Quick answer
Service businesses get the best results from Meta Ads by using a leads or sales objective, giving the algorithm broad targeting within their service area, testing several short video and image creatives, qualifying people with a few lead-form questions, and sending conversions back through the Conversions API. Then they follow up every lead within minutes.
Google Ads catches people already searching. Meta Ads interrupts people scrolling. That difference changes everything about how the ads should look, who you target and what you offer.
Choose the right objective
Boosting a post from your page optimizes for engagement, so Meta finds people who like and comment. They're rarely the people who book. For leads, create the campaign in Ads Manager and choose the Leads objective (or Sales if you sell online).
Instant forms or landing page?
Instant forms open inside Facebook and Instagram with the person's details pre-filled. They produce more leads at a lower cost, but some of those leads tapped submit without thinking.
- Use instant forms with the “higher intent” setting and one or two qualifying questions (area, budget, timeline).
- Use a landing page when the decision is bigger and people need more information before contacting you.
Test both. Then judge on booked jobs, not form fills.
Creative does most of the targeting now
Meta's algorithm decides who sees your ad largely from the ad itself. A video of your team fixing an AC unit in Florida will find homeowners who care about that, even with broad targeting. So spend your energy on creative, not on stacking interests.
- Start with 3–5 creatives: a short talking-head video, a before/after, a customer review graphic, and a simple offer image.
- Put the hook in the first two seconds and add captions, since most people watch on mute.
- Keep the ones with the lowest cost per lead and replace the rest every few weeks.
Set up tracking properly
Install the Meta Pixel and connect the Conversions API so events are sent from the server, not only the browser. Browser tracking alone misses a lot of conversions because of ad blockers and privacy settings, and the algorithm learns slower with less data.
Our social media marketing service covers creatives, campaigns and lead tracking. Many clients run Meta alongside Google Ads, using Meta to build demand and Google to capture it.
