How a Chicago Electrical Contractor Built a Steady Flow of 270 Phone Calls From Google Ads in 16 Months

The challenge

Chicago is one of the most competitive markets in the country for home services, and electrical keywords are expensive. On the emergency side, clicks averaged more than $30 each, and the contractor was competing against large companies with bigger budgets for every search.

The account was also starting from zero: no campaign history, no data and two very different customers to reach. A homeowner with an electrical emergency needs someone right now. A homeowner buying an EV charger is planning a project. One campaign couldn't speak to both.

What we did

1. Built the account from scratch, split by service. We launched two separate campaigns, one for emergency and general electrical work and one for EV charger installations, each with its own keywords, ads and budget.
2. Tracked real phone calls. Since this business runs on calls, we set up call tracking so every campaign decision was measured against calls from real customers, not clicks.
3. Let the data guide the budget. With both campaigns optimizing for calls, we could see which service produced customers more efficiently and put the budget where it worked hardest.

The results

Since launch, the campaigns have generated 270 phone calls from ads, including 130 qualified calls tracked as conversions. The service split paid off: the EV installation campaign produced 45% of all qualified calls with just 36% of the budget, at a cost per call 31% lower than the emergency campaign, and clicks at less than half the price.

The account kept improving with time. In 2026, the cost per qualified call came in 10% lower than during the launch months of 2025, even after the contractor reduced its budget mid year.