Painters - PPC
Paid search fills the gap while SEO builds. It also lets you turn demand up or down around seasonal swings, like the spring rush for exterior work, in a way organic rankings can't. Done right, PPC is one of the fastest ways to fill a painting crew's calendar.
Approach
Five areas we build into every painting contractor paid search program.
Campaign types
Google Search campaigns for high-intent keywords, Local Services Ads for pay-per-lead visibility at the top of results, and remarketing to stay in front of homeowners who visited but didn't request an estimate.
Keyword strategy
Separate keyword groups for interior, exterior, cabinet refinishing, and commercial painting, so ad spend maps to the services with the best margins instead of one generic "painting" bucket.
Ad copy
Licensing, insurance, warranty, and paint brand partnerships built into ad copy from the first line, because painting is a trust-based purchase and generic "free estimate" copy alone won't beat competitors on that.
Landing pages
Every campaign points to a dedicated landing page matched to the service and intent of the ad, with a gallery, trust signals, and a single clear estimate request path.
Tracking
We track calls and form fills back to campaign and keyword, and where possible tie that data to which leads actually closed, so budget shifts toward what produces booked jobs, not just clicks.
Painting is a competitive vertical, especially in metro areas with several franchise brands bidding on the same terms. Budget needs to account for that reality from the start.
Painting contractors typically close 30% to 55% of estimates into booked jobs. PPC can fill your pipeline with leads, but your estimating and follow-up process determines how many of those leads become revenue.
Exterior painting searches spike hard in spring and taper by late fall in most climates. Interior and commercial demand holds steadier. Budgets should flex with the season, not stay flat all year.
With average residential jobs running $3,500 to $6,000, painting contractors can typically sustain a higher cost per lead than lower-ticket trades. We build your target CPL around your real numbers, not industry-wide guesses.
Budget framework
Four tiers based on the painting PPC accounts we manage. Ad spend is separate from management fees.
Branding & awareness
$500+/mo
Ad spend
Residential, single market
$1,500-$3,000/mo
Ad spend
Commercial lead gen
$2,000-$4,000/mo
Ad spend
Multi-service or multi-market
$4,000-$8,000+/mo
Ad spend
Management fees are separate from ad spend. We'll recommend a starting budget based on your market's competition level and your growth goals, then adjust from real performance data.
Send us your project and we'll scope it straight -- no pushy sales.
Deeper reads pulled from our blog, all written with painters in mind.
Good to know
Budgets vary from $500/month for brand awareness in a small market up to $8,000+/month for multi-service or multi-market operations. Most single-market residential painters run $1,500 to $3,000/month in ad spend. Management fees are separate from ad spend.
Google Search Ads are keyword-targeted campaigns that appear above organic results and charge per click. Local Services Ads appear at the very top of results with a "Google Guaranteed" badge and charge per lead instead of per click. Most painting contractors benefit from running both together.
PPC campaigns can start driving traffic and leads within days of launch. We typically recommend a 2 to 4 week optimization window to refine keywords, ad copy, and targeting before judging full performance.
Yes, for most residential painting contractors. Exterior painting demand rises sharply in spring, so we recommend increasing exterior campaign budgets 60 to 90 days ahead of your local season and shifting toward interior and commercial campaigns during slower months.
We manage the full campaign: strategy, keyword and audience targeting, ad copy, landing page alignment, and ongoing optimization. Ad spend goes directly to Google and is billed separately from our management fee, so you always know exactly what you're paying for media versus management.
Still have questions? We're happy to answer them, let's connect.
Tell us about your project and we'll take a look. No pushy sales, no wasted calls.