Best Google Ads Keywords for Home Service Companies

“Plumber near me” gets thousands of searches per month in most metro areas. “Emergency plumber near me” gets fewer searches but converts at 2-3x the rate. “Tankless water heater installation cost [city]” gets a fraction of the volume but the person searching is ready to buy.

Knowing which keywords to bid on, and which to avoid, is the difference between Google Ads that print money and Google Ads that burn it.

Most contractors pick keywords that are too broad, too competitive, or too far from a buying decision. The result is expensive clicks from people who were never going to hire them.

The keyword categories that convert

Not all search queries are equal. A homeowner typing “how to unclog a drain” is in DIY mode. A homeowner typing “drain cleaning service near me” is ready to hire. Your ads should only appear for the second type of search.

The highest-converting keyword categories for home service contractors break down into four groups.

Emergency keywords

Emergency searches signal urgency. The homeowner has an active problem and needs help immediately.

• “emergency plumber [city]”
• “24 hour AC repair”
• “emergency electrician near me”
• “burst pipe repair”
• “no heat furnace repair”

These keywords cost more per click because every competitor wants them. But the conversion rates are 2-3x higher than non-emergency terms. A $50 click that converts at 15% beats a $20 click that converts at 3%.

Emergency keywords also favor whoever can answer the phone. The homeowner isn’t comparison shopping when their basement is flooding. They’re calling the first company that picks up.

Understanding how emergency keywords work for plumbing SEO applies directly to your PPC keyword strategy. The same search intent that drives organic clicks drives paid clicks.

”Near me” keywords

“Near me” searches grew over 500% in recent years and continue to dominate local service searches. Google treats “near me” as a location signal, serving results based on the searcher’s physical location.

• “plumber near me”
• “HVAC repair near me”
• “electrician near me”
• “roofer near me”

These are high-volume, moderate-intent keywords. The searcher wants a local contractor but might be in early research mode. Conversion rates are solid but not as high as emergency terms.

Combine “near me” with service specifics for better performance:

• “water heater repair near me”
• “AC installation near me”
• “electrical panel upgrade near me”

The more specific the query, the higher the intent and the lower the competition. “HVAC repair near me” has massive competition. “Ductless mini split installation near me” has far less.

Cost and price keywords

When a homeowner searches for cost or pricing information, they’re deep in the buying process. They’ve already decided they need the service. Now they’re figuring out budget.

• “water heater replacement cost”
• “how much does AC installation cost”
• “roof replacement cost [city]”
• “average cost electrician [city]”

Cost and price keywords signal buying intent because price research happens right before the hiring decision. These searchers want quotes, which makes them excellent leads.

Build landing pages that address pricing directly. Don’t hide your pricing behind a “contact us for a quote” wall. Give ranges, explain what affects cost, and make it easy to request a specific estimate.

Service + city keywords

The bread-and-butter keyword format for home service PPC: [service] + [city].

• “drain cleaning Denver”
• “AC repair Phoenix”
• “roof repair Austin”
• “electrician Jacksonville”

These keywords are explicit about both the service needed and the location. Intent is high. The searcher knows what they want and where they want it.

Layer in specificity for better results:

• “tankless water heater installation Denver”
• “commercial HVAC repair Phoenix”
• “flat roof repair Austin”

More specific terms have lower search volume but higher conversion rates and lower cost per click. This is the power of long-tail keywords for contractors: less competition, better intent, cheaper clicks.

Match types and when to use each

Google Ads offers three keyword match types. Each serves a different purpose in your campaign.

Exact match triggers your ad only when someone searches for your specific keyword or very close variants. Use exact match for your highest-intent, most expensive keywords. You pay more per click but waste nothing on irrelevant searches.

Example: [emergency plumber near me] only shows for that exact query and close variations like “emergency plumbers near me.”

Phrase match triggers when someone’s search includes your keyword phrase in the correct order, potentially with additional words before or after. Use phrase match for discovery while maintaining relevance.

Example: “water heater repair” triggers for “water heater repair cost,” “best water heater repair service,” and “water heater repair near me.”

Broad match triggers for searches Google considers related to your keyword. This is Google’s default and it’s the most dangerous match type for contractors. Bidding on “plumber” as broad match can show your ad for “plumber salary” or “plumber tools.”

