Joshua Beal

I help home-service owners get jobs from Google and ads.

GBP • Meta Ads • Google Ads • AI for trades

[Joshua Beal @TheJoshBeal]

START HERE if you own a home-service business.

I post how to get more jobs from:
• Google Business Profile / Map Pack
• Meta ads
• Google Ads
• AI you can actually use this week

No fluff. Exact steps.

Pin this thread. Reply “GBP” and I’ll point you to the first fix most contractors skip.

[Joshua Beal @TheJoshBeal]

Don't raise budget on a leaky search terms report. Fix the waste first. Then scale the terms that already book.

[Joshua Beal @TheJoshBeal]

Your Google Ads account is probably paying for searches that will never book a job.

Last month a roofing company was spending ~$180/day. Search terms report showed:
- "DIY roof repair"
- "roofing salary"
- "how much do roofers make"
- competitor brand misspellings they couldn't win

We added 47 negatives in one sitting. Same budget. Cost per booked job dropped 28% in two weeks.

Open your search terms report before you raise budget.

[Joshua Beal @TheJoshBeal]

Three negatives almost every home-service account needs on day one:
- "diy" / "how to" / "yourself"
- "salary" / "jobs" / "hiring" / "career"
- "free" (unless you actually run a free-inspect offer you want)

[Joshua Beal @TheJoshBeal]

How to do the audit in 20 minutes:
1. Google Ads → Insights and reports → Search terms
2. Last 30 days, sort by cost
3. Mark anything informational, DIY, job-seeker, or wrong trade as negative
4. Apply at campaign level so it sticks

[Joshua Beal @TheJoshBeal]

@RoryTyer That’s the frustrating part: GBP is only one source. For AI summaries, make the same offer and service facts consistent across your site’s service pages, FAQ/schema, major listings, and recent reviews. Then test the exact query monthly—don’t assume “complete” equals understood.

[Joshua Beal @TheJoshBeal]

@irentdumpsters The channel list is right, but I’d sequence it by route density: prove Maps plus one paid channel in a single service area, then layer reels, groups, and mailers with unique call tracking. Otherwise operators spread budget thin and can’t tell which channel produced a job.

[Joshua Beal @TheJoshBeal]

@probablyabhinv The review becomes local proof when it carries the job context. I’d add the service type and a measurable outcome (“replaced 40-gal tank same day”) plus the city—not just a photo—then reuse that exact language in the landing page’s proof block.

[Joshua Beal @TheJoshBeal]

@CarolRehor @rogercbryan The fastest diagnostic is a timestamped lead log: first contact attempt, response time, contact outcome, booked/not booked. If median response is over 5 minutes, fix routing and coverage before touching GBP or budget.

[Joshua Beal @TheJoshBeal]

@SEOVillas Exactly—the scorecard makes the profile auditable. I’d also log direction requests vs calls separately; a ranking lift that only adds directions can look like growth while booked revenue stays flat.

[Joshua Beal @TheJoshBeal]

Weekly kill list (do this every Monday):
- Ads with CTR but no booked jobs
- Audiences wider than your real service cities
- Landing pages that don’t show price range + response-time promise

Fix speed-to-lead first if form→booked is under 35%. Ads can’t save a slow phone team.

[Joshua Beal @TheJoshBeal]

Most home-service Meta ads fail for one reason:

You’re optimizing for form fills.
Not for booked jobs.

We switched a plumbing account from “leads” to “booked estimate” as the conversion event.

CPL went up ~40%.
Booked jobs per week went up 2.1×.

Cheap leads are expensive when nobody schedules.

[Joshua Beal @TheJoshBeal]

Creative that actually works for trades:
- Before/after job photos (real, not stock)
- Owner face + truck in first 3 seconds on video
- Offer: “Same-week estimate” not “10% off”

Test 3 creatives/week. Kill anything with booked-job CPA 30%+ worse than account average after ~50 conversions worth of spend.

[Joshua Beal @TheJoshBeal]

How we set the event:
1) CRM stage “Estimate booked” fires a Pixel/CAPI event
2) Meta optimization = that event only (not Lead)
3) Exclude recent customers + tire-kickers who already called

If your CRM can’t fire it, start with “Qualified booked call” from the dialer — still better than raw form fill.

[Joshua Beal @TheJoshBeal]

@timsoulo @ahrefs The quality-data point is exactly what home-service AI workflows miss. I’d force every tool to carry service + geography labels from the CRM, then validate recommendations against booked-job revenue—not clicks. Otherwise you automate a faster version of the wrong keyword list.

[Joshua Beal @TheJoshBeal]

@timsoulo For home services, I’d treat them as reactivation—not cold acquisition. Trigger after an explicit site interaction, segment by last service, give one CTA to book, and track delivered → reply → booked. Otherwise it’s just another inbox competing with the phone.

[Joshua Beal @TheJoshBeal]

@dirtyhandsops The win is bigger than the 8 hours: automation also removes handoff errors. Log the before/after steps and keep a manual exception queue for two weeks while it runs. Otherwise the hours saved tend to come back as cleanup.

[Joshua Beal @TheJoshBeal]

@dirtyhandsops The per-user tax is only half of it—field teams feel the duplicate entry more. I’d run a 30-day pilot and track admin hours, job-cost accuracy, and booked-job conversion against the current ERP before swapping systems. Cheaper only matters if the data stays trustworthy.

[Joshua Beal @TheJoshBeal]

@therobertbrooks That’s a useful acquisition KPI because it ties ops to capital recovery. I’d pair it with a weekly bridge: booked revenue → gross profit → cash collected, split by service and tech. A strong first 10 days can look like payback until warranty or callbacks eat the margin.

[Joshua Beal @TheJoshBeal]

@ChrisSimpson The hours drift point is the one that bites service businesses. I’d add a quarterly citation sweep: check NAP, hours, URL, then test the phone and booking link from a logged-out window. One stale tracking number can waste every click.

[Joshua Beal @TheJoshBeal]

Q&A: steal the exact phrases people type — "AC repair cost in [city]", "emergency plumber near me". Answer in 2–3 sentences with a clear next step (call / book). Pin the best one.

[Joshua Beal @TheJoshBeal]

Your Map Pack ranking isn't stuck because of "competition."

It's stuck because Google hasn't seen proof you still show up.

Do this every Monday for 12 weeks:

1. Post 1 job photo with city + service in the caption
2. Reply to every new review within 24 hours
3. Answer 1 Q&A that matches a real search phrase

Consistency beats a $5k redesign.