What lead ads are
A lead ad is a Facebook or Instagram ad with a form built in. A homeowner taps the ad, a short form opens inside the app with their name, email and phone already filled in from their profile, and they answer a few questions about the job. They never leave Facebook and never load a website.
That convenience is the point, and also the catch. Because it's so easy to submit, a badly built lead ad brings in plenty of people who forgot they ever filled it out. Most of the work in a good campaign goes into adding just enough friction to keep the serious homeowners and lose the rest.
Which jobs they work for
Lead ads reach people before they search. That makes them strong for planned, considered purchases and weak for emergencies.
- Strong: roof replacements, HVAC replacements, turf and landscape makeovers, patios and driveways, kitchen and bath remodels, repipes, solar, windows.
- Weak: burst pipes, lockouts, no-heat calls, anything where the homeowner needs someone in the next hour. Those people search Google and call the first number.
As a rule of thumb, lead ads pay off best when a typical job is worth a few thousand dollars or more and the homeowner takes at least a few days to decide.
Build a form that qualifies
Meta offers a "higher intent" form type that adds a review screen before submitting. Use it. Then add three to five questions that tell you whether the job is worth a call:
- Ownership. "Do you own the home?" Renters can't sign for a roof.
- Scope. Multiple choice beats free text: repair, replacement or inspection; square footage ranges; which rooms.
- Timeline. "Within 30 days," "1 to 3 months," "just researching." The last answer is still useful, it just gets a different follow-up.
- Budget for remodeling and hardscape, where the spread between projects is huge.
- Phone verification by text, which removes most fake and mistyped numbers.
Every question you add lowers the number of leads and raises their quality. Start with more questions than feels comfortable; it's easier to remove one than to recover from a month of junk.
Creative that earns the click
The ads that work for contractors almost never look like ads. They look like something a neighbor would post:
- Before-and-after photos taken from the same spot
- Short vertical videos of the crew at work, shot on a phone
- The owner on camera for 20 seconds: who you are, where you work, what you're good at
- A finished job walkthrough with no music and no graphics
Write the ad copy the way you'd explain the job to a homeowner in their driveway. Name the area you serve, say what you do, and tell them what happens after they tap: "Answer four quick questions and we'll text you to set up a free estimate."
Budget and testing
Work out the most you can pay per lead first. The lead cost calculator does it from your job value, margin and close rate. Then:
- Give each test enough budget to produce a meaningful number of leads before judging it. Killing an ad after two days and a handful of clicks tells you nothing.
- Test one thing at a time: creative first, since it moves results the most, then the offer, then the form questions.
- Keep targeting simple. A radius around your service area and broad homeowner-age audiences usually beat narrow interest stacks, because Meta's delivery finds the right people once it has a few leads to learn from.
- Judge ads by cost per booked estimate, not cost per lead. A cheap lead that never answers the phone is the most expensive kind.
Speed to lead
Nothing affects results more than how fast someone calls. A homeowner who just filled out a form is thinking about the project right now. An hour later they're making dinner; the next day they've filled out two more forms.
Set it up so every lead is texted to whoever answers the phone the moment it arrives, and the homeowner gets an automatic text saying you'll call shortly. Then call within five minutes when you can. If they don't answer, text, and keep following up for a week. Many leads book on the third or fourth attempt.
Mistakes that waste money
- Using the default form with no questions. High volume, low quality, and you'll conclude lead ads don't work.
- Promising something you can't deliver. "Free roof" and fake discounts get clicks, angry homeowners and restricted ad accounts.
- Letting leads sit in a spreadsheet. If nobody sees a lead for a day, it's mostly wasted.
- Running the same ad for months. Creative wears out. Plan on fresh ads at least monthly.
- Handing over your ad account. Whoever runs your ads should work inside an account you own, so the history and audiences stay with your business.
If you'd rather have someone else handle all of this, that's what we do. Check whether your area is open, or browse lead ads for roofing, HVAC, plumbing, landscaping, hardscape and remodeling.