Calls, if you always pick up
If someone always answers the phone, the ad can lead straight to a call. If not, a short form is better: the person leaves their details and you call back, quickly. An unanswered call is a customer for your competitor.
RL Ads, in development
Ads for local service businesses on Facebook, Instagram and Google
Someone looking for a plumber, an electrician or a renovation team has already decided they need one. All that's left is choosing who to call. An ad for a local service is there to make that choice you, and to make calling easy.
- Area
- Within 15 km
- Age
- 35 to 65
- Budget
- €10 a day, 14 days
- Total
- €140
Why local services are different
Some businesses have to make people want something. A local service hardly ever does: the leak is already in the ceiling, the fuse box has already tripped, the car is already dirty. The decision to buy was made before the ad showed up.
So the job changes. What matters is being first in front of people who already need you, showing you do good work and making it as easy as possible to get in touch. A ringing phone is worth more than a thousand views.
Not every service behaves the same way. A breakdown gets fixed the same day; a renovation or a solar installation is decided over weeks. With those, enquiries come in fast but the job closes slowly, so you don't judge an ad on its first month.
What works for a local service
Only a few decisions really matter, and nearly all of them are about making contact easier.
01 02 The area you actually cover
Show the ad where you take on work, no more and no less. Too wide and you pay for people you'll never serve; too narrow and the platform doesn't have enough people to learn from.
03 The finished job and the person who turns up
The before and after, work in progress, the van outside, the face of whoever will be walking into the customer's home. For a call-out service, a face matters more than anything else. Stock photos are obvious, and they cost you trust.
04 Facebook first, and Google for people searching
People hiring home services are often between 35 and 65, and that audience is mostly on Facebook. On Google, the ad shows up for people searching for the problem right then.
When to advertise
Home services follow the weather. It pays to be advertising a little before demand picks up, not only once the phone is already ringing on its own.
- Autumn
- Heating, insulation, leaks with the first rains. It's when people start thinking about their homes.
- Spring
- Building work and renovations. People plan before summer and ask for quotes in good time.
- Breakdowns
- Plumbing and electrical work have no season: what counts is showing up on the day it happens.
- Long-cycle services
- Renovations and solar call for ads that run continuously, judged by the quarter rather than the week.
As a starting budget, local services often begin with €8 to €12 a day. It's your call, and the total always appears before anything is published.
The mistakes people keep making
- 01
Listing every service in one ad
Nobody reads a list. One problem, one solution, one ad: "Leak in the bathroom? We can come round this week" does more than "plumbing, electrics, painting and renovations".
- 02
Using photos that aren't yours
Stock images are spotted at once and make your business look like everyone else's. Your real work, even shot on a phone, shows you exist and that you do it well.
- 03
Not calling back quickly
Plenty of campaigns that "don't work" are bringing in enquiries nobody calls back in time. People asking for a quote usually ask more than one company. Whoever calls first wins.
- 04
A form that puts people off
Ten questions before someone can ask for a quote makes them give up. A name, a phone number and one question about the job are enough to call back prepared.
- 05
Judging a renovation campaign on its first month
With high-value services, the enquiry arrives today and the job is decided weeks later. Measure it by quote requests and booked visits over a quarter.
RL Ads, in development
How RL Ads handles this for you
You tell it on your phone what you want to promote, say "more bathroom renovation enquiries in Matosinhos", and send a photo of a finished job. RL Ads does the rest, and you make the calls.
See how AI ad management works- It writes the ad in three versions, from what you said and the photo of your work.
- It suggests the area you cover, the age range and the budget, and shows you the total before anything is spent.
- It only publishes once you tap Approve, with your account ready: card, Page and terms.
- It checks the ads every day and suggests changes, which it only makes once you agree.
- Every enquiry lands in the portal, organised, with a call-back button right there.
We've filmed building sites, car washes and fuse boxes
We run the social media and video for Querido Mudei a Casa and JP Wash Service, and built the website for Domoway. They're content and website clients, not ad clients. Working with them is how we learned what convinces people in a local service: the before and after, the work in progress and the people doing it.
Querido Mudei a Casa · Rui Pinheiro
Renovation and interior design
- Social media management
- Photography and video
Work in progress, before and after, and the team in action, filmed on site and posted on Instagram and Facebook.
@querido_rui_pinheiro: Querido Mudei a Casa · Rui Pinheiro
JP Wash Service
Car wash and detailing
- Social media management
Content focused on the before and after of every wash and detail, made to reach the local audience.
@jpwashservice_: JP Wash Service
Domoway
Electrical, home automation and solar
- Website development
A website presenting the company's services, built to showcase what they offer and make quote requests easy.
domoway.pt: Domoway
Questions from local service businesses
Should I ask for calls or use a form?
It depends on whether you can always pick up. If someone is on the phone during the day, calls are the shortest route to the job. If you're on site and can't answer, a short form is better: the person leaves their details and you call back as fast as you can.
How much should I spend on ads?
That's up to you. A common starting point is €8 to €12 a day, and RL Ads shows you the total before publishing. For high-value services like renovations or solar, it's worth thinking about what a new customer is worth to you, not just the cost of each enquiry.
Can I use before-and-after photos?
Yes, and they tend to be among the ones that work best. Use your own real jobs, and ask the customer's permission when their home is shown.
Which area should I target?
The area where you take on work. Too wide wastes money on people you'll never serve; too narrow leaves the platform with too few people to learn from. RL Ads suggests the area and you adjust it before approving.
What if the enquiries I get aren't any good?
First check you're calling back quickly: any enquiry looks bad after two days of silence. Then change the ad rather than the audience: a clearer offer and photos of your own work filter people better than any setting.
Keep reading
AI ad management, without losing control.
Say what you want to promote and AI builds the ad for Facebook, Instagram and Google. You approve before you spend. In development: join the waitlist.
RL AdsAds for restaurants
Bookings and messages, with the food front and centre and a small radius.
Photography and video
We film the work on site, so your ads show what you really do.
- AI ad management
How much do Facebook and Instagram ads cost in Portugal?
There's no fixed price: you set the budget, per day or in total. The minimum that makes sense, what you control and how to start small.
7 min readRead guide - AI ad management
Why aren't my ads bringing in leads?
Wrong objective, weak creative, the wrong area, a form that puts people off, changes made too early or an unclear offer. What to do about each.
8 min readRead guide
In development
Want to try it in your business?
Leave your email, with your sector already selected. We'll send you a message when RL Ads launches.