Want to generate more leads for your pressure washing business? You must adopt paid advertising!
More people now rely on online platforms to find different services. Thus, to generate even more leads, you want to position yourself to be seen by potential clients with paid advertising.
This article will show you how best to run and manage your pressure washing advertising, plus the best advertising strategies you can use.
How do I Run Paid Pressure Washing Advertising?
There are multiple paid online and offline marketing strategies you can consider when generating leads for your business.
1. Search Engine Advertising to Increase Pressure Washing Leads
Search engines’ pay-per-click advertising has been proven most effective at generating quality traffic and leads over the years.
It is getting harder to rank organically on top search engines like Google and Bing. Therefore, paid search engine marketing is the in-thing.
Why should you use Search engine paid ads?
Higher conversions
Typically, users with high purchase intent are more likely to click ads. Studies show that the top 3 paid ads on SERPs take up over 41% of clicks. Similarly, businesses make $2 for every $1 invested in Google ads.
Increased traffic
Reportedly, 88% of people use search engines to find services locally. Paid ads place your business higher on results pages, meaning more potential clients will see your pages and probably click.
Cost-effective
With paid SEM, you only pay for what you get. Thus, unless people click the link to your site, you don't pay, which helps you save on ads since you are only spending on prospects with the potential to provide a return.
How can you use paid SEM effectively for pressure washing?
Decide on budget
Before starting any pressure washing advertising campaign, you must decide how much you are willing to spend. It will determine your bidding amounts and, ultimately, your keywords.
Most pressure washing businesses typically spend upwards of $1000 per month on search engine ads. However, the amount typically spent depends on your business size as well.
The average conversion rate per ad is 4-6% on average. Thus, it can be cost-effective for larger businesses to invest much more to maximize those incoming leads.
Identify appropriate keywords
Keywords are the fuel to successful SEM paid ads. You want to rank for words that draw the most traffic. This information is readily available with tools such as the Google Keyword Planner, which is a free tool from Google that helps you identify the keywords with the highest search volume and corresponding costs per click.
Other similar paid tools worth trying include Ahrefs and Ubersugggest.
Such tools enable you to create cost-effective ads since you can identify profitable keywords and compare them with respective costs to find the best value.
Relevant landing pages
You want to direct your traffic to landing pages that place your offerings and value proposition front and center. A landing page reduces audience distractions and increases the likelihood that they will convert.
Tracking and monitoring
Search engine ad platforms often come with analytics capabilities to help you gauge your results. They show you how you spent your money and which keywords, pages, or business categories brought in the most leads and conversions. Through these tools, you can constantly improve your strategies to generate even better results.
2. Facebook Advertising for Pressure Washing
Facebook ads are probably the “chiefs” in the social media ad world. Therefore, you will want to incorporate them into your strategy. The platform boasts extensive targeting tools, reach data, and campaign information to help you execute effective campaigns.
Why Should You use Pressure Washing Facebook Ads?
- Wide reach: Facebook remains the biggest social media platform, with over 250 million monthly active users in the United States alone. Such numbers guarantee you a relatively higher reach compared to other platforms.
- Massive features: Facebook has the broadest range of social media ad features for small and large businesses alike. Thus, it is valuable to use all of the various features within the platform.
How To Use Facebook To Get More Power Washing Jobs
Create and populate your business page. Ideally, you want to create a separate page from your personal one for branding purposes. Fill in all of the necessary information. Also, don’t forget those catchy headers!
Step 1: Set up a business manager
Your business manager will host your ad accounts, pages, and other features. You need to set it up at the start. Then, create a Business Manager account on Facebook. You will need a business name, email address, and business page for this step.
Then, create an ad account in your manager by going to the business settings in your manager menu.
Click on "more tools."
Pick "Ad account settings," and then follow the prompts.
Step 2: Create Facebook audiences
The Facebook audiences feature will help you identify groups of people that could be interested in your offerings. Based on ideal buyer personas or existing customers, you can create a list of these groups in your business manager.
The best part of this feature is that you can use "custom audiences" to create groups with data from your business pages. This process helps when you have a specific target audience.
Similarly, the “lookalike audiences” feature can help derive lists of potential leads using the lists you have already created with external data.
