Why Roofing Ads Attract Low-Quality Leads

You're running Google Ads for your roofing company. The leads are coming in. But when your team calls them back, you get: people who want a $200 patch on a roof that needs full replacement. Homeowners who are "just getting quotes" with no intention of hiring anyone this year. Renters who think their landlord should pay. People who Googled "roof leak" and somehow ended up on your form. Commercial property managers looking for the cheapest bid possible.

Sound familiar? You're not alone. Low-quality roofing leads are the #1 complaint we hear from roofing companies running Google Ads. The good news: it's almost always fixable. The problem isn't Google Ads — it's how the campaigns are set up. Here's why your PPC for roofing companies is attracting the wrong people and exactly how to fix it.

Problem 1: Your Keywords Are Too Broad

This is the root cause in about 70% of low-quality lead cases. Roofing companies (or their agencies) set up campaigns with broad match keywords like:

• "roofing"
• "roof repair"
• "roofing company"
• "roof"

Google takes these and matches them to searches that are technically related but completely wrong:

• "roofing materials home depot" → DIY shopper
• "roofing jobs near me" → someone looking for employment
• "how to repair a roof leak yourself" → DIY searcher
• "roof rack for SUV" → wrong kind of roof entirely
• "roofing felt" → contractor buying supplies

You're paying $15–$40 per click on these searches, and none of them will ever become a customer.

The Fix: Keyword Intent Hierarchy

Tier 1 — Highest intent (roof replacement buyers):

• "roof replacement cost [city]"
• "roofing contractor near me"
• "best roofing company [city]"
• "new roof estimate"
• "roof replacement financing"

Tier 2 — High intent (repair needs):

• "roof leak repair [city]"
• "emergency roof repair"
• "storm damage roof repair"
• "roof repair company near me"

Tier 3 — Medium intent (research phase):

• "how much does a new roof cost"
• "roofing company reviews [city]"
• "signs I need a new roof"

Use exact match and phrase match for Tier 1 and 2. Use phrase match with strong negatives for Tier 3. Avoid broad match entirely unless you're monitoring search terms daily.

Problem 2: Your Negative Keyword List Is Weak (or Missing)

A roofing campaign without negative keywords is like a fishing net with holes — you'll catch everything except what you want.

Essential Negative Keywords for Roofing

DIY/Supply keywords:

• materials, supplies, shingles (unless you're selling them), home depot, lowes, menards
• how to, DIY, yourself, tutorial, video, guide

Employment keywords:

• jobs, hiring, salary, career, apprentice, apprenticeship, helper, laborer

Wrong service keywords:

• cleaning, washing, power wash, gutter (if you don't do gutters), solar, antenna, satellite, painting

Low-quality indicators:

• free, cheap, cheapest, lowest price, discount, bargain
• handyman, patch, tar, caulk, sealant

Commercial (if you're residential only):

• commercial, flat roof, TPO, EPDM, metal building, warehouse

Irrelevant "roof" matches:

• roof rack, roof box, roof tent, roof garden, rooftop bar, roof of mouth

Build a Living Negative List

Don't just set these once and forget them. Review your search term report every week for the first month, then bi-weekly. You'll find searches you never would have predicted. We've seen roofing ads triggered by "roof of the world" (a geography search), "cats on a hot tin roof" (a movie), and "raise the roof" (a party expression).

Getting junk leads from your roofing ads? We audit and manage PPC for roofing companies and can typically cut wasted spend by 30–50% in the first month. Get a free account audit →

Problem 3: Your Landing Page Doesn't Pre-Qualify

Your landing page's job isn't just to collect leads — it's to collect the right leads and deter the wrong ones. If your landing page accepts anyone with a pulse, your lead quality will reflect that.

Landing Page Elements That Pre-Qualify

Show your price range. This is the most effective pre-qualifier. If your average roof replacement is $8,000–$15,000, saying "roof replacement starting at $8,000" on your landing page filters out the homeowner expecting to pay $2,000.

Specify your service area. "Serving [City] and surrounding areas within 30 miles" tells people outside your territory to look elsewhere.

Describe your ideal project. "We specialize in full roof replacements and major storm damage repair" signals that you're not the company for a $150 patch job.

List your credentials. Licensing, insurance, manufacturer certifications (GAF Master Elite, CertainTeed SELECT, Owens Corning Preferred) — these signal professionalism that price-shoppers avoid.

