How much does a home services marketing agency cost?
In a March 2026 benchmark, plumbing Local Services Ads returned 6.5 times ad spend in completed-job revenue, before job costs and fees.
A home services marketing quote can cover four things: the agency's management fee, the ad budget that Google or Meta charges, a website, and software such as a CRM or lead dashboard. Before comparing two quotes, check which of the four each one includes. On the four public rate cards we read on October 1, 2026, monthly package prices start at $249, at Footbridge Media and Mediagistic. Scorpion, RYNO and iMarket Solutions didn't list fees on the pages we read, and we didn't use third-party estimates of their prices.
How do agencies bill each part?
Blue Collar Bump bills management on its own, and its pricing page says you pay ad platforms directly. Footbridge also charges its Google Ads management fee apart from the ad budget, which it says should start at $775 a month. Mediagistic goes the other way: its LeadBuilder Pro and MarketLeader packages include added ad budget without saying how much of the fee reaches Google.
Google charges Local Services Ads advertisers for each valid lead instead of each click, and it can credit some leads automatically when they're later judged low quality. Its help center schedules a move of these ads into Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals, starting with select US home service advertisers in August 2026, and says per-lead billing stays.
Footbridge's FAQ says the website in its program replaces any existing site, which it rebuilds from scratch.
Footbridge's core program bundles a CRM and review management. Blue Collar Bump includes its lead dashboard in the $3,000 Master package and charges $199 a month for it below that tier, and Mediagistic sells Revenue Analytics, which tracks leads to revenue, for $350 a month.
Which agencies publish prices, and on what terms?
| Agency | Published price and billing | Ad budget | Website | Term and cancellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Footbridge Media | Core program $249 a month; Google Ads management $149 the first month, then $249 a month; LSA management $149 a month, plus $499 setup without a verified account | Paid separately; $775 a month recommended minimum | Included in the core fee | No contract; 90-day refund; written notice to end and payment for work done (terms) |
| Blue Collar Bump | $750, $1,500 or $3,000 a month | Not included | $1,750 one-time add-on | Month to month; no setup fee |
| Hook Agency | Local SEO from $2,800 a month; PPC from $2,000; Meta Ads from $3,000 | Paid by your card; PPC fee rises with spend | $12,000 standard or $24,000 custom, over 12 months | Not stated on the pricing page |
| Mediagistic | $249, $3,500, $6,250 or $8,750 a month, as starting prices | Two top tiers include added ad budget; amount not stated | Included | Not stated on the pricing page |
Mediagistic's LeadBuilder page lists plans from $2,083 a month, below the $3,500 on its main pricing page, so ask which figure applies to your market.
Scorpion's FAQ ties the cost to your goals. It usually requires 12-month contracts for its marketing technology and for some services, SEO among them. Advertising work such as Google Ads, LSAs and Meta usually runs month to month. RYNO's LSA page describes pay-per-lead billing and budget help without naming a management fee, and iMarket Solutions' homepage sends buyers to a free consultation.
What does a first-year total look like?
As an illustration at Footbridge's listed rates, a year of its core program costs $2,988 and a year of its Google Ads management costs $2,888. Adding Footbridge's recommended minimum of $775 a month in ad spend for 12 months brings the total to $15,176, before any Local Services Ads spend. That pairing is our own example and isn't a quote or a required bundle.
A year of Hook Agency's local SEO at its $2,800 starting price plus its standard website comes to $45,600 ($33,600 plus $12,000), before PPC management or ad spend. The two examples buy different work, so neither total says which agency gets cheaper leads.
How much should a contractor budget for marketing?
BDR (Business Development Resources), which also sells marketing services to contractors, published its budget guide on June 11, 2026. Its quick answer for most HVAC companies is 5% to 10% of revenue. Its stage-based ranges are 10% to 15% for companies under $1 million in revenue, 8% to 12% between $1 million and $3 million, and 5% to 8% from $3 million up. These are one firm's starting points for HVAC companies.
At 8%, the top of the established-company range, a $3 million contractor would budget $240,000 a year, or $20,000 a month. If a hypothetical $6,000 of that goes to agency management fees, $14,000 remains for ads, the website, software and other marketing.
What return can a Local Services Ads budget produce?
Jon Torrey's March 26, 2026 benchmark covers 760 businesses on SearchLight's platform from March 1 to 25. It counts only businesses with a paying customer from the ads and sorts trades by campaign name, so trade figures are approximate.
At the study's plumbing rates, a hypothetical $5,000 monthly budget gives:
- About 85 leads at $58.89 each
- About 36 booked appointments at a 42.8% booking rate
- About 19 paying customers at 22.4% of leads, counting sold jobs not yet finished
- $32,500 in completed, paid revenue at the study's 6.5-to-1 ratio to ad spend
- $6,500 in marketing cost with an assumed $1,500 management fee, one-fifth of the revenue
- $16,250 in gross profit at an assumed 50% gross margin, which subtracts labor, materials and other job costs but not marketing
- $9,750 after subtracting the $6,500 marketing cost, before overhead and taxes
A January 2026 PHCC article by business coach Todd Williams uses 40 to 50 percent on service calls as an example gross margin target for pricing estimates, so the 50% here sits at the top of that range.
The example combines revenue the study attributes to the ads with an assumed margin, so the $9,750 isn't measured incremental profit. The study doesn't estimate which jobs would have come in without the ads.
What does it cost to leave an agency?
Scorpion's FAQ says your business keeps ownership of and access to its Google Analytics throughout. After you fulfill the contract, Scorpion hands over your Local Services Ads, social media and other accounts, plus the site's content and files. Its CMS stays with Scorpion, so the site has to be rebuilt on another platform.
Footbridge's Google Ads page says it creates a new ads account for each campaign and keeps ownership of that account. Its terms, effective June 18, 2026, make you the owner of the website built under its "Complete Marketing Program" once 90 days have passed since signup, with files sent on request if you leave after that. The sales page uses a different program name, so confirm which terms govern the offer you're quoted. The FAQ adds that the CMS, hosting, forms and dashboard stop working without an active subscription.
Blue Collar Bump says you own all accounts and content, and Hook says you own your website and your ad account. Before signing, ask for an itemized first-year quote and a written list of what you keep if you leave.