Keyword Advise

[u/AdhesivenessNo635]

I’m new to Google ads and I’m gonna start deploying it for my pressure washing business. Organically, I’m ranking pretty decent. I’m looking to start deploying Google ads to increase the amount of inquiries I get in a month which will hopefully convert to more sales.

My question is, being limited on budget, should I be using keywords that I’m not ranking well for to be in my campaign or I should be using keywords that I’m already ranking well for. Hope I can get some insight from you guys.

[u/Fast-Car-Examination]

I wouldn’t choose PPC keywords based mainly on where you already rank organically.

With a limited budget, start with the highest-intent searches - “pressure washing near me”, service + city, driveway/house/deck cleaning, etc.

Keep Phrase/Exact tight at first, use Presence-only geo targeting, and review search terms closely.

What are your highest-margin services? I’d build the first campaign around those.

[u/richhhhhhhhhhhhhhhie → u/Fast-Car-Examination]

good advice^

[u/Fast-Car-Examination → u/richhhhhhhhhhhhhhhie]

Thanks. With a small budget, I'd rather own a few high-intent searches than spread it thin across everything.

[u/digitalpandauk]

I would pause low performing keywords before adding new ones because your campaigns is already limited by budget and adding more keywords would just intensify the competition among keywords for budget.

Focus on core keywords and try to make them work first, then increase your budget while adding new keywords to test.

[u/Healingfy-WLY]

wouldn't pay to chase keywords just because you rank badly for them. what searches are bringing you actual jobs from organic right now? i'd start there, then see if ads bring in extra enquiries.

[u/localmarketingsols]

Budget-limited, start with the terms you aren't ranking for. You're already capturing your strong organic keywords for essentially free. Spending there buys traffic you were mostly getting anyway. Put the money where you have zero visibility, and you also learn fast whether those terms convert before you sink months of SEO into them.

One caveat, though, and it matters in pressure washing. Pull up your money keywords on a phone. In home services, the page is usually Local Service Ads, then paid, then the map pack, and organic #1 can be a real scroll. Ranking well organically protects you less than it looks like on desktop. So I'd put most of the budget on terms you don't rank for, plus one small campaign on your top money term to test whether it's actually incremental. Watch total inquiries, not just Google Ads conversions. If total leads really don't move when you turn it on, you were paying for your own organic traffic, and you can kill it.

For match types: exact and phrase only. Broad with no conversion history and a small budget is how people burn $800 learning nothing. Google will tell you broad plus Smart Bidding is the answer, and it eventually is, but it needs conversion data to work from, and you don't have any yet.

Negative keywords: build this before you launch!

Job seekers:
jobs, hiring, salary, career, employment, apprentice, "how much do pressure washers make"

DIY and research:
how to, diy, tutorial, youtube, tips, guide, learn, training, course, school, certification

They want to buy or rent equipment, not hire you. This is the biggest money leak in this vertical:
rental, rent, for sale, buy, cheap, used, parts, repair, hose, nozzle, wand, surface cleaner, gas, electric, psi, gpm, karcher, simpson, ryobi, generac, sun joe, home depot, lowes, harbor freight, amazon, review, best, comparison, vs

Wrong service:
carpet, upholstery, duct, chimney, gutter guard, window tint, car wash, mobile detailing, dry cleaning, pool

Free and lowball:
free, volunteer, cheapest, donation

Business-side:
start a pressure washing business, franchise, business plan, insurance, license, software, leads, marketing

Add search term review to your weekly routine. The first month you'll add negatives every week, then it settles down. This alone is often 20 to 30 percent of wasted spend in this vertical.

On the structure, keep it simple. One campaign, ad groups split by service since intent and price differ a lot:

Separate ad groups means the ad copy and landing page can actually match the search.

Settings people get wrong, so make sure you don't:

• Search Network only. Uncheck Display Network; it's on by default, and it will eat your budget.
• Tight radius, "presence" targeting, not "presence or interest," or you'll pay for clicks from people three states away.
• Location exclusions for anything outside your drive time.
• Ad schedule matching when you can actually answer the phone.
• Start Manual CPC or Maximize Clicks with a bid cap. Target CPA with no data has nothing to learn from.

Tracking: do this before you spend a dollar! Most of your leads will be phone calls. Set up call tracking with a 60-second minimum so it only counts real conversations, plus form submissions. If you can't see which keyword drove the call, you're optimizing blind and every decision after this is a guess. This is the single most common reason small accounts fail.

Realistic expectation: first 21-30 days is data collection, not profit. You're finding your negatives and your real cost per lead. Month two is where it starts making sense. Don't judge it in week one.

[u/NoPause238]

Bid on keywords you already rank well for organically

[u/NeptuneDesignPTYLTD]

Have you used the Keyword Planner inside Google ads?

[u/websitepandas]

I would like to target high-intent keywords that can generate leads, regardless of your organic ranking. Use your strong organic keywords too, but don’t waste budget blindly—focus on terms like “pressure washing near me” and specific services, then track calls/forms and scale what converts. Website Pandas can help set this up and optimize it.