Google Ads for Locksmiths. Is It Worth It?

Is running Google Ads for a locksmith company a smart investment?

In this article, I’ll break down the cost, potential returns, and key factors that will determine whether Google Ads is the right choice for a locksmith company.

So let’s get started.

Real Expectations for Locksmith Companies Using Google Ads

Google Ads for Locksmiths. Is It Worth It?

So, If you’re a locksmith company or you are managing a Google Ads account for a locksmith company, I’m going to show you what you can expect realistically, and you can see for yourself whether it’s worth it to advertise on Google for a locksmith company.

So we’re in our Google Ads dashboard, and this is my manager account, and as you can see, for the last 30 days, this account is showing 578 phone calls and more than a thousand conversions.

You can see the conversion rate as well, which means one out of five clicks we get is recorded as a conversion. This manager account can include different local service businesses, and their main goal is to generate as many phone calls as possible.

By the way, this conversion number and phone call number can be different because this conversion can include form submissions, and it can also include phone call button clicks.

You can see for yourself what you can expect from Google Ads if you’re running a locksmith company.

The Power of Search Intent in Google Ads for Locksmiths

So let’s see an example.

Let’s say we’ve done a Google search, and here we have searched “locksmith near me,” and I found one sponsored ad which has a call extension.

With Google Search Ads, you can find high-intent users, unlike Facebook or Instagram ads where they can scroll the feed.

Let’s say they have seen your ad—they may not be high-intent users because at that time they were not searching for your service specifically. They were just browsing the app, and they don’t have buyer intent, which means they may not be the qualified customers you’re searching for.

Why Google Search Ads Beat Facebook and Display for Locksmith Businesses?

But if you’re running ads on Google, on the other hand, when they search on Google, that means at that time they’re looking for your service, and if you show up on Google and they can click on your ad and call your business, or they can directly call from the ad, there is a very, very high chance that you can convert that customer if your business offers what they’re looking for.

So there is a big difference with Google Search Ads and other platforms because Google Search Ads can show up at the right place and at the right time.

Google Ads can also show up on other platforms—let’s say for display and YouTube—but I’m talking specifically about Google Search Ads because YouTube can also show your ads to users who might not be searching for your service at that specific time.

Or with display ads, let’s say they might be browsing other websites and you can see banners showing your ads. They might be reading the news and they might not be interested in contacting your business.

But with Google Search Ads, they’re specifically looking for your service, and if you show your ad to them, there is a very, very high chance that they can contact your business. So that makes a big difference.

So let’s see what you can expect in terms of numbers.

Understanding Conversion Rates and Their Impact

So how many phone calls do you want per day from Google Ads?

Do you want five phone calls per day, 10 phone calls per day, or 20 phone calls per day?

Depending on that, we can calculate the numbers. So let’s say we want five phone calls per day.

If you want to get five phone calls per day with a 10% conversion rate, you need to get 50 clicks.

Conversion rate means out of all the clicks you’re getting, how many percentage are converting as phone calls.

So here I’m putting 10% conversion rate, but this should be the worst-case scenario. If you are getting less than a 10% conversion rate with a locksmith business, that means you must be doing something wrong.

Either there must be something wrong with your ads, keywords, or your landing page. But there must be something wrong.

You can easily expect to get 20 to 25% conversion rate if you’re running a locksmith business. Here we are putting the worst-case scenario as 10%, and with 20% conversion rate, to get five phone calls you should be getting 25 clicks.

That means with two times fewer clicks you can get the same number of phone calls, and that means you need to increase the quality over quantity.

If the quality of the campaigns in Google Ads or the quality of your landing page is really good, you can expect to get a high percentage of conversion rate. In the locksmith industry, on certain days, you can even get 30%, 50% conversion rate.

Using Keyword Research Tools to Estimate CPC

Now let’s calculate how much it would cost to get 50 clicks or 25 clicks.

To know that, we need to have keyword research tools. We can use the inbuilt Google Ads Keyword Planner tool, or the second way—if you don’t have a Google Ads account—we can use other tools.

In this example, we can use WordStream tool. So I’m going to start with that option, and then I’m going to show you how to make research with Google Ads Keyword Planner tool.

So let me show you that.

You can search any other online tool, but this is an example: wordstream.com/keywords.

This is the tool, and here you need to add your keyword. Our target keyword would be “locksmith near me” and click on “Find My Keywords.”

Here you can choose keywords as countrywide targeting, and you cannot choose keywords based on cities or smaller locations. Once we’ve added that, click on “Continue,”

and these are the numbers you can see.

So top of page with low range can start from $3.93 and can go up to $16.27.