Use broad match only with a strong negative keyword list and only for testing new keyword ideas at low budgets. Never use broad match on your core campaigns without tight controls.

Building your negative keyword list

Negative keywords save 20-30% of budget by preventing your ads from showing for searches that will never result in a hire.

Every home service contractor should block these categories:

Job seekers: jobs, hiring, salary, career, apprentice, training, certification, license requirements, school

DIY searches: how to, DIY, tutorial, fix it yourself, tools needed, step by step

Non-buyers: free, cheap, discount, pro bono, coupon

Product shoppers: buy, purchase, parts, supplies, for sale, Home Depot, Lowes

Review/complaint searches: reviews, complaints, lawsuit, scam, rip off

Check your Search Terms report weekly. This Google Ads report shows the actual queries people typed before clicking your ad. Every irrelevant query becomes a new negative keyword.

A contractor with 300+ negative keywords runs a dramatically more efficient campaign than one with 20. The upfront work of building this list pays dividends every month.

Seasonal keyword strategy

Home service demand follows predictable seasonal patterns. Your keyword strategy should shift with them.

Spring: AC tune-up, AC maintenance, sprinkler repair, landscaping cleanup

Summer: AC repair, AC not cooling, emergency AC, pool equipment repair

Fall: Furnace tune-up, heating maintenance, gutter cleaning, weatherization

Winter: Furnace repair, no heat, emergency heating, pipe freeze, water heater replacement

Increase budgets and bids on seasonal keywords during their peak months. AC repair searches spike 300-400% between May and August. Heating searches follow the inverse pattern. If your budget stays flat year-round, you’re underspending during peak demand and overspending during slow periods.

Set calendar reminders to adjust campaigns 2-3 weeks before each seasonal shift. By the time the first heat wave hits, your AC repair campaigns should already be scaled up.

Competitor brand keywords

Bidding on competitor names is a legitimate tactic, but it comes with trade-offs.

When you bid on “[Competitor Name] plumbing,” your ad appears when someone searches for that specific company. You’re intercepting their traffic and offering an alternative.

The upside: You reach homeowners who are actively looking for a contractor. They may not be loyal to the competitor and could be persuaded by your ad.

The downside: Click costs on competitor names run 30-50% higher than generic terms. Quality Scores are lower because your ad and landing page aren’t about the competitor. And the competitor can (and probably will) bid on your name too.

Competitor keywords work best as a small, supplemental strategy. Don’t build your campaign around them. Use them to capture overflow in markets where one or two dominant players get the majority of searches.

Keywords to avoid

Some keyword categories look attractive but consistently waste budget for home service contractors:

Informational searches: “how does a furnace work,” “types of water heaters,” “plumbing code requirements.” These people are learning, not buying.

Product-focused searches: “best water heater brand,” “Rheem vs Bradford White.” These people might buy a product online, not hire a contractor.

Extremely broad terms: “plumber,” “HVAC,” “electrician.” Without location or service modifiers, these terms attract everyone from job seekers to students writing papers.

Low-value service terms: Keywords for services with tiny ticket sizes. If a keyword generates leads for $20 service calls, the ad spend rarely makes sense.

Putting it together

The ideal keyword structure for a home service contractor looks like this:

Tier 1 (highest budget): Emergency + near me + city keywords in exact match. These are your money-makers. Bid aggressively because the conversion rates justify it.

Tier 2 (moderate budget): Service + city keywords and cost/price keywords in phrase match. Strong intent, solid volume, reasonable competition.

Tier 3 (testing budget): Broader discovery terms in phrase match with tight negatives. Use these to find new keyword opportunities, then promote winners to Tier 1 or 2.

Layer this structure across each service campaign, pair it with a strong negative keyword list, and review performance weekly.

Avoiding the common Google Ads mistakes for home services and keeping up with Google Local Services Ads changes in 2026 ensures your keyword strategy stays current as the platform evolves.

The right keywords put your ads in front of homeowners who need help now. Everything else is just expensive noise. Following the methodology for measuring what works ties your keyword performance back to actual booked jobs, which is the only metric that matters.