You asked whether we run Google and Meta ads. We do. Here is what I found when I looked at your area, what I would start you on, and what I am not willing to promise you.
When somebody near you searches "electrician near me," there is a block at the very top of the page, above everything else. Two or three electricians, each with a star rating and a button to call. That is a paid spot, and that is where I would put you.
You are charged when somebody calls you. Not per click. Per call. If nobody calls, you are not billed.
For electricians a call runs somewhere between $25 and $60 depending on how crowded the area is. The national average is about $39, and the cheap end is where competition is thin. Right now almost nobody is competing for that spot where you work.
A little over 4 in 10 of those calls turn into booked work, across the trade.
Regular search ads charge you per click whether the person calls you or not. They work, and they catch searches this other kind does not. But a lead costs closer to $90 there, against $39 for an actual phone call on the other one.
No reason to start there when the cheaper option is sitting open in your area.
I went and checked after your email. Here is exactly what shows up right now.
| Search | Who is in that top spot |
|---|---|
| Electrician, Morrisdale | Two companies, both based in Philipsburg |
| Electrician, Clearfield | Nobody |
| Electrician, DuBois | Nobody |
| Topline Electric | Not running any of it yet |
The two companies showing around Morrisdale are both out of Philipsburg. There is no Morrisdale electrician in that block at all.
This is not fixed by Google. We choose the towns. So we would set it across the whole county rather than just your back yard.
Because you are only charged when somebody calls, adding Clearfield and DuBois does not raise your bill. It just gives you more chances to get called.
Google factors in how near you are to whoever is searching. You would show up strongest around home and lighter as you get out toward DuBois. Worth knowing before you judge the results.
These are ranges from electrical contractors running this kind of ad, not a forecast for your business. What a call costs swings a long way depending on the market, so treat this as a bracket rather than a prediction. Thin markets like yours tend toward the cheaper end.
The $700 is a ceiling, not a commitment. If ten people call you that month, you pay for ten calls and the rest is never charged. In a county this size you may well come in under it, and that is fine. You are not losing anything by aiming wide.
You do not pay me a monthly fee while we are waiting on Google. The $297 setup covers building it and getting you approved. The monthly starts the day your ads actually go live. And if Google will not approve you for some reason, I will put that setup toward regular search ads instead, or refund it. You are not out anything if their answer is no.
You are an existing client, so your rate is locked. $297 a month for as long as you stay on it. This is not on our website yet, and when it goes up there it will not be $297, the same way our website plans went up and everyone already with us kept their price.
Google charges you for the calls, on your own card, directly. I never touch your ad money and the account stays in your name. If you ever stop working with me, it is still yours.
Your site stays at exactly what you pay now. This is a separate thing on top, and if you drop it later the website carries on untouched.
Anyone can switch on an ad account. Here is where the money goes.
Google's verification is the part most people give up on. Licensing, insurance, background checks for you and anyone who goes out on jobs, and a D-U-N-S number a lot of businesses do not know they need. I handle the submission and all the back and forth.
Then I set your coverage area, fill in your services and hours, load real job photos, and switch on messaging and online booking. That last one matters more than it sounds. Booking is one of the things Google looks at, and one of the two companies showing near you right now does not have it turned on.
A missed call report. Google factors your response time into where you rank. Most contractors never find out they slipped because they were up on a ladder. I will tell you how many calls came in, how many got missed, and what that cost you.
A push on reviews. Review count and score feed straight into your ranking. Cheapest lever either of us has and most people ignore it.
A report on what the calls became. Not how many you got. What a booked job actually cost you. That means I will be asking you which ones turned into work.
Google runs its own check before they will put a verified badge next to your name. It is separate from your Google business listing and it goes deeper. Free, but it takes a few weeks, so the sooner it starts the better.
Your general liability certificate, whatever license paperwork you have, and whether you already have a D-U-N-S number from Dun & Bradstreet. Many businesses have one without knowing.
They verify the paperwork and run a background check on you and anyone who goes out on jobs. I will need names for everyone who visits customer homes.
Coverage area, services, hours, photos, messaging and booking. This happens while Google is reviewing, so nothing is waiting on me.
Your monthly starts here, not before. Then we watch it for 30 days before either of us draws any conclusions.
You asked about Meta as well. Both of these are worth doing eventually. Neither is worth doing first.
The text ads at the top of the results page. They catch searches the call ads do not reach, but you pay per click whether anyone rings you or not, so leads run closer to $90. Most shops your size are better off putting everything into the call ads until they have outgrown them.
Nobody scrolling Facebook needs an electrician that minute. It works for the planned jobs instead, generators, panel upgrades, EV chargers. Good once the phone is already ringing from Google.
If the call ads keep you busy, you may never need either one. I would rather find out how much work is actually out there in your county before asking you to spend more.
Send me the paperwork and I will get the clock started with Google this week. If you would rather talk it through first, that is easy too.