As you can see, these numbers can be different depending on the type of keywords. Certain keywords can have different top-of-page low ranges and high ranges.

Overall, you can see and get an idea of the prices of the keywords.

Getting More Accurate Data with Google Keyword Planner

Now let’s go and see the keywords with Google Keyword Planner.

So we need to go to “Tools” and under “Planning,” go to “Keyword Planner” and click on “Discover New Keywords.”

Once you’re here, you need to put your target keyword, which is “locksmith near me.” Why are we putting “locksmith near me”?

Because this has higher intent, rather than putting any generic terms like “locksmith,” “locksmith services.” We’re putting a higher-intent keyword, which is “locksmith near me.”

After we’ve added one keyword—I think that would be enough—but in your case, you can also add two or three more keywords with the highest intent. After that, click on “Get Results.”

As you can see, our average monthly searches, top of page with high range, and top of page with low range. Depending on the keyword, you can see there are trends—whether it has got higher or lower—and other data.

As I’ve told you, we’re using countrywide targeting, and if you are located in a specific city and you want to serve in a certain location, you can change the location here.

In our case, we’re going to be targeting a specific location, and this countrywide targeting may not be as accurate because the numbers can be different depending on their location.

So we’re going to click on this pencil icon at the upper section of the screen and change the location.

Rather than using the whole country, we’re going to be choosing a specific location. So here, as an example, let’s say we’re going to choose New York, and we’re going to click on “Include,” and after that, click on “Save.”

So these numbers are specifically for New York, and you can get an idea of the cost-per-click data for the keywords.

So for “locksmith near me,” let’s say you can expect from $3.50 up to $15.87.

For different keywords—let’s say “auto locksmith near me”—you can expect from $2.91 up to $9.48.

So let’s say, on average, how much we can expect—from $4 up to $15. To be eligible to participate in most of the auctions, we can bid between these ranges.

Let’s say we’re going to bid $8 per keyword, and we’re going to be above these top-of-page low ranges in most of the keywords. That should give us some impressions and clicks.

Of course, if they won’t give you enough traffic, you can slowly increase the cost-per-click limit depending on your situation and location.

But based on the data we can see from here, that should give us some number of impressions and clicks for these keywords.

Here, as you can see, there are 1,500 keywords, and we can go through the keywords and get those keywords and use them in our campaign.

Cost and Profit Breakdown Per Phone Call

So let’s say the average cost-per-click we’re going to bid for our keywords is $8.

So 50 clicks with an average cost-per-click of $8 would cost us $400, and 25 clicks would cost us $200. You can see the numbers can be different based on your conversion rate.

Let’s calculate the cost of each phone call. So let’s say one phone call is going to cost you $80 if you’re going to get a 10% conversion rate, and one phone call is going to cost you $40 if you’re going to get a 20% conversion rate.

In the locksmith industry, the conversion rate can be much higher. As I told you, it can be 25%, 30%, and even 50% on certain days. Here I’m trying to be more realistic and not trying to exaggerate things with Google Ads.

Let’s calculate how much profit you can make. So with a 10% conversion rate, that one phone call may not always convert as a lead.

One phone call might be a missed call, or they might be looking for other companies, or they may not be interested in your services. So we can consider that factor as well.

Let’s say 30% of those phone calls are low-quality. We’re going to include that in the price.

So $80, and 30% of that is going to be around, let’s say, $26, and one lead is going to cost you $106 with a 10% conversion rate.

Here, with a 20% conversion rate, $40 is our original phone call price, and 30% of that is going to be around $13. So $53 is going to be the cost of one lead.

Again, we’re assuming that 30% of the total phone calls are going to be low-quality or unqualified, and that’s going to give us $53 cost per phone call.

Calculating Profit From Running Google ads for Locksmiths

Let’s say on average you charge $150 from your clients.

It can depend on your services—let’s say for car locksmith services, it can be much higher; for generic locksmith services, it can be lower.

But on average, let’s say $150. If you’re going to calculate that, for a 10% conversion rate, it’s going to give us $44 profit from Google Ads, and with a 20% conversion rate, it’s going to give us $97 profit from Google Ads.

After that, you can also calculate your other expenses, but this is the number or the profit you can expect from Google Ads.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

That’s how you can calculate your numbers, and I’m trying to be more realistic. The numbers can be different depending on your location, the type of keyword you’re choosing, and many other factors like your bid strategies.

But that’s an overall high-level overview of what you can expect if you’re a locksmith business or managing accounts of other locksmith businesses and want to calculate the numbers and know what you can expect if you want to run Google Ads.

So guys if you want my help to generate phone calls to your business with Google Ads, you can also contact me by visiting my website. Otherwise, thank you guys for reading this article.