Case Studies — Gunpowder Marketing
Our Work

Real strategies. Real results.

See exactly how Gunpowder Marketing approaches Google Ads, SEO, and Google Business Profile optimization for home service contractors — and the kind of results those strategies produce.

Note:  The following case studies illustrate our methodology and the results our strategies are designed to produce. Business names and identifying details have been changed. Figures reflect realistic outcomes based on industry benchmarks and our approach.

Sample Engagements

Roofing · Google Ads + GBP

Residential Roofing Contractor

12-year roofing company invisible online, losing jobs to competitors who simply showed up first on Google.
4.1x
Return on ad spend
31
Leads / month
4.8★
GBP rating
View case study
HVAC · SEO + GBP

Family-Owned HVAC Company

18-year HVAC operation outranked by national chains in every local search category that mattered.
312%
Organic traffic increase
#1
Map pack ranking
22
New reviews / 90 days
View case study
Plumbing · Google Ads + SEO

Solo Plumber

One-man operation spending $1,200/mo on Angi with no way to track ROI or own his leads.
-61%
Cost per lead
3.2x
More booked jobs
100%
Lead ownership
View case study
Electrical · Full-Service

Licensed Electrical Contractor

Established electrician with strong word-of-mouth but zero digital presence or review strategy.
47
Leads / month
5.0★
GBP rating
$38
Cost per lead
View case study
Case Study 01

Residential Roofing Contractor

A family-owned roofing company with 12 years in business but virtually no online presence. Leads came almost entirely from referrals and door knocking. The owner was losing bids to competitors he'd never heard of — companies that simply showed up first on Google.
Google Ads GBP Optimization Call Tracking
4.1x
Return on ad spend at 90 days
31
Qualified leads per month
$54
Average cost per lead
4.8★
GBP rating (up from 3.2)
The Problem

Strong reputation, zero visibility

This roofer had excellent craftsmanship and a loyal customer base, but their Google Business Profile was unclaimed, their website hadn't been updated in years, and they had only 4 Google reviews — all unresponded to.

Competitors were running Google Local Services Ads and dominating the map pack. Every time a homeowner nearby searched "roof repair near me," this contractor didn't exist online.

The owner was spending $800/month on Angi leads — but couldn't tell which ones actually converted or what his true cost per job was.

Brand Scan Findings

Issue

GBP unclaimed — competitors showing in the map pack for every high-intent roofing keyword in the service area.

Issue

No call tracking in place. Zero visibility into which marketing channels were driving actual phone calls.

Issue

Website loading at 6.2 seconds on mobile. 78% of roofing searches happen on smartphones — slow load means lost leads.

Opportunity

Strong offline reputation with zero review capture strategy. 12 years of satisfied customers never asked to leave a Google review.

The Strategy

What we built and why

1
Week 1–2 · GBP Overhaul
Claimed and fully optimized the Google Business Profile — complete service list, 20+ photos, full service area coverage, and a review request workflow sent to past customers via text.
2
Week 2–3 · Call Tracking Setup
Installed call tracking numbers across all channels — website, GBP, and ads — so every lead source was measurable from day one.
3
Week 3–4 · Google Ads Launch
Built tightly structured campaigns targeting high-intent keywords: "roof repair near me," "roofer near me," "storm damage roof." Negative keyword list built from 200+ irrelevant terms to eliminate wasted spend.
4
Days 30–90 · Optimization
Weekly bid adjustments, search term audits, and ad copy A/B testing. Budget shifted to peak search hours (7–9am, 5–7pm) when homeowners call most.
Key Tactics
  • Google LSA applied for — pay-per-lead, not pay-per-click
  • Ad extensions: call, location, sitelink, and review extensions active
  • Landing page optimized for mobile with click-to-call above the fold
  • Review request automation: text sent 48 hours after job completion
  • Monthly GBP posts with seasonal offers and project photos
  • Angi spend reduced and reallocated to owned channels
Case Study 02

Family-Owned HVAC Company

A family-owned HVAC company with two technicians and 18 years in the business. Great service, fair prices, and zero presence in Google's local map pack. National HVAC chains and franchise operators were dominating every search term that mattered.
Local SEO GBP Optimization Reputation Mgmt
312%
Organic website traffic increase
#1
Map pack for primary HVAC keyword
22
New Google reviews in 90 days
19
Organic leads / month at 6 months
The Problem

Invisible in the map pack

When we pulled the initial Brand Scan, this HVAC company didn't appear anywhere in Google's top results for their primary service area — despite being in business longer than most of their competitors.

Their GBP profile was incomplete, their website had no location-specific pages, and they had only 7 Google reviews going back 4 years. Meanwhile, a national chain with a local franchise had 340 reviews and owned every map pack position.

Because they weren't running ads either, they were essentially invisible to any homeowner who didn't already know them by name.

Brand Scan Findings

Issue

GBP profile missing hours, service categories, and a business description. No photos uploaded. Effectively invisible to Google's ranking algorithm.

Issue

No city or neighborhood-specific pages on the website. Google had no signal that they served the surrounding towns and suburbs.

Issue

NAP (name, address, phone) inconsistent across Yelp, Angi, and the BBB — conflicting signals suppressing local rankings.

Opportunity

18-year customer base had never been asked for reviews. Estimated 200+ satisfied customers — completely untapped review potential.

