Most agencies won't tell you. We will. Your real ad budget depends on your industry, your market, and which platform actually makes sense. Plug in your numbers below — we'll show you what to expect before you pay anyone a cent.
A cleaning service and a plumber operate in completely different advertising worlds. A cleaning service might pay $1–3 per click on Google. A plumber could pay $10–60 per click for the same position. Telling both to spend $500/month would be dishonest — the cleaning service would thrive, the plumber would burn cash.
That's why we don't publish a one-size-fits-all minimum. We match your recommendation to your industry, your local competition, and the platform that actually makes sense for your business. Sometimes that means Google. Sometimes Meta. Sometimes both. Sometimes one platform isn't worth your money at all — and we'll tell you that too.
We'd rather be upfront than collect a management fee on a budget that can't deliver.
Select your industry and target monthly ad spend. We'll show you what to expect from each platform — and whether the numbers actually make sense for your situation.
These are estimates based on 2025–2026 industry benchmarks for local service businesses. Actual results vary based on ad quality, landing page strength, competition, and seasonality. We dial in exact numbers during your onboarding.
Google Ads captures people who are actively searching — "plumber near me" or "HVAC emergency." These leads are hot. They're ready to buy. You pay a premium for that intent though — competitive trades hit $10–60 per click.
Meta Ads (Facebook & Instagram) interrupt people while they're scrolling. The leads are cheaper — typically 40–60% lower cost per lead than Google — but require more follow-up because the person wasn't actively looking for you. Meta works especially well for visual businesses (landscaping, home remodeling, AV installation) and for brand awareness.
Google Local Service Ads (LSAs) are the secret weapon for tradespeople. Instead of paying per click, you pay per lead — only when someone contacts you. They appear above everything else in Google search results and typically cost 30–40% less per lead than standard Google Ads. We help eligible clients get set up on LSAs as part of management.
| Factor | Google Ads | Meta Ads | Google LSAs |
|---|---|---|---|
| You pay for | Clicks | Impressions/clicks | Leads only |
| Lead quality | High — active intent | Medium — passive | High — verified |
| Cost per lead | $30–$140 | $15–$60 | $10–$80 |
| Best for | Emergency / urgent services | Visual / lifestyle businesses | Licensed tradespeople |
| Min budget to work | $1,000–$3,000/mo | $500–$1,500/mo | $500+/mo |
| How fast results come | Days to weeks | 1–2 weeks to optimize | Days |
We charge a percentage of your ad spend — industry standard. This aligns our incentive with yours: when your ads work, you spend more and we both grow. No hidden fees, no inflated CPMs, no shady "platform fees."
You pay ad spend directly to Google / Meta. We charge for managing the campaigns — creative, copy, optimization, reporting.
Example: $500/mo ad spend = $200/mo management (the minimum kicks in). $1,500/mo = $300/mo. $3,000/mo = $600/mo. $10,000/mo = $2,000/mo. Flat 20% at every level. No contracts — cancel anytime.
What's included in management: Campaign strategy, ad creative & copywriting, audience targeting, bid optimization, A/B testing, landing page recommendations, monthly performance reporting, and direct access to the person actually running your ads. No account reps reading scripts — you talk to Mady, the one doing the work.
Not because we're precious about it — because paid traffic is too expensive to send to a leaky funnel. If your site loads slow, doesn't rank for anything, can't be read by AI search, or takes three clicks to find a phone number, ads just accelerate the bleeding.
The BizBox stack (website + GEO + AI voice agent + lead dashboard) is a funnel that's already working before ads are turned on. Every ad dollar then turns into revenue instead of disappearing. That's the order of operations, and we won't skip it.
Don't have a BizBox-built site? Not a problem — for non-BizBox sites we build a simple, conversion-focused landing page as part of your ad setup. We won't run ads at a site that won't convert.
We'll audit your market, recommend the right platform, and give you a realistic spend target — before you pay us anything.
Let's TalkOr call our AI — (512) 866-9042 — 24/7