Step 3: Create your campaigns
You can then create ads and campaigns in your manager.
Objectives: The platform allows you to choose from various alternatives. You must select the most appropriate metrics or you will risk ineffective campaigns. For pressure washing Facebook ads, you will want to focus on conversion-based metrics like page visits and sales.
Budget and Schedule: Your budget will depend on the chosen ad objectives reached. Ideally, sales-focused ones will cost you more than awareness-based objectives. Similarly, more specific audience choices will result in lower reach than broad audiences and, therefore, cost less.
Choosing creatives: Set up appropriate creatives for your pressure washing advertising, such as images or videos. However, keep in mind that videos have been proven to drive higher engagements and leads.
NB: Whichever creatives you go for, always use real-life footage instead of stock imagery to enhance your credibility.
3. Instagram Ads
Since Instagram and Facebook work in sync, you may consider extending your plans to Instagram to generate leads with pressure washing advertising.
Like Facebook, you can target ideal audiences based on geographical location, interests, following, etc. It also allows analytics and measurements for business pages to track your performance.
However, note that Instagram is a more visual platform than Facebook. Thus, ensure you adapt your content to better appeal to the platform's audience and generate engagement.
Instagram ads cost about $0.4-$0.7 and generate relatively high ad investment returns.
4. LinkedIn Advertising for Pressure Washing
Multiple studies show that LinkedIn advertising also has excellent potential for generating leads for your pressure washing business, as the platform helps both small and large businesses to connect with their audiences.
Furthermore, they now provide paid ad options. Ideally, this strategy is better for attracting commercial leads compared to residential.
LinkedIn ads will cost you an estimated $5.26 per click on average, which could be higher than other social platforms. However, with the potential for higher-value clients, they are still worth the cost.
How to get started with LinkedIn for pressure washing advertising?
Step 1: Set up a LinkedIn campaign manager
Similar to Facebook, your LinkedIn ads will run on a separate platform called LinkedIn Marketing Solutions. On this page, you can create an account, make an associated company page, and add your billing methods.
Step 2: Create your ad
On your campaign manager dashboard, click the call to action to create an ad, which will direct you to the appropriate page.
At this point, you will be prompted to set your objectives. The objectives vary among awareness, consideration, and conversion goals.
With objectives in play, you can then choose your ideal audience. You want to select a group of people most likely to provide results with your set goals.
Identify your format: There are multiple types of LinkedIn ads like text ads, sponsored content, message ads, etc. Choose the most appropriate one for your pressure washing business to help you achieve your set objectives.
Choose your ad placement: Where do you want your ads displayed? You can choose whether you want your ads on the LinkedIn Audience network, which generally leads to a higher reach.
Decide on your budget and schedule: Consider your average client value, target audience, and objectives to decide what will be the most feasible ad budget for your business. The smaller your audience, the less you may have to pay. Then, choose both the start and end dates for your campaign, and the platform will only charge you for the number of days it runs. Furthermore, schedule and budget more for your ads to go out at strategic hours when most of your audience is likely to see them.
Step 3: Track and Measure
You should set up conversion tracking on your campaigns to measure people's actions on your ads. It is optional, but measurement is vital for you to understand the effectiveness of your activities.
Step 4: Build your ad specifics
At this point, you can choose what type of ad you want to use for your campaign. After selecting the parameters in step 2, the platform prompts you to start building the specifics of your ad's appearance.
Choose an image or video, create a suitable headline and description, and insert the destination URL. Afterward, click "Create," and wait for the review process.
5. Gmail Sponsored Promotions for Pressure Washing
These promotions target potential leads right in their emails. They typically appear at the top of the user’s mailbox and bear the “ad” tag with a bold subject line.
Since email reportedly has a 400% average ROI, it can be an effective means to drive quality leads to your pressure washing business.
How do you set up Gmail-sponsored promotions?
Gmail-sponsored ads come under the Google Ad experience platform.
- Pick the “display ads” option.
- Choose a Gmail campaign.
- Set up your campaign type, goals, and targeting options.
Gmail-sponsored promotions are only charged every time a user clicks to open it .
Therefore, always use catchy headlines to encourage users to open and read your emails.