Show project photos with scope. Display full roof replacement projects, not small repairs. This sets expectations about the scale of work you handle.

Landing Page Elements That Attract Low-Quality Leads

• "Free roof inspection" with no qualifying context → attracts tire-kickers
• No pricing information → attracts people with unrealistic budgets
• Generic "roofing services" messaging → attracts every type of inquiry
• "We do it all" positioning → attracts the smallest, least profitable jobs

Problem 4: Your Ads Attract Price Shoppers

If your ad headlines focus on price — "Affordable Roofing," "Low-Cost Roof Repair," "Cheap Roofing [City]" — you'll attract people who make decisions based on price alone. These leads shop 5–10 contractors, take the lowest bid, and often cause the most headaches.

The Fix: Lead With Value, Not Price

Instead of: "Affordable Roofing Services" Try: "GAF Master Elite Roofer — Lifetime Warranty Included"

Instead of: "Free Roof Inspection" Try: "Free Storm Damage Assessment — Insurance Claim Assistance Included"

Instead of: "Low-Cost Roof Repair" Try: "24-Hour Emergency Roof Repair — Licensed & Insured"

Position your company on quality, warranties, certifications, and results. The homeowners who respond to these messages have larger budgets and are less likely to ghost you after receiving your quote.

Use Financing as a Value Signal

Instead of "cheap," offer financing. This attracts homeowners who want quality but need payment flexibility:

• "New Roof from $149/month — 0% Interest for 18 Months"
• "Roof Replacement: Quality Materials, Affordable Payments"

Financing customers often choose higher-end materials because the monthly payment difference is small. They become more profitable, not less.

Problem 5: No Geographic Filtering

Roofing is hyperlocal. You don't want leads from 60 miles away — the drive time kills profitability, your reviews are concentrated in your core area, and homeowners prefer local roofers.

The Fix: Tight Geo-Targeting

• Target a 20–30 mile radius around your base of operations
• Use zip code targeting for higher precision
• Exclude areas where you consistently lose bids or have thin margins
• Set location targeting to "presence" only (not "presence or interest")
• Add bid adjustments: +20% for your core 10-mile radius, -30% for the outer ring

Problem 6: You're Not Tracking What Matters

If you're only tracking form submissions, you're missing 50–60% of your leads. Roofing is heavily phone-driven — homeowners with a leak call; they don't fill out forms.

Without call tracking, you can't tell Google which keywords generate actual roofing leads. The algorithm optimizes in the dark, often toward clicks rather than conversions.

The Tracking Stack You Need

1. Call tracking with dynamic number insertion (CallRail or similar)
2. Google Ads conversion tracking on form submissions
3. Call recording for quality scoring
4. CRM integration to track lead-to-job conversion
5. Revenue tracking to calculate actual ROI per campaign

When you feed this data back into Google Ads, the algorithm learns which searches produce real customers. Smart Bidding becomes genuinely smart instead of guessing.

Problem 7: You're Running the Wrong Campaign Types

Roofing companies that run only Search campaigns miss context. Companies that run only Performance Max campaigns sacrifice control. The right mix matters.

Recommended Campaign Mix for Roofers

Search Campaigns (60–70% of budget): Your bread and butter. High-intent keywords, tight match types, dedicated landing pages. This is where quality leads live.

Local Service Ads (20–30% of budget): Google Guaranteed badge, pay-per-lead pricing, shows at the very top of search results. Great for emergency and repair leads. You only pay for actual calls and messages — not clicks.

Performance Max (0–10% of budget): Only after Search and LSAs are optimized and profitable. PMax casts a wider net and tends to generate more brand awareness than direct leads. Keep the budget small and monitor lead quality closely.

Avoid for now: Display campaigns and YouTube ads for roofing. They generate awareness but very few quality leads. The roofing purchase decision isn't driven by visual ads — it's driven by urgent need and trust signals.

The Quality Lead Scorecard

Track these indicators to measure whether your lead quality is improving:

If you're scoring "poor quality" on most of these, the issues are in your campaign setup. Fix the problems above in order (keywords first, then negatives, then landing page) and recheck in 30 days.

Frustrated with junk roofing leads? We manage PPC for roofing companies and focus on lead quality, not just lead volume. Our typical client sees lead quality improve within the first 30 days while cost per qualified lead drops 30–50%. Request your free campaign audit →