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Whether you’re growing an established lawn care company or launching a new landscaping business, smart advertising helps you reach the right customers at the right time. The goal is simple: attract qualified leads and turn interest into booked jobs—without overspending.
Start by focusing on the channels your customers already use, then clearly show how you solve their biggest lawn and landscaping problems. This guide covers 15+ proven ad strategies, step-by-step campaign planning, and practical ways to turn ads into real revenue.
Key takeaways
Here’s a snapshot of how to land more lawn care jobs through advertising:
Use multiple channels: Combine digital, traditional, and local ads to stay visible in your service area.
Start with free strategies: Optimize your Google Business Profile and collect reviews before spending money on ads.
Track performance: Measure cost per lead and shift your budget to the channels that bring in actual work.
Follow up fast: Quick responses and automation help you beat competitors to the job.
Jump ahead
- Types of lawn care and landscaping ads
- Free and cheap lawn care and landscaping advertising ideas
- Advanced lawn care and landscaping advertising ideas
- How to advertise your lawn care and landscaping business step-by-step
- Common lawn care and landscaping ad mistakes to avoid
- How Housecall Pro supports your advertising
Types of lawn care and landscaping ads
The most effective strategies combine digital, traditional, and community-based advertising. Each channel supports the others, making customers more likely to book when they’re ready. Let’s look at each ad type in detail.
Traditional advertising
Traditional ads help build brand recognition in the neighborhoods you serve. While they don’t always lead to immediate bookings, offline marketing builds trust that supports your digital efforts.
Here are some traditional ad formats to try:
- Flyers and door hangers: Distribute these to neighborhoods where you already have crews working. A single, clear offer (like “10% off spring cleanup”) beats generic messages.
- Vehicle wraps: Turn your truck into a moving billboard. Clearly display your business name, phone number, and website. The more homeowners see your vehicle, the more likely they are to look you up.
- Local print sponsorships: Advertise in HOA newsletters or church bulletins. These publications are trusted by residents and lend immediate credibility to your business.
Digital advertising
Digital ads catch the attention of potential customers when they actively search for landscaping help. You can reach local homeowners online through:
- Google Ads and Local Services Ads (LSAs): Focus on high-intent keywords like “lawn mowing near me” to capture this traffic.
- Paid social media ads: Target users on Facebook or Instagram by location, demographics, and interests. This is ideal for showcasing before-and-after results.
- Paid directories: Listings on platforms like Angi or Yelp increase visibility and trust.
- Video ads: Short, punchy clips of your team in action build recognition fast.
Community-based advertising
Community advertising creates trust before someone even needs your services. When your business feels familiar, people are more likely to book.
Here are some ways to promote your business locally:
- Local sponsorships: Sponsor a youth sports team or school fundraiser to build community goodwill.
- Referral programs: Ask for referrals right after you finish a job, when satisfaction is highest. Reward customers with a discount for every neighbor they refer to you.
- Partnerships: Team up with HVAC techs, electricians, or realtors who serve the same neighborhoods. You can refer clients to each other without competing.
- Workshops: Host a free “lawn prep” workshop at a local garden center to build your email list and position yourself as an expert.
Free and cheap lawn care and landscaping advertising ideas
If you’re on a tight budget, focus on ad strategies that rely on time and effort rather than spend. Make sure to track your return on ad spend (ROAS) so you can see which tactics are actually booking jobs. This will help you get the most from your limited budget and invest smartly as you grow.
Below are some free and affordable advertising tactics to get started.
Optimize your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile is one of the most powerful free tools available, helping to put your company in front of homeowners who are actively searching for lawn or landscaping services. Profiles with complete information are 70% more likely to attract visits.
Make sure your profile includes:
- Your business name, address, and phone number (NAP)
- Accurate service categories (like “Lawn Care Service”) and descriptions
- Your website URL and physical office address, if you have one
- Normal work hours
- Photos of recent projects and your team
Keep your profile active by responding to reviews and posting weekly updates or offers.
Post consistently on social media
Homeowners often check your social media pages for proof that your business is legitimate before calling. Position yourself as an expert by sharing landscaping tips, answering common questions, and showing your crew at work.
In social media marketing, consistency builds trust. Aim to post at least three times a week on the platforms your customers actually use. For example, if you target older homeowners, focus on Facebook, which reaches 74% of adults aged 50–64.
Encourage (and reuse) customer reviews
Reviews strengthen your local rankings and boost your credibility for free. Ask for reviews immediately after completing a job, then repurpose your best reviews as social posts, flyers, paid ad copy, and displays on your website.
Pro tip: Use Housecall Pro’s review management software to automate requests after each job, helping to grow your reputation with less effort.
Distribute flyers
Print flyers and leave them near active job sites to reinforce what neighbors already see—your crew doing quality work. Free tools like Canva make professional designs easy.
Incentivize referrals
Referrals from friends and relatives come with built-in trust, so reward customers who recommend you with a discount or a free add-on service (like edging). Ask for the referral when the customer is happiest, usually right after you complete the job.
Run simple email or SMS follow-ups
It’s easier (and cheaper) to book jobs with people who’ve already used and liked your services. Send past customers short emails or SMS reminders tied to seasonal needs, like aeration or fall cleanup. Keep the message simple: one clear offer and one call to action.
