Quick answer: Painting had the highest cost per click of any trade in LocaliQ’s 2025 home-services data (about $13.74). That means painters must be precise on Google, lean on visual Facebook and Instagram ads, and win on quick, professional quotes.
Painting jobs are easy to visualise and easy to compare, so homeowners shop around. The painter who looks most professional and responds fastest usually wins, often regardless of price.
What ads cost for painters
| Benchmark | Avg. cost per click | Conversion rate | Avg. cost per lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Search: Home & Home Improvement | $8.33 | 8.05% | $90.92 |
| Google Search: Paint & Painting (LocaliQ 2025) | $13.74 | n/a | n/a |
| Facebook and Instagram lead ads: Home & Home Improvement | $2.23 | 5.22% | $41.26 |
With clicks around $13.74, a painting campaign that attracts DIY or job-seeker searches wastes money very quickly. Tight keywords, strong negatives and scheduling ads for business hours make a big difference.
Which channel to start with
Recommended mix:
- Google Search with exact and phrase match on service + location
- Facebook and Instagram before-and-after reels of real jobs, targeted to homeowners nearby
- Google Business Profile with project photos added weekly
- Remarketing to quote-page visitors
Google Ads keywords for painters
Separate interior, exterior, commercial and specialist work.
- “house painters near me”, “interior painter”, “exterior house painting”
- “commercial painting contractor”, “strata painting”
- “roof painting”, “deck staining”, “wallpaper hanging”
- “painting quote”, “cost to paint a house”
Negative keywords to add on day one
jobs, apprentice, course, paint colours, paint shop, how to, DIY, spray gun, art, canvas, face painting, free.
More on this in negative keywords explained and choosing keywords.
Example ads you can adapt
What the landing page needs
- Large gallery of your own before-and-after work
- Paint brands you use and guarantee details
- What the process looks like (prep, protection, clean-up)
- Quote form with photo upload
- Reviews mentioning tidiness and punctuality
Full list: landing page checklist.
Track the right things
- Quote requests and calls
- Quotes accepted per campaign
- Average job value by campaign
Platform rules that apply to painters
- Standard category on Google and Meta. Use your own photos; don’t present stock or competitors’ work as yours.
- If you run hiring ads for painters on Meta, those are employment ads under Special Ad Categories.
Common mistakes
- Broad keywords like “paint” that pull in retail shoppers
- No photos of real work
- Slow quoting (homeowners book whoever quotes first)
- Ads running at night with no one to call back
How much to spend
Work backwards from the number of enquiries you can handle. Monthly budget ≈ target leads × expected cost per lead. At the Home & Home Improvement average of $90.92 per lead, 20 leads a month is roughly $1,818 in ad spend before management fees.
Because clicks are expensive, many painters start with $1,500 to $3,000 a month and rely on Facebook and Instagram for cheaper awareness.
Frequently asked questions
Why are Google Ads clicks so expensive for painters?
Painting is competitive and easy to enter, so many businesses bid on the same terms. LocaliQ’s 2025 data shows painting with the highest click cost of the trades it measured.
What Facebook ads work for painters?
Short before-and-after videos of real local jobs, with a clear quote offer.
How do I win more quotes?
Respond within an hour, send a clear written quote with photos, and follow up twice.
Sources
- WordStream by LocaliQ: 2026 Google Ads benchmarks (13,474 US search campaigns, Apr 2025 to Mar 2026)
- LocaliQ 2025 Home Services search benchmarks, trade-level figures as summarised by Webtonic
- WordStream by LocaliQ: Facebook ads benchmarks 2025 (lead campaigns)
- Meta for Developers: Special Ad Categories (housing, employment, financial products and services)
Want a second opinion on your painting ads? Get a free ad review and you will get a short written breakdown of what to fix first.
Written by Gregory
20 years building websites and running lead generation, mostly with my own money on the line. Based in Sydney, working with clients worldwide. How I work →