Roofing PPC Costs: What You Should Expect

Every roofing company owner we talk to asks the same question before anything else: "How much is this going to cost?" It is the right question. We manage PPC for roofing companies across dozens of markets, and the honest answer is that roofing PPC costs vary more than almost any other home services vertical. A roofing contractor in Tulsa might pay $12 per click while someone running the exact same ad in Dallas pays $38. A storm hits one market and CPCs triple overnight while the neighboring state stays flat.

That variability does not mean you cannot plan. It means you need real numbers, not vague ranges from platforms trying to sell you something. This guide breaks down what roofing companies actually pay for Google Ads in 2026, what those costs should translate to in leads and revenue, and how to build a budget that makes financial sense for your specific operation.

What Roofing Keywords Cost Per Click

Roofing CPCs break into three tiers based on service type, and understanding these tiers is critical for budget planning.

Repair Keywords: $8 to $30 Per Click

Keywords like "roof repair near me," "fix roof leak [city]," and "roof shingle repair" tend to sit in the $8 to $30 range. These are the most accessible entry point for roofing companies new to PPC. The jobs are smaller, typically $500 to $3,000, but the lower CPC means you can generate leads at a reasonable cost relative to the job value.

In smaller markets (under 250,000 population), expect the lower end of that range. Competitive metro areas like Phoenix, Houston, and Atlanta push repair CPCs toward $25 to $30. Cities with older housing stock tend to have more repair search volume, which can actually moderate CPCs slightly through increased inventory.

Replacement Keywords: $15 to $50 Per Click

This is where costs climb. "Roof replacement [city]," "new roof cost," "roofing contractor near me," and "re-roof estimate" are the high-value keywords every roofing company wants to rank for. Average job values of $8,000 to $25,000 justify the cost, but you need to watch your numbers carefully.

In top-20 metro areas, expect $35 to $50 per click for replacement terms. Mid-size cities run $20 to $35. Smaller markets can still be had for $15 to $25, but competition from national lead aggregators like Angi and HomeAdvisor inflates even rural CPCs. These aggregators bid on every market regardless of local demand, which sets a floor you cannot get below.

Inspection and Estimate Keywords: $5 to $15 Per Click

"Free roof inspection," "roof estimate near me," and "roof assessment [city]" are the cheapest keywords in the roofing space. The catch is lead quality. Many of these searchers are price shopping with no urgency. They might be getting a pre-sale inspection or checking their roof after a neighbor mentioned theirs needed work.

These keywords work well as top-of-funnel campaigns if you have a strong follow-up process, but they should not be your primary spend. We typically allocate 10 to 15 percent of a client's roofing budget to inspection keywords and treat those leads differently in the sales process.

Cost Per Lead Benchmarks

CPC tells you what a click costs. Cost per lead (CPL) tells you what an actual phone call, form submission, or booked appointment costs. Here is what we see across our roofing accounts:

Roof Repair Leads: $40 to $90

With repair CPCs at $8 to $30 and landing page conversion rates of 15 to 25 percent (roofing landing pages convert higher than most home services because of the urgency factor), you are looking at $40 to $90 per qualified lead. "Qualified" matters here. We exclude spam calls, solicitors, and people asking about commercial work when you are residential-only.

A well-optimized account with tight geo-targeting and strong negative keyword lists sits closer to $40 to $55 per repair lead. Accounts running broad match on generic terms or targeting too wide an area creep toward $90 and above.

Roof Replacement Leads: $80 to $250

Replacement leads are expensive because the keywords cost more and the conversion rate is slightly lower. Replacement searchers are more methodical, more likely to research multiple contractors, and more likely to click without converting. Expect $80 to $150 per lead in average markets, pushing to $200 to $250 in hyper-competitive metros.

Here is the math that makes it work: if your average replacement job is $12,000 and your close rate on PPC leads is 20 percent, you need 5 leads to close one job. At $150 per lead, that is $750 in ad spend to generate $12,000 in revenue. Even with all your overhead, that is profitable for most operations.

Storm Damage Leads: $30 to $70

Storm damage leads are the best-value leads in roofing PPC, when they are available. After a significant weather event, search volume for "storm damage roof repair," "hail damage roofer," and "insurance roof claim" spikes dramatically. Because volume increases faster than competition can react, CPLs actually drop temporarily.

