For a serious residential construction and remodeling company, the goal isn't just generating leads; it's generating profitable leads. We all know that chasing every low-value or price-sensitive job will drain your team, kill your margins, and prevent you from focusing on the high-end specialty work that truly builds your brand.
The client in this case was a premier remodeler located in Nashville, Tennessee—a hyper-competitive market defined by rapid growth and high-density, affluent neighborhoods. They had an Average Project Value (APV) of $71,000, but they were tired of competing for every small project in their market. They needed to systematically drive demand for their higher-margin services—kitchen remodels, full-scale bathroom renovations, and complex specialty projects—on their terms.
Their existing system relied heavily on referrals and general lead platforms, which offered zero control over project value. My job was to engineer a Google Ads strategy that acted as a filter, allowing only the homeowners ready to invest in quality work to reach their sales team, even amidst Nashville's fierce competition.
For a serious residential construction and remodeling company, the goal isn't just generating leads; it's generating profitable leads. We all know that chasing every low-value or price-sensitive job will drain your team, kill your margins, and prevent you from focusing on the high-end specialty work that truly builds your brand.
The client in this case was a premier remodeler located in Nashville, Tennessee—a hyper-competitive market defined by rapid growth and high-density, affluent neighborhoods. They had an Average Project Value (APV) of $71,000, but they were tired of competing for every small project in their market. They needed to systematically drive demand for their higher-margin services—kitchen remodels, full-scale bathroom renovations, and complex specialty projects—on their terms.
Their existing system relied heavily on referrals and general lead platforms, which offered zero control over project value. My job was to engineer a Google Ads strategy that acted as a filter, allowing only the homeowners ready to invest in quality work to reach their sales team, even amidst Nashville's fierce competition.
We built the strategy on three non-negotiable principles: Intent, Project Value, and Geographic Precision. We had to ensure the advertising investment was aligned perfectly with the client’s ideal business model.
We immediately moved away from broad, generic terms. A general search like "local contractor" invites every tire-kicker in the county. Instead, we isolated the keywords tied directly to the high-margin services:
By carving out these specific, high-value services into dedicated ad campaigns, we ensured that every dollar spent was invested in searches signaling the kind of work the client wanted to do. This is a fundamental strategy: ad spend must follow margin, not volume.
This is where we filter out low-budget inquiries before the click even happens. We restricted the campaigns to specific Nashville ZIP codes and neighborhoods (like Brentwood or Green Hills) known for higher household incomes and home values.
In a market like Nashville, this approach is mandatory. We acknowledge the reality that certain projects are financially viable only within specific areas. By using the targeting settings within Google Ads, we created a financial firewall, ensuring that the expense of the ad click was only being deployed where the likelihood of a high-value contract was greatest. It's the most effective way to protect your Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) when you operate a premium service.
The ad copy itself served as the first layer of pre-qualification. We didn't use language that suggested speed or low price. We used language that signaled premium positioning:
This type of messaging helps deter price shoppers—those seeking the cheapest option will simply click a competitor's ad. Simultaneously, it attracts the homeowner who is prioritizing quality, reliability, and expertise over cost. The ad becomes a self-selecting filter.
The goal of this precision strategy was to achieve a predictable and scalable financial outcome, even with high bidding costs common in the Nashville metro area.
In a sustained period of the campaign, we invested approximately $14,000 in ad spend monthly across these targeted campaigns. This highly focused spend consistently yielded around 98 qualified leads (form fills or tracked phone calls) per month, establishing a rock-solid Cost Per Lead (CPL) of approximately $142.
Now, let's look at how that translates into revenue and profit:
With an APV of $71,000 and a Project Acquisition Cost (PAC) of just $1,420, the marketing investment represents only 2% of the project value.
Assuming a healthy industry target of a 25% Gross Profit Margin on that $71,000 project (or $17,750 in gross profit), the $1,420 PAC leaves an immense amount of room for profit and operational overhead. The PAC is low, predictable, and fully sustainable, directly supporting the client's margin protection strategy, even against aggressive local competition.
The results validated the precision-focused system. The client saw a steady flow of qualified inquiries for the specific, higher-value projects they wanted to do.
The most significant metric wasn't the number of leads; it was the reduction in time spent on unqualified sales calls. The sales team was no longer wasting hours driving across town only to discover the prospect was shopping with a 50% unrealistic budget.
The campaign created a predictable cost per lead that the client could rely on to confidently plan their production schedule and manage capacity.
In the end, the close rates improved dramatically. When you combine high-intent search traffic with messaging that pre-qualifies for project value, the resulting leads are better-aligned, leading to stronger conversations and a higher percentage of leads turning into booked work.
This demonstrates a critical truth about construction marketing: you can use advertising not just to chase leads, but to shape demand—attracting the projects that protect your margins and truly support long-term growth.
We align spend by isolating high-margin services into their own campaigns and restricting the bidding to only the most specific, high-intent keywords (e.g., "luxury kitchen remodeling") and high-income geographic zones. We actively avoid generic, low-intent terms that attract low-value shoppers.
With a $71,000 Average Project Value (APV) and a 10% closing rate, the $142 CPL translates to a Project Acquisition Cost (PAC) of only $1,420. This PAC represents just 2% of the APV, ensuring the firm retains maximum profit margin (estimated at 25% gross profit) after the marketing expense is covered.
A dedicated landing page ensures Message Match. If the ad promises a "Kitchen Remodel," the page must talk only about kitchens and provide immediate trust signals related to that service. This focus drastically improves the conversion rate of high-value clicks by eliminating distraction.
Yes, it reduces volume, but it dramatically increases quality. For high-end remodeling, the goal is often five excellent leads, not fifty mediocre ones. Restricting the geography ensures every ad dollar is spent in the area most likely to yield a profitable contract, protecting the overall CPA.
The most important KPI was the Cost Per Qualified Lead (CPQL)—tracking the cost to generate a lead that converted into a scheduled consultation or quote request, not just the cost of a click. This directly ties advertising investment to revenue potential.
No sales pitch. Just a strategy you can use.
