Google Ads for window and glass repair: budgets, campaigns and the auto glass trap
Which Google Ads campaigns bring broken-pane and foggy-unit calls to a glass shop, what a lead costs, and the negative keyword list that keeps windshields out.
The fastest way to lose money on Google Ads in this trade takes about a day. Set up one campaign on broad match "glass repair", point it at the home page, let it run 24 hours. By tomorrow you have paid for eleven windshield clicks, two searches for "glass repair kit", and a 1 a.m. click that rang a voicemail. Most glass shop owners who say "Google Ads does not work for us" ran exactly that account.
Run properly, Search is the most predictable source of jobs a residential glass shop has, because the customer types the problem the moment it happens. This guide is the setup that works and the parts that waste money.
What a call costs in this trade
Numbers vary by metro, but the ranges below hold for most of the country and are what to judge an account against.
| Job type | Cost per click | Cost per tracked call | Typical ticket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broken pane, residential | $6 to $18 | $35 to $90 | $180 to $450 |
| Foggy insulated unit | $5 to $14 | $40 to $100 | $280 to $900 |
| Emergency board-up | $8 to $25 | $45 to $120 | $150 to $400 plus the glass |
| Storefront glass | $12 to $35 | $80 to $200 | $800 to $4,000 |
| Sash and balance repair | $4 to $10 | $30 to $70 | $120 to $300 |
A shop that books 55% of tracked calls, close to the average for this trade, is paying $70 to $180 per booked residential job. On a $380 average ticket that is a spend you can live with, as long as the account is not also buying windshield clicks.
The three campaigns to build
Campaign 1: Emergency and broken glass. Terms like "broken window repair", "window glass replacement near me", "emergency board up", "window boarding service". Ad schedule matched to the hours someone will answer. If you answer nights, run it 24 hours with a bid increase after 6 p.m., because competition thins. If you do not, stop it at your last answered hour.
Campaign 2: Foggy and failed units. "foggy window repair", "double pane window repair", "condensation between window panes", "replace glass in window not whole window". These searchers are not in a hurry, so the ad should mention price and lead time: "Foggy unit replaced from $280. Measured this week." Run business hours only.
Campaign 3: Commercial and storefront. "storefront glass repair", "commercial glass replacement", "store window replacement". Fewer clicks, bigger tickets, and the searcher is often a property manager or a franchise facilities contact. The landing page should mention insurance certificates, net terms and after-hours response.
Each campaign gets its own landing page, not the home page. The website essentials guide covers what those pages need. Each gets its own tracking number so you can hear the calls.
Local Services Ads, where Google offers the window repair or glass category in your area, are worth applying for alongside Search. They charge per lead rather than per click and rank partly on review count, which is why the reviews guide comes first.
The negative keyword list
This is the part most accounts skip, and it is the part that decides whether the budget buys glass jobs or windshields. Add these as campaign-level negatives before anything goes live:
windshield, auto, car, truck, vehicle, Safelite, tint, tinting, RV, boat, sunroof, mirror (unless you do mirrors), kit, DIY, how to, jobs, salary, hiring, training, supplier, wholesale, free, cheap, Lowes, Home Depot, Amazon, phone, iPhone, screen protector, watch, aquarium, greenhouse, picture frame
Add every car make you can think of. Then check the search terms report every week for the first two months and add whatever slipped through. Twenty minutes a week on negatives is the best-paid work in the account.
Match types and bidding
Start with phrase match on the job terms above and exact match on the five highest-intent ones. No broad match until the account has 30 or more tracked conversions, because Smart Bidding with no history optimizes toward whatever is cheap, and cheap in this trade is windshields.
Bid manually or on Maximize Clicks with a cap for the first month. Switch to Maximize Conversions once calls over 60 seconds are being counted as conversions and there are at least 30 of them. Set location targeting to the towns you actually drive to, with "presence" not "interest", or you will pay for someone in another state researching window repair in your city.
What wastes money
Performance Max as a first campaign. It spends fast and explains nothing, and for a one-location glass shop it finds Display inventory and app clicks. Try it after six months if there is budget left over.
Display and YouTube for repair work. Nobody watching a video decides to replace a foggy pane.
Running at night when nobody answers. A click at 1 a.m. that reaches voicemail is pure waste, and 5.7% of shops listing 24-hour service means some of your competitors are answering.
Sending every click to the home page. A searcher who typed "foggy window repair" and lands on a page about "glass solutions for every need" leaves.
Reading the account after 30 days
Four numbers. Cost per tracked call. Percentage of calls that booked. Cost per booked job. Average ticket on those jobs. If cost per booked job is under 20% of the ticket, increase the budget 20% and check again in two weeks. If it is over 35%, the problem is almost always the phone or the search terms, not the bids. Listen to ten call recordings before changing anything else.
Frequently asked
What is a realistic starting budget? For a one to three van shop, $1,200 to $2,500 a month across the three campaigns is enough to learn something in a month. Under $600 the data is too thin to judge.
Can I run it myself? Yes, if you will spend an hour a week in the search terms report and listen to calls. If you will not, the account drifts toward windshields and the cost per lead doubles over a quarter without anyone noticing.
How long until it works? Search can produce calls on day one. Judging the account takes 30 days and about 50 clicks per ad group. Local Services Ads take two to four weeks to approve and then produce leads within days.
Google Ads setup, the negative list, call tracking and weekly pruning are all part of the free 14-day trial. The account is built in your name and stays yours. Text or call (385) 380-5907.
Steven has spent the last several years running growth campaigns for local service businesses, window repair companies among them, and builds the benchmark datasets on this site from public Google listings. About the editor