ppc tips

The piece argues that contractors should stop focusing on channels and instead use messaging precisely at moments that directly increase booked jobs, such as scheduling, confirmations, and service updates. It emphasizes that customers care about getting issues resolved with minimal friction, and that messaging habits (e.g., WhatsApp usage) make it a powerful tool—especially for transactional updates in North America and as a primary channel in some international markets. It outlines concrete HVAC/plumbing/electrical use cases where messaging reduces friction and accelerates bookings. The article recommends a unified, real-time system (e.g., Adobe Journey Optimizer) to orchestrate messages, prioritizing ROI and operational simplicity, and concludes with an ROI-first playbook covering opt-ins, event-triggered messages, standardized templates, fast human routing, and clear next steps.

Instacart is now integrated into TikTok Ads Manager, making it the first retail media network inside the platform. CPG brands can use Instacart’s first-party shopper data for targeting, run shoppable formats that drive users directly to Instacart carts, and access daily closed-loop sales reporting. This tightens the link between social inspiration and actual transactions at TikTok’s scale. Service businesses can apply the same playbook by minimizing friction from video to call/booking, leveraging their own first-party data for targeting, and focusing measurement on calls, leads, and booked jobs rather than views.

Microsoft will shut down its DSP, Microsoft Invest, by February 28, 2026, and is directing advertisers to Amazon DSP as the preferred migration path. Microsoft is refocusing on its core ad tech components—Microsoft Advertising Platform, Monetize, and Curate—while Microsoft Monetize joins Amazon Ads’ Certified Supply Exchange to blend Amazon shopping insights with Microsoft’s supply. For contractors, the change mainly impacts programmatic/CTV buyers; search and LSAs remain the highest-intent, most reliable channels. If you’re on Invest, execute a measured, call-tracked migration, prioritize retargeting, and enforce cost-per-booked-call and brand safety discipline.

OpenAI is integrating third-party apps directly into ChatGPT, positioning it as a “conversational OS” that could reach roughly 800M users. For contractors in HVAC, plumbing, and electrical, this creates a new high-intent channel where customers can discover, triage, and book services within chat. The piece urges building a lightweight ChatGPT app focused on emergencies and bookings, prioritizing call-first handoffs, and setting up robust attribution. Treat the initiative as a pilot and optimize for conversions and calls rather than lengthy conversations.

Holiday ecommerce spend is forecast to reach $253.4B, and while that’s a retail headline, the same behavior shifts—mobile dominance, deal-seeking, and heightened urgency—spill into local home services. Contractors should optimize for calls and booked jobs with mobile-first experiences, call assets/call-only campaigns, LSAs, fast pages, and precise geo/time bidding. During Cyber Week, protect budgets with strict retail negatives, lean into urgency and availability messaging, and staff phones (including after-hours) to capture high-intent leads. Push financing to ease sticker shock on big installs, start promotions early, and use clear, value-forward offers to convert without a race to the bottom.

Meta is suspending all political, electoral, and social issue ads across the EU due to the new TTPA rules requiring separate, explicit consent for targeting, deeming compliance too complex and risky. The pause begins October 6 at 6:00 p.m. CET, ahead of the regulations taking effect October 10, forcing rapid changes for affected advertisers. The article warns contractors that tightening consent and privacy rules can swiftly reduce targeting capabilities and performance, especially for over-automated systems. It outlines an action plan focused on first-party data, intent-driven channels, resilient measurement, service-first creative, and channel diversification to protect lead pipelines.

Zero-click SERPs and AI Overviews reduce available clicks, lower CTR, and raise CPCs, but the remaining traffic is higher intent and closer to booking. Contractors should tighten account structure around single-service, intent-pure ad groups and rely on exact/phrase match plus strong negatives. Maximize ad assets and ensure perfect message match from query to ad to landing page with strong mobile UX and clear calls to call or schedule. Shift to value-based bidding powered by offline conversion tracking for qualified calls and jobs, and use PPC insights to inform SEO to show in both ads and AI surfaces. Profitability hinges on generating calls and booked jobs, not maximizing click volume.

Google is replacing the legacy “Ad networks” block list with an “Authorized Buyers” control in AdSense/Ad Manager on Nov 6. This gives publishers more granular, transparent control over who can bid on their inventory, with new buyers allowed by default and existing blocks carried over. For advertisers—especially contractors running Display, YouTube, or Performance Max—this may shift inventory access, CPMs, and brand safety risk. The recommended response is to tighten placement and content controls, monitor placement reports, and prioritize call-driving performance over impressions or clicks.

There’s a live GEO master class today with Will Scott (Oct 7, 11:00 am–4:45 pm ET) geared to HVAC, plumbing, and electrical contractors, with discounts and recordings available. GEO is explained as optimizing your content so AI-driven summaries pick your business by being the clearest, most helpful, and most trustworthy answer. The class covers fundamentals like scannable, structured service pages, natural-language keyword coverage, competitive gap analysis, brand authority signals, measurement proxies, and future-proofing. A 30-day playbook emphasizes audits, building concise “answer blocks,” posting job recaps, boosting trust signals, and tracking calls to convert visibility into booked jobs. Ongoing effort is modest (4–6 hours/month), using FAQs from call logs and field photos for practical, local content.

A survey reported that only 11% of consumers trust the first search tool they use, prompting most to validate across Google, AI, and review platforms. AI usage is rising quickly, but purchase decisions still hinge on price transparency, reviews, and clear product or service details. For home service contractors, winning requires consistent presence across Google Search/Maps/LSAs, key review sites, and AI answers. The article outlines six search personas with actionable tactics and gives practical guidance to make sites machine-readable and conversion-focused without wasting budget.