It can be challenging to maintain profitability when running Google Ads for a junk removal company because of fierce competition, wasted clicks, and growing expenses.  However, you can produce reliable, reasonably priced leads that expand your company with the correct approach.

We're dissecting an actual Google Ads campaign we managed for a junk removal customer in a cutthroat metropolitan area in this blog post.  We spent $5,000 over 60 days, produced 176 high-quality leads, and nearly halved their cost per lead while maintaining a constant call volume.  Continue reading to find out how we did it.

Table of Contents

From $50 Leads to $28 Leads: The Campaign Overview

With their prior agency, this junk removal company was paying about $50 per lead when they came to Max Conversion.  We regularly reduced their cost per lead (CPL) to just $28 after reorganizing their campaigns, almost doubling their monthly lead volume without raising their budget.

“They were spending the same amount of budget and getting almost double the leads compared to their old campaigns. This is exactly what you want to see when you optimize properly.” - Kyle, Max Conversion

Here’s what the results looked like over 60 days:

• Ad Spend: $5,000
  
• Total Leads: 176 (form submissions + phone calls)
  
• Clicks: 727
  
• Average Cost Per Lead: $28
  
  

This is the kind of improvement that can make a major difference for service businesses running PPC campaigns.

The Campaign Structure That Drove Results

In order to enhance performance and data collection, we swiftly combined all of our initial multi-campaign setups across several counties into a single primary campaign.  As a result, Google's algorithm was able to optimize more quickly, which improved our budget management.

Dedicated Landing Page

Instead of sending traffic to the main website, we built a dedicated landing page focused solely on lead generation. This kept distractions low and improved conversion rates significantly.

• Click-Through Rate (CTR): 12–16% depending on the ad group
  
• Conversion Rate: Around 20%
  
• CPL: Averaged $22–28 across core services
  

Smart Bidding & Manual CPC Testing

We experimented with both manual CPC bidding and Target CPA bidding, which is our standard method.  Unexpectedly, manual CPC fared marginally better in this instance, demonstrating the value of experimenting to determine the most economical strategy.

Keyword Strategy: Exact Match Wins

To maintain high traffic quality, we placed a lot of emphasis on exact match keywords.  Exact match keywords consistently generated the highest CPL, while phrase match keywords were used sparingly for extra volume.

Some of the core terms included:

• Junk removal near me
  
• Hauling services
  
• Furniture removal services
  
  

Because phrase match has become broader in recent years, exact match helped us avoid irrelevant searches and wasted ad spend.

Negative Keywords: The Secret Weapon

One of the biggest contributors to success was an extensive negative keyword list over 550 terms.

This prevented wasted clicks on:

• Competitor brand names
  
• Garbage or recycling pickup searches
  
• Government-subsidized waste collection queries
  
• Mattress or single-item removal (low-profit services for most junk haulers)
  
  

“If you’re running phrase match or broad match, you need a very strong negative keyword list. Otherwise, you’ll pay for calls from people looking for free garbage pickup and those calls won’t convert.” - Kyle, Max Conversion

Key Takeaways for Junk Removal PPC Campaigns

The following are the main lessons you can learn from this case study if you manage Google Ads for a junk removal company:

1. Make Use of Specific Landing Pages Conversion optimization is lacking on your homepage. Just one service and one call to action.
2. Pay Attention to Exact Match Keywords Limit the display of ads to high-intent searches to save money.
3. Create a Huge List of Negative Keywords: Quit wasting money on pointless clicks and perplexing calls.
4. Don't just set and forget; test your bidding strategy. To determine which offers a higher CPL, compare Target CPA and manual CPC.
5. Track Only Calls and Forms Site visits and email opens should not be considered conversions. Maintain clean data.

Your cost per lead and total return on ad spend can be significantly increased by implementing these actions.

Final Thoughts

With the correct combination of campaign structure, landing pages, bidding strategy, and keyword optimization, it is possible to increase lead volume while lowering cost per lead.  The campaign's outcomes demonstrate that, with a strong PPC strategy, junk removal businesses can thrive even in cutthroat markets.

Schedule a Free Strategy Call with Max Conversion if you need assistance enhancing your Google Ads performance.