Facebook Ads ROI for Home Service Contractors: What the Numbers Actually Look Like

Facebook Ads for home services produce lower close rates than Google, but that does not automatically make them worse for your cost per booked job. The comparison most owners never run: Facebook CPL divided by Facebook close rate versus Google CPL divided by Google close rate. When you do the math, the two channels often end up at a similar cost per booked job despite Facebook's lower intent signal. The difference is where Facebook wins and where it does not.

Facebook vs. Google: How Close Rate Changes the ROI Math

The fundamental difference between Facebook and Google leads is intent. A Google search lead typed "HVAC repair near me" into a search bar. They have a problem, they are ready to buy, and they are comparing options. A Facebook lead clicked an ad that interrupted their scroll through a news feed. Their intent is lower. They are curious, maybe interested, but not in purchase mode yet.

That intent gap shows up in close rates. Industry benchmarks from lead tracking studies put home service Facebook lead close rates at 15-30%, with the average closer to 18-22% for cold traffic campaigns. Google search leads for the same trades close at 35-60%. Google Local Services Ads (LSA) close even higher, 45-65%, because the lead has already seen your review count and made a shortlist decision before calling. For the full LSA breakdown, see Google LSA ROI for home services.

Run the cost per booked job calculation for a typical residential HVAC company.

The takeaway is not that Facebook is cheaper or more expensive than Google. It is that cold Facebook traffic is roughly comparable to Google search on a cost-per-booked-job basis, and Facebook remarketing to warm audiences significantly outperforms cold traffic on either channel.

Text Clint: "what was my close rate on Facebook leads last quarter versus Google?"

The 3 Facebook Campaign Types That Work for Home Services

Not all Facebook campaigns are equal for this category. Three specific use cases produce positive ROI reliably. Cold traffic for commodity service calls is the least reliable.

Remarketing to past customers and website visitors. This is the highest-ROI Facebook campaign type for home services by a significant margin. You are targeting people who already know your business: past customers in your CRM uploaded as a custom audience, and website visitors who did not book. Close rates on these campaigns run 35-50% because the trust barrier is already cleared. The offer is typically a seasonal tune-up, a maintenance reminder, or a service agreement renewal. Cost per booked job can run $50-$80, competitive with LSA. See the customer reactivation from CRM playbook for matching offer mechanics.

Before/after project posts targeting homeowners by zip code. Photo or video ads showing completed work (exterior painting, finished basement, new HVAC install) targeted to homeowners within 15 miles who match your customer demographic. These campaigns do not close on first click. They build familiarity that reduces close friction when the same homeowner later searches for your trade on Google. The ROI on these is longer-cycle and harder to attribute, but shops that run them consistently report higher Google search close rates and more direct calls that reference seeing the company's work before.

Service agreement renewal campaigns to your existing customer list. Upload your customer list, target by last service date, and run a time-limited offer for annual maintenance renewal. These are the highest-intent Facebook ads possible because the audience is your own customers. Conversion rates of 20-35% on renewal campaigns are achievable when the offer is well-timed (before cooling or heating season) and the creative is specific.

Text Clint: "how many customers in our CRM have not booked a job in the last 18 months?"

How to Calculate Your Facebook ROI

The standard calculation for a Facebook campaign in home services:

1. Total ad spend for the period.
2. Total leads generated.
3. Total jobs booked from those leads (requires tracking the lead source through your CRM to the booked job).
4. Total revenue from those jobs.
5. Gross margin on those jobs (revenue minus direct costs).
6. Return on ad spend (ROAS): margin from Facebook jobs divided by ad spend.

The piece most shops get wrong is step 3. If you are not tracking lead source all the way to a booked job in your CRM, you are calculating close rate on a guess. Lead source tracking requires discipline at the intake call: every new lead should have a source field recorded. CRMs like ServiceTitan, HouseCall Pro, and Jobber all support this. The data is only as good as your intake team's consistency. See how to track lead source in a service CRM for the tagging playbook.

A benchmark to aim for: a healthy Facebook campaign for residential home services should produce a ROAS of 3-5x (every $1 in ad spend returns $3-$5 in gross margin). Below 2x, the campaign is likely underperforming cold traffic benchmarks and should be restructured or paused. See how to calculate cost per lead for contractors for the standard formula.

Text Clint: "what is my total revenue booked from Facebook leads in the last 90 days?"

When Facebook Beats Google (and When It Doesn't)

Facebook outperforms Google for home services in three specific situations. First, when your CRM contains a large past-customer list that you can target as a custom audience. The remarketing opportunity is the best single use of Facebook advertising in this category. Second, in rural or suburban markets with low Google search volume for your trade, where CPL on Google is driven up by limited ad inventory but Facebook reach is high. Third, for services with a longer consideration cycle where visual content builds preference before a purchase decision: bathroom remodels, landscaping projects, exterior painting.

Facebook consistently underperforms Google for home services in two situations. High-competition metro markets for commodity trades (HVAC, plumbing, drain clearing) where the customer has three quotes before 5pm and your speed and price matter more than brand familiarity. And for emergency work. Nobody is scrolling Facebook when their furnace fails at midnight. Google search and LSA own the emergency category.

Text Clint: "what is my average lead-to-book time for Facebook leads versus Google leads?"

What a Working Facebook Ad Setup Looks Like for a $2M HVAC Company

A $2M HVAC company should be running Facebook on two tracks simultaneously.

Track one: remarketing and customer lists. Budget of $800-$1,200 per month. Audience is past customers (uploaded from CRM, 180-day exclusion for recent bookers) plus website visitors who did not book. Creative is a seasonal maintenance reminder with a specific offer. This campaign should produce 15-25 booked jobs per month at $50-$80 cost per booked job.

Track two: cold traffic for brand building. Budget of $400-$600 per month. Audience is homeowners aged 35-65 in your service zip codes. Creative is before/after project photos or a 30-second technician video. Conversion objective is website traffic or lead form, not direct booking. This campaign's ROI is harder to measure in isolation but supports overall brand recognition that improves Google close rates over time.

Total Facebook budget: $1,200-$1,800 per month. A $2M HVAC company with a 50% gross margin generating 20 booked jobs per month from Facebook at an average $3,500 ticket produces $35,000 in revenue and $17,500 in margin against $1,500 in ad spend. That is an 11.7x ROAS on the remarketing track alone.

Text Clint: "what is my average ticket on jobs booked from Facebook leads this year?"

How Clint Helps Contractors Measure Facebook ROI

Clint connects to your CRM and answers lead-source questions in plain language. When you ask "what was my close rate on Facebook leads last quarter versus Google?", it pulls the records, counts the leads by source, counts the booked jobs, and returns the comparison.

The same connection lets you see average ticket by lead source (Facebook versus Google versus LSA versus referral), revenue booked by campaign, and which lead sources are producing the highest-margin jobs versus the highest-volume jobs. That data makes the budget allocation decision between channels a numbers question rather than a gut call.

Sources

• WordStream 2025 Facebook Ads Benchmark Report, Home Services Industry
• LocaliQ 2025 Home Services Digital Advertising Benchmarks
• ServiceTitan Home Services Digital Marketing Report (2024)
• Meta Ads Manager benchmark data, Home Services category (2025)