Is Google Ads worth it for a local plumber when clicks cost $35 each?
Only if a click is worth more than $35 to you. The maximum you can pay is average ticket × gross margin × click-to-call rate × booking rate. For a $550 ticket at 50% margin, 15% of clicks calling and 60% of calls booking, that is $24.75 — so at $35 you lose about $10 per click on the first job, and the campaign only works if the average customer returns for a second one.
Break-even needs each customer worth roughly 1.4 jobs ($35 ÷ $24.75). At two jobs per customer the ceiling is $49.50 and the ads pay.
Most owners judge ads by whether the phone rings. The phone ringing is not the test; the test is whether the gross profit from the jobs those calls produce is more than the ad spend. Those two can point in opposite directions.
Each rate in the formula is something you can measure. Click-to-call comes from call tracking; booking rate from your own call log; ticket and margin from your job records. Put your own numbers in rather than trusting the platform’s estimate.
Repeat custom changes the answer. If a customer is worth two jobs over a few years, the maximum click price doubles to $49.50, and $35 clicks become profitable. That only holds if you actually get the second job, which is an argument for a maintenance plan or follow-up alongside the ads.
Improving the booking rate is usually cheaper than lowering the click price. Answering every call live instead of letting it go to voicemail can move booking rate more than any bid change.
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Give me three movesPeople also ask this as
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Figures are typical ranges for small businesses in the UK, US and Canada, given so you can check them against your own books rather than take them on trust. They are arithmetic on stated assumptions, not a forecast, and not financial advice.