6. Instream Ads
Instream ads are the video ads you’ll find before or during videos on YouTube. Some appear in full-screen, others in the sidebar, and others as skippable or non-skippable videos.
The key to creating great pressure washing ads instream is to create content that interests your ideal audience. 62% of Internet users watch YouTube regularly in the US, which means it is a great avenue to reach potential leads as they watch their favorite content.
How to set up instream ads for your pressure washing business
You set up instream ads on your Google Ad account.
- Select your video campaign type.
- Set up your campaign name.
- Decide on your bid strategy and amounts.
- Decide on your budget and the corresponding duration of the ad display.
- In the networks section, decide where your ads will appear. You could place them
on videos, YouTube Search results, or a display network. - Identify your target audience and desired placements (where you want your ad to
show). - Launch your ad.
7. Local Services Ads for Pressure Washing
Chances are high that many of your potential customers are looking for local services when they input “power washing services near me." To take in all of these leads, you want to make sure your business is findable when they search the web.
Google's Local Services ads are a pay-per-lead type, similar to regular ads. These ads, however, are more exclusive since you have to thoroughly verify your business by sending several forms and completing a background check. Notably, they appear on top of search results.
Local service ads are relatively more expensive but offer greater advantages. Customers can easily find you at their point of need, thus generating more leads in a shorter time frame.
Since many customers check search engines for instant solutions and services, local service ads get almost 13% of clicks. It is, thus, an ideal ad type to consider.
8. Print Advertising for Pressure Washing
Although relatively dated and expensive, print media is a great way to do pressure washing advertising. You place ads in local papers or magazines to reach their readers.
Print advertising offers potential customers something tangible to keep, with which they can contact you later or recommend you to others. They are also helpful in generating brand awareness.
Is print advertising worth it?
Print ads in local newspapers cost upwards of $200, based on size, day, and publication type. Nevertheless, adults reportedly trust newspaper ads to be more legitimate. Thus, you are guaranteed to get more high-value leads this way.
Benefits of print advertisements
- High reach: Most publications cover a local geographical area, which means print ads are a great way to reach many potential leads.
- New customers: Print advertising targets new audiences you may not have access to online, creating the potential for new leads.
NB: The downside with print ads is that it can be challenging to measure reach and effectiveness. Not every customer will read your ad. Similarly, not everyone in the area will get a newspaper or magazine.
How to use print advertising for pressure washing
Choose publications with a large readership: You don’t want to spend on an ad that nobody will read, so try to find the most popular options. Furthermore, ensure that the chosen paper attracts your ideal audience.
Select the right ad size and placement: Your ad doesn’t need to be the biggest. It just needs to be in the right place. Plan strategically.
9. Display Ads
Display ads often appear on Google's partner websites. They typically include both media and text and are a great way to reach your audience as they consume other content.
For your pressure washing ads, you can target specific types of people that might be interested in your offerings. For example, those that have visited similar sites to yours.
How to set up display ads
Display ads follow the same setup procedures as regular paid ads. The only exception is that Google must approve your copy. But this shouldn't be an issue if you read and follow their requirements.
- Set your bid amounts to get the cost per click.
- Select relevant sites for your ads to display.
- When approved, your ad then goes live.
NB: Display ads don't get as many clickthrough’s as other PPC models. So, you want to be selective about where you place your ads. Using the right site increases the likelihood that an interested buyer will click your ad.
10. Direct Mail
Those random mails you find in your box now and then are called Direct Mail advertising. It is a physical piece of mail your target audience will receive at home.
With Direct Mail, you will have to send your deliverables to the courier and pay for them to deliver them to every house in an area of your choosing. The wider the coverage, the more you will pay.
Why use direct mail for your pressure washing ads?
Audience targeting: Direct mail helps you directly reach a niche audience faster. Plus, you are assured that they all received your ad.
Information sharing: You can send as much information as you feel the audience needs with direct mail, which is impossible on a newspaper or display ad. The downside is that many recipients might view your deliverables as junk mail and throw them away, which can be costly in the long run.
Final Thoughts
There are multiple ways to effectively execute pressure washing advertising, such as websites, testimonials, cold calling, etc.
But, paid channels have proven to be the best at generating new leads. These are some of the best strategies you can use to run paid ads for your pressure washing business.