The challenge is that storm demand is unpredictable and concentrated in narrow windows. Companies that have pre-built storm campaigns ready to activate within hours of an event capture the best CPLs. Those who scramble to build campaigns after the fact enter the market after CPCs have already spiked from every competitor piling in.

Monthly Budget Framework

Starter: $2,000 to $4,000 Per Month

This budget works for single-location roofing companies in small to mid-size markets who want a consistent lead flow without overextending. At this level, focus on your highest-converting keyword tier, typically repair and replacement terms with strict geographic targeting within a 15 to 25 mile radius.

Expected output at this budget: 20 to 50 leads per month depending on market. Enough to keep a crew busy, not enough to scale aggressively. We recommend this as a 90-day test phase to establish baseline metrics before scaling.

Growth: $5,000 to $10,000 Per Month

This is the sweet spot for established roofing companies that want PPC as a reliable, scalable lead source. At this budget, you can run separate campaigns for repairs, replacements, and inspections. You can test new keyword groups, run remarketing to past visitors, and maintain competitive impression share on your core terms.

Expected output: 50 to 120 leads per month. At this level, PPC should be generating $150,000 to $400,000 in annual revenue attributed to ads, depending on your average job size and close rate.

Aggressive: $15,000 or More Per Month

Multi-location operations or companies in storm-prone markets during active season run at this level. You are competing for dominant impression share, running campaigns across multiple service types, and potentially targeting adjacent markets.

Expected output: 120 to 300 or more leads per month. At this level, having a dedicated sales process for PPC leads becomes essential. You cannot feed 200 leads a month into the same pipeline as your referral and repeat business without dedicated resources to handle them.

Want to know if your roofing PPC spend is competitive? We manage PPC for roofing companies nationwide and can benchmark your costs against similar markets. Get a free cost analysis →

Why Roofing CPCs Vary So Much

Three factors drive the massive variation in roofing PPC costs:

Market Size and Density

A roofing company in Boise competes against 15 to 20 other advertisers. One in Houston competes against 80 or more. More advertisers bidding on the same keywords drives up the auction price. Metro areas with high homeownership rates and older housing stock, think the Midwest and Southeast, see especially intense competition because the demand is real and everyone knows it.

Storm Season Activity

This is the single biggest cost variable in roofing PPC. After a major hailstorm or hurricane, CPCs can jump 200 to 400 percent within 48 hours. We have seen "roof repair" CPCs in Dallas go from $18 to $52 after a spring hailstorm. If you are in a storm-prone region, your budget needs to account for these spikes. We recommend maintaining a reserve fund equal to one month's typical spend specifically for storm activation.

Competition Density from Aggregators

National lead generation companies like Angi, HomeAdvisor, Modernize, and dozens of smaller players bid on roofing keywords in every market. They are not competing for the same customer you are. They are buying leads to resell to multiple contractors. But their bidding activity inflates the auction price you pay. In some markets, aggregators represent 40 to 50 percent of the ad auction participants.

Where Roofing Ad Budget Gets Wasted

We audit a lot of roofing accounts, and the same budget leaks show up repeatedly.

DIY Searches

"How to fix a roof leak," "DIY shingle replacement," "roof patch kit." These searches indicate someone who explicitly does not want to hire a contractor. Without proper negative keywords, they eat budget. We typically add 50 to 80 DIY-related negative keywords before a roofing account goes live.

Commercial Keywords When You Are Residential

"Commercial roofing contractor," "flat roof repair commercial," "industrial roofing." If your crews do residential work, these clicks are pure waste. They are expensive too, often $30 to $45 per click with zero chance of conversion.

Insurance and Claim Queries

"How to file a roof insurance claim," "does insurance cover roof replacement," "roof damage insurance adjuster." These searchers need information, not a contractor. Some will eventually need a roofer, but the path from informational search to signed contract is too long and too uncertain to justify PPC spend. Exclude these unless you run a specific insurance assistance campaign with its own conversion path.

Job Seeker Terms

"Roofing jobs hiring," "roofer salary," "roofing apprenticeship." This is the most obvious waste, but we still find it in about a third of the accounts we audit. One negative keyword list handles it, but someone has to actually build that list before launching.

