-$90 per lead with a 5.8% conversion rate. Not bad on paper.
Search campaigns cost more: usually $91-$129 per lead: with a slightly lower conversion rate of 4.7%. So Performance Max wins, right?
Not so fast.
The problem with Performance Max is that you have zero visibility into where those leads are coming from. That $50 lead might be from someone who watched a YouTube video about home renovations and clicked out of curiosity. Or it could be from someone who saw your Display ad on a recipe blog. Or: if you're lucky: it might be from an actual high-intent search.
You just don't know.
Search campaigns, on the other hand, are completely transparent. Every lead came from someone actively searching for your service. That $110 lead typed in "emergency plumber Saskatoon" at 11 PM because their basement is flooding. They're ready to book now.
The Conversion Rate Nobody Talks About
The real difference shows up when you track what happens after someone fills out your form or calls your number.
For B2B service contractors, Search campaigns convert 18-28% of leads into actual paying opportunities. Performance Max? Around 8-12%.
Let's do the math on what that actually costs you:
Search Campaign Example:
- 10 leads at $110 each = $1,100 spent
- 20% convert to jobs = 2 booked jobs
- Cost per booked job: $550
Performance Max Example:
- 20 leads at $60 each = $1,200 spent
- 10% convert to jobs = 2 booked jobs
- Cost per booked job: $600
Performance Max gave you twice as many leads and cost you more per actual job. And that's before factoring in the time your team wasted following up with unqualified prospects.
When Performance Max Actually Works
Before you write off Performance Max completely, there are situations where it makes sense for contractors.
You should consider Performance Max if:
-
You're doing brand awareness in a competitive market. If you're a new roofing company in a city with 47 other roofers, getting your name in front of people on YouTube, Maps, and Display can build recognition before they're ready to buy.
-
You have existing customers to retarget. Performance Max is excellent at showing ads to people who've visited your website but didn't convert. That homeowner who looked at your furnace installation page in July might need that furnace by November.
-
You have a larger budget and can afford mixed results. If you're spending $5,000+ per month on Google Ads and have room to experiment, PMax can expand your reach without killing your budget.
-
Your service has a longer sales cycle. Kitchen renovations, whole-home HVAC installs, or commercial roofing projects don't usually happen from one search. Multiple touchpoints across different channels can actually help close those deals.
When Search Campaigns Are Non-Negotiable
If any of these describe your situation, stick with Search:
- You have a small budget (under $2,000/month). You can't afford to waste money on curiosity clicks.
- You provide emergency or urgent services. Nobody browsing YouTube needs an emergency electrician until their panel starts sparking.
- You're focused on immediate bookings, not brand building. Search captures customers who are ready to buy right now.
- You operate in a limited service area. Performance Max can burn through budget showing your ads to people 200 kilometers outside your service zone.
The Budget Breakdown: What Should You Actually Do?
Small Budget (Under $1,500/month):
Run Search campaigns only. Focus on 5-10 high-intent keywords that directly describe your services. "Emergency plumber [your city]," "furnace repair near me," "roof leak repair [city]": that's it. Don't get fancy. Every dollar needs to count, and Search gives you the highest probability of booking jobs.
Medium Budget ($1,500-$4,000/month):
Allocate 70% to Search campaigns and 30% to Performance Max. Use Search to capture active demand and PMax to expand your visibility. Set up separate conversion tracking so you can actually see which campaign type is booking jobs, not just generating leads.
Larger Budget ($4,000+/month):
Run both campaigns aggressively, but add a third layer: Local Services Ads if they're available for your trade. This "three-layer stack" (LSA + Search + PMax) covers the entire customer journey: from initial awareness through active searching to booking.
The Control Issue
One massive advantage Search campaigns have over Performance Max: you know exactly what you're paying for.
With Search, you can see which keywords are driving conversions, which ones are wasting money, and where to adjust your bids. If "emergency furnace repair" is converting at 12% and "furnace maintenance" is converting at 2%, you can shift budget accordingly.
Performance Max is a black box. Google's AI makes all those decisions for you. Sometimes it works brilliantly. Sometimes it decides to show your high-end renovation ads to college students watching skateboarding videos. You won't know until you check your lead quality.
For contractors who are already busy running their business, that lack of control can be frustrating. You're essentially trusting Google's algorithm to understand your business as well as you do.
Setting Up for Success (Whichever You Choose)
Regardless of which campaign type you run, these fundamentals matter more than the platform:
Track actual conversions, not just leads. Connect your CRM to Google Ads so you can see which campaigns are generating booked jobs, not just form fills. A lead that never books is worthless.
Use location targeting aggressively. If you serve a 30-kilometer radius, set that as your maximum. Don't pay for clicks from people you can't help.
Test your landing pages. The best campaign in the world won't save a terrible landing page. Make sure your page loads fast, has your phone number prominently displayed, and clearly explains what you do.
Set up call tracking. Most contractors get phone calls, not form submissions. If you can't track which campaigns are driving calls, you're flying blind.
The Bottom Line
For most contractors running google ads for contractors campaigns, Search delivers more reliable, higher-quality leads that actually turn into booked jobs. The cost per lead is higher, but the cost per customer is often lower because you're not wasting time on tire-kickers.
Performance Max has its place: especially for brand awareness, retargeting, or if you have budget to experiment: but it shouldn't be your only campaign unless you have a specific reason.
The ideal setup? Run both. Use Search to capture people actively looking for your services right now. Use Performance Max to build visibility and catch people earlier in their decision process. Track everything separately so you can see which is actually moving the needle for your business.
And if you're working with a marketing agency that can't explain which of your campaigns is booking jobs and which is just burning budget on curiosity clicks, it might be time for a conversation. At Funky Moose Digital, we track this stuff obsessively because your ad spend should translate into booked jobs, not just a busy phone line.
The right campaign type depends entirely on your budget, your goals, and how patient you can afford to be with lead quality. But now you know what you're actually choosing between.
