I talk with paving contractors every week who tell me the same thing: “We tried Google Ads and it was a waste of money.”
Here’s the thing, Google made over $237 billion from ads in 2023. That money came from somewhere, and a lot of it came from businesses getting real results. The difference between contractors who waste money and contractors who keep their crews busy comes down to how the campaigns are set up and managed.
Most contractors I work with have never been trained on Google Ads. They set up a campaign based on what Google recommends, let it run for a few months, watch their budget disappear, and then shut it down. Google’s interface pushes you toward options that maximize Google’s revenue, not necessarily your results.
Here are the five biggest mistakes I see paving contractors make with Google Ads, and what to do instead.
1. Sending Traffic to Your Homepage
When someone searches “asphalt driveway contractor near me” and clicks your ad, where should they land? Most contractors send them to the homepage.
That’s a problem. Your homepage talks about everything you do—asphalt paving, sealcoating, striping, maybe concrete work. It has your company story, links to your services, photos from different types of projects. There’s a contact form somewhere, probably in the footer.
The person who clicked your ad doesn’t want options. They want to know if you can pave their driveway, how much it costs, and how to get a quote. Every extra click, every piece of irrelevant information, gives them a reason to leave and check out your competitor.
A landing page focused on the specific service they searched for converts better because it removes distractions. You’re talking directly to their need. The page explains what’s involved in asphalt driveway installation, shows relevant photos, answers common questions, and makes it easy to request a quote. You might include a phone number in multiple places, a simple form, maybe a cost calculator.
I’ve seen landing pages convert at 15-25% while the same traffic sent to a homepage converts at 5-8%. That difference matters when you’re paying $5-10 per click in competitive markets. Better conversion rates also improve your Quality Score over time, which lowers your cost per click.
If you’re running ads for both asphalt paving and sealcoating, you need separate landing pages for each service. Match the ad to the landing page to the search intent.
2. Running Performance Max Campaigns
Google will push you hard toward Performance Max campaigns. They’ll tell you it uses AI to optimize across all their networks—Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, everything. They’ll say it’s easier because you don’t have to manage individual campaigns.
For paving contractors, Performance Max is usually a bad idea.
The problem is control. Performance Max spreads your budget across Google’s entire network based on what their algorithm thinks will convert. In practice, that means a chunk of your budget goes to Display ads (banner ads on random websites) and YouTube pre-roll ads. Someone scrolling through a recipe blog or watching a video about fishing isn’t looking for a paving contractor right now.
Paving is a high-intent service. People search for it when they need it, not when they’re browsing the internet for entertainment. You want to show up when someone types “asphalt paving contractor” or “driveway repair near me” into Google. That’s Search campaign territory.
Search campaigns give you control over keywords, ad copy, and when you show up. You can see exactly which search terms triggered your ads and add negative keywords to prevent waste. You can adjust bids based on what’s actually working. With Performance Max, you get much less visibility into where your money goes.
I’ve run both for paving contractors. Search campaigns consistently deliver better cost per lead and higher quality leads. The people calling from Search campaigns are ready to talk about their project. The people who saw a Display ad somewhere usually aren’t.
Stick with Search campaigns. Add Google Local Services Ads if you want more visibility. Skip Performance Max unless you have money to burn and want to help Google hit their quarterly numbers.
3. Setting It and Forgetting It
Google Ads requires active management, especially in the first few months. I’ve talked to contractors who set up a campaign, let it run for three months without touching it, and then complained about poor results.
Here’s what happens when you don’t manage campaigns: You waste money on keywords that don’t convert. Your ads show up for irrelevant searches. Your bids stay the same even though some keywords perform better than others. Your cost per click creeps up because you’re not optimizing for Quality Score.
In the first month of a new campaign, plan to spend 30-45 minutes every few days reviewing performance. Look at your Search Terms report to see what actual searches triggered your ads. You’ll find things like “asphalt driveway cost” or “how long does asphalt last”—those are research queries from people not ready to hire anyone. Add them as negative keywords.
You’ll also find commercial searches that convert well. Increase bids on those. Lower bids on keywords that get clicks but no calls. Pause keywords that eat budget without producing results.
After the first month, you can review weekly. Check which ads are performing best and pause underperformers. Look at geographic data to see if certain areas convert better. Adjust your budget based on what’s working.
The contractors who get results from Google Ads treat it like an investment that needs attention, not a set-it-and-forget-it marketing tool. If you don’t have time to manage it yourself, hire someone who knows what they’re doing. But don’t just let campaigns run on autopilot and expect good results.
4. No Conversion Tracking
I’ve talked to contractors who spent $5,000 on Google Ads and couldn’t tell me how many leads they got or whether any converted to jobs. They knew people clicked their ads—Google shows you that—but they had no idea what happened after someone reached their website.
Without conversion tracking, you’re flying blind. You don’t know which keywords produce leads. You don’t know if your landing pages work. You can’t calculate cost per lead or return on ad spend. You’re just hoping something good happens.
Set up conversion tracking from day one. At minimum, track phone calls and form submissions. Google provides call tracking numbers you can use. Install the Google Ads conversion tracking code on your website so you know when someone fills out a contact form after clicking an ad.
Beyond that, track what happens to those leads. You don’t need fancy CRM software—a simple spreadsheet works. Every time someone calls or submits a form, log it. Note the date, their project type, whether you gave them a quote, and whether they became a customer. Track the job value.
At the end of each month, add up your ad spend and compare it to the revenue from jobs that originated from Google Ads. If you spent $2,000 and landed $45,000 in work, that’s a good return. If you spent $3,000 and landed one $4,000 job, you need to fix something.
Conversion tracking also helps you optimize. If “asphalt driveway repair” produces twice as many leads as “residential paving” at half the cost, shift more budget to the first keyword. You can only make those decisions when you track what’s actually working.
5. No Sales Process for Cold Leads
Here’s a scenario I hear often: A contractor runs Google Ads, gets some calls, emails out a few quotes, and then wonders why nobody hired them. “They were all tire kickers,” they say. “Internet leads are garbage.”
The problem isn’t the leads. The problem is treating cold traffic like warm referrals.
When someone finds you through Google Ads, they don’t know your company. They haven’t heard of you from a neighbor or seen your trucks around town. They’re comparing you against every other paving contractor they can find online. You’re one of five companies they’re getting quotes from.
That means you need to sell them on why they should choose you. Email a quote and disappear? You’ll lose to the contractor who calls to discuss the project, explains the process, addresses their concerns, and follows up.
Here’s what a basic sales process looks like: When someone calls or fills out a form, respond quickly—within an hour if possible. Have a conversation about their project. Ask questions about timeline, budget, what they want. Go see the site if it’s a significant project. Send a detailed quote that explains what you’re doing and why, not just a number on a page.
Then follow up. Call three days later to see if they have questions. Send an email a week later if you haven’t heard back. Check in again two weeks after that. Most paving projects don’t happen immediately—people need time to make decisions, get financing, wait for weather. The contractor who stays in touch without being annoying usually gets the job.
I worked with a contractor who complained that Google Ads leads never closed. We looked at his process. He was emailing quotes with no follow-up. We implemented a simple follow-up sequence—three touchpoints over two weeks—and his close rate on Google Ads leads went from about 10% to 28%. Same leads, different process.
Google Ads can work well for paving contractors, but only if you’re willing to do it right. That means sending people to focused landing pages, running the right campaign types, actively managing performance, tracking conversions, and having a process to close cold leads. Skip any of those steps and you’re probably wasting money.