How to Calculate Your Max CPC

Here is the formula we use with every roofing client to determine what they can actually afford to pay per click:

Average Job Value x Close Rate x Target ROI Percentage = Max Cost Per Lead

Max Cost Per Lead x Landing Page Conversion Rate = Max CPC

Example: Your average roof replacement is $14,000. You close 25 percent of PPC leads. You want at least 5x return on ad spend.

$14,000 x 0.25 = $3,500 revenue per lead on average.

$3,500 / 5 (target ROAS) = $700 max cost per lead.

With a 20 percent landing page conversion rate: $700 x 0.20 = $140 max CPC.

That $140 max CPC gives you a lot of room in most markets where replacement keywords run $25 to $45. The math gets tighter for repair keywords where job values are lower. Run the same formula for a $1,200 repair job and your max CPC drops to about $12, which is achievable in smaller markets but tight in competitive ones.

This calculation is why we always segment roofing campaigns by service type. The economics of a replacement campaign are fundamentally different from a repair campaign, and they need separate budgets, bids, and performance targets.

Seasonal Cost Fluctuations

Roofing PPC costs follow a predictable annual pattern with one major wild card.

Spring and Summer: Peak Season (March Through September)

This is when most homeowners address roofing issues. CPCs are at their annual baseline, which is already the highest because demand and competition are both up. Budget for 20 to 30 percent higher CPCs from April through August compared to winter months. Lead volume is also highest, so the overall cost increase is partially offset by more conversion opportunities.

Storm Season: Unpredictable Spikes

Layered on top of the seasonal pattern are storm events that can spike costs dramatically in affected regions. These are short-lived (typically 2 to 4 weeks of elevated CPCs) but intense. If you are in tornado alley, hurricane zones, or hail corridors, plan for 2 to 3 storm spikes per year and budget accordingly.

Winter: November Through February Lull

CPCs drop 15 to 30 percent in most markets during winter. Lead volume also drops, but the leads that do come through tend to be higher quality. A homeowner searching for a roofer in January has a real problem, not a casual inquiry. This is an excellent time to run campaigns at lower CPCs and build your spring pipeline.

Smart roofing operators use winter to test new ad copy, landing pages, and keyword strategies at reduced cost, then deploy the winners when spring volume returns.

Getting the Most From Every Dollar

When every click costs $15 to $50, efficiency is not optional. Here is how we maximize return on roofing PPC spend.

Tight Geographic Targeting

Do not target your entire metro area if your crews only travel 20 miles from your shop. Every click from outside your service area is wasted budget. We use radius targeting centered on the business location and adjust based on actual job data. Where are your best, most profitable customers located? Target there first.

Ad Scheduling

Roofing leads that come in during business hours when someone answers the phone convert at 3 to 4 times the rate of after-hours leads that go to voicemail. Run your highest-budget campaigns during your office hours only. If you have after-hours answering capability, run a reduced budget overnight targeting emergency terms only.

Call-Only Campaigns

For roofing, phone calls convert to appointments at nearly double the rate of form fills. Call-only campaigns, ads that trigger a phone call directly instead of a website visit, eliminate the landing page step entirely. They work exceptionally well for mobile searchers, who represent 65 to 70 percent of roofing search traffic. CPCs are often 15 to 20 percent lower than standard search campaigns because fewer advertisers run them.

Single Keyword Ad Groups (SKAGs)

For your top 10 to 15 highest-value keywords, create dedicated ad groups with one keyword each. This lets you write ad copy that exactly matches the search query, which improves Quality Score, reduces CPC, and increases click-through rate. A "roof replacement [city]" SKAG with perfectly matched ad copy can see CPCs 20 to 30 percent lower than the same keyword in a broad ad group.

Landing Page Optimization

Generic "about us" pages convert at 5 to 8 percent for roofing traffic. Purpose-built landing pages with a clear service focus, local trust signals (license number, local reviews, photos of local jobs), and a single call-to-action convert at 18 to 28 percent. That difference alone can cut your cost per lead in half without changing your ad spend by a single dollar.

Ready to get real numbers for your market? We have managed PPC for roofing companies in markets ranging from 50,000 to 7 million population. We will benchmark your CPCs, estimate your lead costs, and build a budget recommendation based on your actual service area and job mix. Request your free roofing PPC cost analysis →