Most local service businesses run Google Ads to catch people searching right now, then let everyone who clicked and left disappear. That’s a mistake. Remarketing lets you show ads to people who already visited your site, and those visitors convert at a far higher rate than cold traffic because they already know who you are.
Here’s how Google Ads remarketing works for a plumbing, HVAC, roofing, or home services business in the GTA, how to set it up correctly, and where it fits next to Local Service Ads and your regular search campaigns.
What Google Ads Remarketing Actually Does
Remarketing tags visitors to your site with a cookie, then shows them your ads again as they browse other sites, watch YouTube, or search Google. There are two main flavours that matter for a local service business:
- Display remarketing puts banner ads in front of past visitors across millions of sites and apps.
- RLSA (remarketing lists for search ads) lets you adjust bids or show different ad copy to past visitors when they search on Google again.
RLSA is the one most local service businesses skip, and it’s usually the more valuable of the two. Someone who got a quote from your search campaign, didn’t book, and searches again a week later is close to ready. Bidding more aggressively for that specific person, with copy that speaks to a returning visitor, closes jobs that a cold campaign never would.
Why Local Service Businesses Skip Remarketing
Two reasons come up constantly. First, remarketing needs volume. If your site gets 30 visits a month, your list stays too small to target for weeks. Second, most local service businesses set up Google Ads once and never touch audiences again, so remarketing sits unused even when there’s enough traffic to run it.
If you’re already spending on search campaigns and getting steady clicks, you likely have enough traffic to build a remarketing list within 30 days. The setup takes an afternoon. Leaving it off the account is leaving conversions on the table that you already paid to generate.
Setting Up Your First Remarketing Audience
Skip the default “all visitors” list most accounts start with. A single broad audience treats a homeowner who read one blog post the same as someone who filled out a quote form and abandoned it. Build segments instead:
- Quote form started, not submitted: highest intent, bid aggressively
- Service page visitors who didn’t convert: mid intent, use value-focused ad copy
- Past customers: target for seasonal or repeat services, not first-time offers
- Blog or general site visitors: lowest intent, small budget, brand awareness only
Membership duration matters too. A roofing job has a long consideration window, so a 90 to 180 day list makes sense. A same-day plumbing emergency has almost none, so a 7 to 14 day list targets people while the problem is still active.
Remarketing vs. Local Service Ads
Local Service Ads generate leads on their own, but they can’t remarket to anyone. Once someone leaves an LSA listing without booking, they’re gone. Search and display remarketing pick up exactly where LSAs can’t follow.
| Feature | Remarketing / RLSA | Local Service Ads |
|---|---|---|
| Targets past site visitors | Yes | No |
| Pay model | Per click | Per lead |
| Audience control | Full segmentation | None |
| Best for | Re-engaging near-ready buyers | Capturing first-time high-intent searches |
Most accounts that run both, as we covered in our Local Service Ads vs Google Ads comparison, end up with LSAs bringing in first-time leads and RLSA recovering the visitors who almost booked and left.
Budget and Frequency
Remarketing doesn’t need a big slice of your budget to work. Most local service accounts see solid results putting 10 to 15 percent of monthly ad spend toward remarketing, split between RLSA bid adjustments and a small display budget. Cap display frequency around 3 to 5 impressions per day per user. Beyond that you’re paying to annoy someone who already said no once.
Track results against your existing conversion tracking so you can see remarketing’s actual contribution rather than guessing. If you haven’t set up proper call and form tracking yet, start there first. Our guide on Google Ads call tracking covers the setup.
Common Remarketing Mistakes to Avoid
A few setup mistakes show up in almost every local service account that tries remarketing without a clear plan.
- Excluding converters too late: keep showing ads to someone after they’ve already booked and paid, and you waste budget while looking sloppy to a customer you just served.
- One generic ad for every segment: the same banner for a first-time visitor and an abandoned quote form ignores where each person actually is in the decision.
- No cross-device matching: someone who browsed on their phone during lunch and books from a laptop at night won’t get remarketed to if your tracking only covers one device.
- Ignoring RLSA in favour of display only: display remarketing gets the attention because the ads are visible, but RLSA usually converts better because it catches people mid-search, not mid-scroll.
Fixing these takes about the same effort as setting up remarketing in the first place. Build the exclusion list for converters, write at least two versions of ad copy per segment, and turn on cross-device reporting in your conversion tracking before you launch.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much site traffic do I need before remarketing works?
Google requires at least 100 active users in a list before it will serve display remarketing ads, and 1,000 for RLSA on the Search Network. Most local service businesses running steady Google Ads spend hit that within two to four weeks.
Is remarketing worth it for a small monthly ad budget?
Yes, because it’s cheap relative to cold search clicks. RLSA bid adjustments cost nothing extra beyond your normal search spend, and a small display budget of $100 to $200 a month is enough to keep your business in front of recent visitors.
Does remarketing work with Local Service Ads?
Not directly. LSAs don’t support remarketing because Google doesn’t expose visitor data from LSA listings. You’d run remarketing through your separate Search and Display campaigns instead, targeting people who visited your actual website.
How long should a remarketing list stay active?
Match it to how long people take to decide. Emergency services like plumbing or locksmith work suit a 7 to 14 day window. Larger projects like roofing, renovations, or window replacement suit 90 to 180 days since the decision takes longer.
Remarketing only pays off when the rest of your account is solid. Want to see where your Google Ads and local search presence actually stand? Get a free SEO audit from Cadiente Digital.