Every contractor has heard both sides: “Facebook ads are a waste of money” and “Facebook ads built my business.” Both can be true. It depends on what you’re selling, how you set up the campaign, and what happens after someone fills out the form.
This post covers when Facebook and Instagram ads make sense for home service businesses, the housing ad rules most contractors don’t know about, how to get better leads, and a simple campaign to start with.
How Facebook ads are different from Google
Google catches people who are already looking. Facebook reaches them before they start.
- Google: someone searches “AC repair near me.” They need help now and are comparing options.
- Facebook: someone is scrolling and sees your ad for a fall furnace tune-up. They weren’t looking, but now they’re thinking about it.
That’s why Facebook works best for things people can be talked into, like seasonal maintenance, home improvement projects, a limited-time offer, or a reminder from a business they already know. It’s weaker for emergencies, where people search instead of scroll.
The housing rules contractors need to know
Meta requires a Housing special ad category for certain housing-related ads in the U.S. (and some other countries). Meta’s definition of housing ads includes housing repairs, alongside home sales, rentals, home insurance and mortgages. The rules exist because U.S. civil rights law forbids discrimination in housing advertising.
If your ad falls under the Housing category, your targeting is limited:
- Age: 18 to 65+. You can’t narrow it.
- Gender: all genders only.
- Location: must include at least a 15-mile radius around any location, with no ZIP code targeting.
- Lookalike audiences: not available, and some detailed targeting options are removed.
Whether a specific ad falls under the Housing category depends on what it promotes, so check Meta’s current rules in Ads Manager. If it does, don’t try to work around it. Use better offers and creative to reach the right people instead.
How to get better leads from Facebook
Lead forms are easy to fill out, which is great for volume and bad for quality. To fix that:
- Add qualifying questions: “What service do you need?”, “When do you want it done?”, “Do you own the home?”
- Use a higher-intent form type that asks people to review their info before submitting.
- Be specific in the ad. “Furnace tune-up, $89, this month only” attracts better leads than “Call us for all your HVAC needs.”
- Reply within minutes. Facebook leads go cold faster than Google leads. A cheap lead nobody calls back is the most expensive lead you’ll ever buy. See the speed to lead research.
- Follow up more than once. Many won’t answer the first call. Use follow-up texts and a short sequence.
Three campaigns that work for contractors
- Seasonal offer. A tune-up, inspection or cleanup tied to the season. Use our seasonal marketing calendar to time it.
- Retargeting. Show ads to people who visited your website but didn’t call. They already know you, so these often convert better.
- Before-and-after showcase. Real photos of your work in their area, with a clear call to book an estimate.
How much to spend and how to judge it
Start with a test budget you can afford to run for at least a month. Then judge it the same way as any lead source: cost per booked job, not cost per lead or cost per click.
Cost per booked job = Ad spend ÷ Jobs booked from those ads
If that number is a small share of your average job value, scale it. If not, change the offer or the follow-up before you add budget. Our guide on how much to spend on marketing has the full math, and the calculator in this post runs it for you.
Your Facebook ads checklist
- Pick one clear offer and one service area to start
- Check whether your ad needs the Housing special ad category
- Use real photos of your work, not stock images
- Add qualifying questions to your lead form
- Send every lead to your phone instantly
- Call or text every lead within five minutes
- Set up retargeting for website visitors
- Track leads to booked jobs, and judge on cost per job
The bottom line
Facebook ads won’t replace Google for emergency calls, but they’re a strong way to create demand, fill slow seasons and stay in front of homeowners who already know you. The ad is only half the job; the follow-up is the other half. Our 3-Click Ad System runs the ads, and the Booked Solid System answers and follows up on every lead in minutes.