The Strategy

Own the map pack, earn the reviews

1
Week 1 · Citation Cleanup
Audited and corrected NAP data across 40+ directories. Consistent name, address, and phone signals are a foundational local ranking factor Google uses for map pack placement.
2
Week 1–2 · GBP Full Buildout
Completed every section of the GBP profile: 15 service types, 30 photos, Q&A seeded with common customer questions, keyword-rich business description.
3
Week 2–4 · Website SEO
Built dedicated service-area pages for each town in their coverage area. Each page included schema markup to reinforce geographic relevance to Google.
4
Month 1–3 · Review Generation
Text-based review requests sent after every completed job. Re-engagement campaign sent to past customer list. 22 new 5-star reviews in 90 days — moved from 7 reviews to 29.
Key Tactics
  • Location-specific landing pages targeting each town in the service area
  • Schema markup (LocalBusiness, Service) for enhanced search appearance
  • Weekly GBP posts — seasonal tune-up offers, before/after photos
  • Every new review responded to within 24 hours
  • Internal linking structure rebuilt to pass authority to service pages
  • Google Search Console monitoring for ranking movement monthly
Case Study 03

Solo Plumber

A one-man plumbing operation running lean. Spending $1,200/month on Angi and HomeAdvisor leads he was sharing with 6 other plumbers, with no way to know what was actually converting into booked jobs.
Google Ads Local SEO Call Tracking
-61%
Reduction in cost per lead
3.2x
More booked jobs per month
$0
Spent on shared lead platforms
100%
Leads owned exclusively
The Problem

Renting leads vs. owning them

The core issue was lead dependency. Every job came from a platform that also sent the same lead to 5 other plumbers. The owner was racing to answer calls first, cutting prices to compete, and had no idea which jobs were actually profitable.

His Angi cost-per-lead was averaging $87 — and roughly 40% of those leads never converted. Effective cost per booked job was over $145.

The Strategy

Build owned channels, cut the dependency

We reduced Angi spend in month one and redirected the full budget into Google Ads and local SEO by month two. The goal: inbound leads that came directly to him with no competition.

  • Emergency plumbing campaigns — 24/7 scheduling extensions
  • GBP optimized for "open now" searches (critical for emergency calls)
  • Service-area pages for each neighborhood in the coverage zone
  • Call-only ads during peak hours — skip the website, call direct
  • Review request sent same day as job completion
The Outcome

More jobs, lower cost, full ownership

By month three, cost per lead dropped from $87 to $34. Booked jobs went from 9/month via Angi to 29/month from owned channels.

Month 1

Call tracking live. Angi spend cut 50%. First Google Ads campaign launched targeting emergency plumbing keywords.

Month 2

Angi cancelled. Full budget shifted to Google Ads + SEO. GBP hitting top 3 map pack for core keywords.

Month 3

29 booked jobs. CPL at $34. 18 Google reviews. Owner turned down two jobs — couldn't fit them in the schedule.

Case Study 04

Licensed Electrical Contractor

A licensed electrician with 8 years in business and a crew of three. Full schedule built entirely on word-of-mouth — but when referrals slowed seasonally, so did revenue. No digital presence, no review strategy, no way to generate leads on demand.
Google Ads GBP Optimization Local SEO Reputation Mgmt
47
Qualified leads per month at 90 days
$38
Average cost per lead
5.0★
Google rating (34 reviews)
Top 3
Map pack for 6 core keywords
The Problem

Great business, no safety net

Word-of-mouth is a great problem to have — until it isn't. This electrician was fully booked in spring and summer but scrambling in winter. No marketing lever to pull when referrals dried up.

The Brand Scan confirmed it: zero Google presence, a GBP with one photo and 2 reviews, and a website that wasn't mobile-responsive. Electrical work is high-ticket and high-intent — homeowners searching "electrician near me" are ready to hire. This contractor just wasn't showing up.

Brand Scan Findings

Issue

GBP had 2 reviews, 1 photo, no service list. Ranking on page 4 for primary electrician keyword in the service area.

Issue

Website not mobile-responsive. 71% of visitors left immediately on mobile — zero conversions from phone searches.

Opportunity

8 years of satisfied customers, zero review requests ever sent. Estimated 150+ past customers who would leave a 5-star review if asked.

Opportunity

No competitor in the local map pack had more than 18 reviews. A focused push could move this contractor to #1 within 60 days.

The Strategy

Build the foundation, then turn on the ads

1
Week 1 · GBP + Review Blitz
Full GBP overhaul — 22 service types, 35 photos, keyword-rich description. Re-engagement text sent to past customer list. 17 new 5-star reviews in the first two weeks.
2
Week 2–3 · Website Rebuild
New mobile-first website — fast load, click-to-call above the fold, dedicated service pages for panel upgrades, EV charger installation, and whole-home rewiring.
3
Week 3–4 · Google Ads Launch
Campaigns targeting "electrician near me," "electrical panel upgrade," and "EV charger installation." High-ticket service keywords prioritized for best ROI.
4
Month 2–3 · Scale + Optimize
EV charger campaign scaled — highest-ticket jobs, lowest competition. Top 3 map pack for 6 core keywords across the full service area by month three.
Key Tactics
  • High-ticket keyword targeting — EV chargers, panel upgrades, whole-home rewiring
  • Google LSA — verified electrician badge boosted click-through rate significantly
  • Review request automation after every completed job
  • Seasonal ad budget increases in fall/winter to offset referral slowdown
  • Weekly GBP posts showcasing completed panel upgrades and new installs
  • Call tracking with keyword-level attribution — knew exactly which terms drove jobs
Get Started

See what this looks like for your business

Every engagement starts with a Brand Scan — a full audit of your current digital presence. No pitch, no pressure. Just an honest look at where you stand and what's possible.

Book a free Brand Scan
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