The Challenge
Good business, broken ad setup
When John's Tree Service came to Advntage, they were already a well-established operation in the Binghamton market — experienced crew, strong reviews, solid word-of-mouth. The problem was their paid media was working against them.
Their Google Ads account had been running on broad match keywords for years, bleeding budget on irrelevant searches like "tree identification apps" and "DIY stump grinding." No negative keyword lists. No conversion tracking set up correctly. Bids were being managed manually with no data to support them.
On Meta, there were no campaigns at all — a completely untapped channel for a business with strong visual work to show.
Before Advntage
- Broad match keywords only — massive wasted spend
- No negative keyword lists in place
- Manual CPC bidding with no conversion data
- Conversion tracking misconfigured — double-counting leads
- Zero Meta presence
- No retargeting of any kind
- No dedicated landing page — traffic sent to homepage
After Advntage
- Tightly structured exact + phrase match campaigns
- 200+ negative keywords added day one
- Maximize Conversions with Target CPA bidding
- Clean conversion tracking — calls, forms, LSA leads all counted correctly
- Full Meta funnel with seasonal creative
- Retargeting across website visitors and form abandoners
- Dedicated conversion-optimized landing pages
What We Did
A full rebuild, not a tune-up
Rather than patching the existing account, we rebuilt it from scratch. The original campaign structure was too broken to salvage — the data it had accumulated was unreliable, and the keyword match types were so broad that the algorithm had learned entirely the wrong behavior.
New campaign structure built around high-intent tree service keywords — removal, trimming, stump grinding, and emergency services. Tightly themed ad groups, new RSA copy written around local intent signals, and Maximize Conversions bidding with a $40 Target CPA.
Layered on top of Search to capture demand across Display, YouTube, and Maps. Asset groups built around tree removal, seasonal cleanups, and storm damage response. Audience signals seeded with customer lists and search converters.
2.1×
Reach vs Search alone
Set up and fully optimized Google Guaranteed LSA profile. Managed review velocity, dispute resolution, and weekly budget pacing. LSA now drives a consistent volume of zero-friction phone calls at a flat cost per lead.
Launched from zero. Built a full awareness-to-conversion funnel: video creative from job site footage for cold audiences, carousel ads for service highlights, and a dedicated retargeting campaign re-engaging website visitors and form abandoners within 30 days.
How It Unfolded
Month-by-month progress
01
Month 1
Audit, Rebuild & Launch
Full account audit completed. Existing campaigns paused. New Search campaigns built from scratch with 200+ negative keywords, new RSAs, and proper conversion tracking via GTM. LSA profile claimed and optimized. Meta account created and first campaigns launched. Dedicated landing pages built for Google and Facebook traffic.
02
Month 2
Optimization & Expansion
Bidding strategy shifted to Maximize Conversions as clean conversion data accumulated. Search term reports mined weekly — 40+ additional negative keywords added. Meta creative refreshed after first month of testing data. Performance Max campaign launched alongside Search.
03
Month 3+
Scale & Consistent Results
All four channels running concurrently. Retargeting campaigns driving warm leads back into the funnel. Lead volume stabilized above 100/month. CPL held consistently at $35 blended across channels. Weekly reports delivered and dashboard updated. Seasonal budget adjustments made ahead of spring surge.