Google Ads for a city building on every lot it can.
Austin's remodel and ADU boom is real, and so is the wait for a City of Austin permit. We build campaigns that pull in the homeowners patient enough to see a project through.
Lot value, not just home value, is what's driving Austin remodel searches.
A lot in Hyde Park or Travis Heights is worth more than the 1,100 square foot bungalow sitting on it, which is exactly why so many Austin homeowners are searching "ADU builder Austin" and "second story addition" instead of listing and moving. Our ad copy leans into that math directly, because a homeowner sitting on land worth $700,000-plus responds to a pitch about unlocking equity through a build, not a generic "free estimate" line.
Search terms split cleanly by project type and we bid them separately. "ADU contractor Austin" and "kitchen remodel Travis Heights" pull very different intent and budget than "whole home renovation Northwest Hills," and cost per click varies from $18 on narrower remodel terms up to $55 on competitive addition and new-build-adjacent keywords.
We also write ad copy that gets ahead of the permitting question, because it's the first thing an informed Austin homeowner asks. Copy that mentions experience navigating City of Austin permitting and inspection timelines converts better than copy that ignores it entirely, since the permit wait has become a genuine pain point homeowners research before they ever call a contractor.
Budget for a solid Austin general contracting Google Ads program runs $3,500 to $6,000 a month for a company handling four to eight active projects at a time. Below that range you'll get inconsistent lead flow, which is worse for a business with project cycles this long than a slow trickle you can actually staff around.
A homeowner sitting on a $700,000 lot doesn't need convincing that building is worth it, they need convincing you can get through permitting.
Campaign structure for Austin general contractor accounts.
| Campaign | Monthly spend range | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| ADU and second dwelling unit | $1,000 - $1,700 | Targets lot-value-driven homeowners in Hyde Park, Mueller, East Austin |
| Kitchen and bath remodel | $700 - $1,100 | Higher volume, faster-cycle leads, competitive on cost per click |
| Whole-home renovation | $600 - $1,000 | Targets Northwest Hills 1970s-80s stock needing full updates |
| Addition / second story | $500 - $900 | Targets bungalow lots too small to expand outward |
| Growth ring remodel | $400 - $700 | Cedar Park, Leander, Buda, Kyle new-build-adjacent renovation work |
| Brand defense and review terms | $150 - $300 | Protects your name and captures near-decision searchers reading reviews |
Ranges assume a company managing project pipelines of two to six months; faster-turnaround crews can shift more toward remodel and less toward additions.
Mistakes we see in Austin general contractor accounts we take over.
- No mention of permitting timeline anywhere in the funnel
Austin homeowners are actively researching how long City of Austin inspections take; ignoring the topic reads as inexperience to anyone who's already talked to two other contractors.
- Bidding ADU and remodel terms identically
ADU searchers are budgeting six figures and expect a longer sales cycle; remodel searchers often want a faster answer, and treating both the same in ad copy and follow-up cadence loses both.
- Skipping the growth ring
Cedar Park and Kyle have plenty of newer construction needing finish-out work and additions, at meaningfully lower cost per click than inside the city core.
- No foundation or soil language for older lots
Limestone and expansive clay affect renovation scope on many older Austin lots; copy and landing pages that acknowledge this build more trust than generic remodel messaging.
- Treating short-term rental investors like standard homeowners
Investor-owners planning a renovation to relist a property as a short-term rental care about turnaround speed and ROI framing, not kitchen finishes; generic messaging undersells to this segment.
Questions from Austin general contractors
- How much should an Austin general contractor spend on Google Ads?
- Most companies handling four to eight active projects need $3,500 to $6,000 a month in spend. Given how long a remodel or ADU sales cycle runs, inconsistent below-budget spend hurts more here than in trades with faster turnaround, since a slow month of leads can leave a real gap in your pipeline two months later.
- Should I run separate campaigns for ADU work versus kitchen remodels?
- Yes. ADU searchers are typically budgeting well into six figures and expect a longer, more consultative sales process, while remodel searchers often want a faster quote. Bidding them in the same campaign with the same ad copy and follow-up cadence underperforms running them separately.
- Does mentioning City of Austin permitting delays in my ads actually help?
- It does, because informed Austin homeowners are already researching permit and inspection wait times before they call anyone. Ad copy and landing pages that address the timeline directly and explain how you manage it build more credibility than copy that avoids the topic.
- Is it worth advertising in Cedar Park or Kyle if I'm based in Austin?
- If your crews can reasonably reach it, generally yes. The growth ring has real renovation and addition demand tied to newer construction, and cost per click tends to run lower than inside the Austin city core, making it one of the more efficient places to add volume.
- How fast will Google Ads produce leads for a remodel or ADU business?
- Expect the first two to three weeks to look expensive while Google's algorithm learns which terms and neighborhoods actually convert for a business with a sales cycle this long. Full efficiency usually shows up around the six to eight week mark once enough project-stage data has accumulated.
20 minutes. Zero pitch.
We'll pull your current account and show you what ADU and remodel searches are actually costing per lead in your service area.