Zero-Click SERPs Are Killing CTR. Here’s How Contractors Still Win with PPC

By techgrad | October 7, 2025

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.

Zero-Click SERPs Are Killing CTR. Here’s How Contractors Still Win with PPC

TL;DR Zero-click and AI Overviews shrink the click pool and punish weak relevance. That’s fine. The clicks that remain are high-intent and ready to call. Tighten your themes, max your ad assets, match message-to-page-to-call, bid for value (not volume), and use PPC data to fuel SEO so you show up in both ads and AI. Profit lives in calls, not clicks.

What “zero-click” really means for your ads

Old-school PPC assumed a clean path: search, click, convert. Now, AI Overviews and richer SERPs answer a lot of questions before anyone leaves Google. That suppresses CTR, dings Quality Score, and pushes CPCs up. The pool of available clicks shrinks, competition intensifies, and you pay more for the clicks that survive.

For HVAC, plumbing, and electrical contractors, the impact is blunt: fewer casual clicks, fewer tire-kickers, and higher cost pressure. But the story isn’t all bad.

The good news: the clicks left are buying clicks

When Google satisfies the looky-loos on the page, the remaining clicks tend to be “super clicks”—high-intent searches like “ac repair near me now,” “water heater leaking emergency,” or “licensed electrician same day.” These people aren’t researching; they’re hiring. Your job is to be the most relevant, most obvious answer—and make the call/scheduling action brain-dead simple.

The playbook to stay profitable

1) Tight, intent-pure ad groups

Relevance is your tax shelter against rising CPCs. Build ad groups around a single service + intent. No junk drawer ad groups. No “we do everything” RSAs.

  • Segment by job type and urgency: “AC repair” vs. “AC install,” “water heater replacement” vs. “tankless install,” “panel upgrade” vs. “outlet repair.”
  • Keep exact and phrase match as your anchors. Use broad match surgically with strong negatives and real conversion data.
  • Mine search terms weekly. Add negatives for DIY, specs, salaries, schools, manuals, and brand terms you don’t service.

2) Max out ad real estate

On crowded SERPs, more pixels = more calls. Fill every asset Google gives you so your ad looks like the obvious answer.

  • Robust RSAs: keyword in headlines, service + city, license/years, financing, fast ETA, and warranties.
  • Extensions: sitelinks (Emergency Service, Financing, Coupons, Reviews), callouts (24/7, Same-Day, Local Techs), structured snippets (Services: Repair, Install, Maintenance), images, call and location extensions, and lead forms if you can staff fast follow-up.
  • Consider call-only campaigns for after-hours/emergency where a form is friction.

3) Message match all the way to the truck

Perfect message match is non-negotiable when every click is expensive. The search term, ad copy, and landing page must line up like a laser level.

  • H1 mirrors the query: “AC Repair in Plano – Same-Day Service.”
  • Above-the-fold proof: phone number, click-to-call, scheduler, service area, reviews, license, and guarantees.
  • Pricing and financing clarity beats clever copy. If you offer a diagnostic fee or $0 trip fee with repair, say it.
  • Localize: city names, service area map, “near me” cues, and real team photos.
  • Speed and mobile UX: instant load, tap-to-call, sticky CTA, no modal circus.

4) Bid for value, not volume

Chasing cheap clicks is how you lose money in a zero-click world. Switch your mindset to value-based bidding and feed the algo real outcomes.

Posted in ppc tips