Pro tip: Use Housecall Pro’s marketing tools to automate emails and texts so you never miss a seasonal opportunity.
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Advanced lawn care and landscaping advertising ideas
Once you have a steady cash flow, layer on more advanced tactics to scale your reach, increase repeat bookings, and maximize the lifetime value of each customer. Here are higher‑level advertising strategies to test:
- Retargeting ads: Use tools like Google Display and Facebook Pixel to show ads to people who visited your website or engaged with your brand, but didn’t book. These warmer leads usually cost less to convert than new traffic.
- Geo-fenced campaigns: Target ads to neighborhoods where you’re actively working so nearby homeowners see your trucks, your work, and your offer at the same time.
- Seasonal campaigns: Promote services like spring cleanups, aeration, leaf removal, or holiday lighting before demand spikes, then pause those ads when the season ends.
- Bundled service offers: Package services (for example, weekly mowing plus seasonal fertilization) to lift average job value without raising your lead costs.
- Lookalike audiences: Upload customer lists so ad platforms can find new homeowners with similar behaviors and demographics. This tactic is best used once you’ve built a solid customer base.
- Memberships or service plans: Advertise annual maintenance plans or priority memberships to attract homeowners who want long‑term care.
How to advertise your lawn care and landscaping business step-by-step
Advertising works best when you follow a clear process. Here’s how to launch a campaign like a pro.
Step #1: Set clear advertising goals
Define exactly what you want to achieve. Do you want 30 new mowing clients? Four hardscape projects next month? Give each campaign one primary goal, not multiple goals competing against each other, so that you can judge the campaign’s success.
Examples of clear goals are things like:
- Fill 30 weekly mowing slots in your city
- Book 10 spring cleanups by March 1
- Generate 20 leads for under $200
- Increase repeat bookings by 35% in two months
Pro tip: Set a timeframe for each goal (for example, 1–3 months) so you can measure results and know what works.
Step #2: Identify your ideal customers
Don’t try to appeal to everyone. Narrow your focus to specific neighborhoods or home types before you write a single ad. For example, older neighborhoods may respond better to “cleanup” and “restoration” messaging, while new developments might need “installation” services. Ads drive more conversions when they address a specific problem.
Step #3: Choose advertising platforms and channels
Marketing your services across too many platforms at once stretches your budget thin. Start with 2–3 channels that fit your goals and audience, test long enough to get data, then double down on what brings in the most bookings.
Step #4: Set your budget and campaign duration
Base your budget on simple math, not guesswork. Calculate your maximum cost per lead by dividing your average job value by the number of leads it takes to close one sale.
Here’s an example:
- Average job value: $200
- Close rate: 25% (one job from four leads)
- Max cost per lead: 200 ÷ 4 = $50
That means you can spend up to $50 per lead and still break even before expenses and profit. Run campaigns in short, focused windows (2–4 weeks) so you can spot trends without wasting money on ads that don’t work.
Step #5: Create ad messaging and creative
In a crowded online landscape, your ads have to earn attention in a few seconds. Lead with the problem you solve and why someone should choose you instead of the landscaper down the street. Add trust signals like:
- Customer reviews
- Proof of licensing and insurance
- Years in business or certifications, like those offered by the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP)
- Recognizable neighborhood or city names
- Photos and videos of your crew at work
Step #6: Set up tracking, follow-up, and lead capture
Use unique landing pages, tracking phone numbers, or campaign-specific links so you always know which ad generated which lead. Tracking protects your budget and shows which campaigns deserve more spend.
Response time is huge—homeowners often hire the first company that replies—so make it a priority.
Pro tip: Use Housecall Pro’s customer relationship management (CRM) software to capture leads instantly and automate your first response.
Step #7: Launch, monitor, and optimize
Launching your ad is just the starting point. To improve your results, track key metrics and use the data to guide your next steps.
Track these key performance indicators (KPIs):
- Cost per lead (CPL): Total ad spend ÷ number of leads.
- Conversion rate: Percentage of leads that turn into booked jobs.
- Customer acquisition cost (CAC): Total ad spend ÷ number of booked jobs.
- Return on ad spend (ROAS): Revenue generated ÷ total ad spend.
Use these numbers to run A/B tests. Change one element at a time—like the headline, image, or call to action (CTA)—to see what improves results. If one ad consistently wins, allocate more budget there and pause the underperformers.
Housecall Pro’s reporting dashboard makes tracking easy by tying leads, bookings, and revenue together so you can see exactly which ads are worth scaling.
Step #8: Nurture unbooked leads with drip campaigns
Not every lead is ready to book immediately. Drip campaigns are a series of automated SMS or email messages sent over time to keep your business top of mind. Instead of letting leads go cold, use short, scheduled follow-ups triggered by season changes, weather alerts, or service reminders.
Keep messages relevant to the recipient’s needs, and address them by name. Personalized emails can see significantly higher open rates than generic blasts.
Step #9: Analyze results and plan next campaigns
When a campaign wraps, dig into the numbers: which channels produced the most booked jobs, which messages resonated with your target audience, and which offers fell flat? Use these insights to refine your strategy. If Facebook Ads drove low-cost leads but zero bookings, cut the budget. If your spring cleanup email had a high open rate, use that same subject line next year.
Common lawn care and landscaping ad mistakes to avoid
Most lawn care companies make the same ad mistakes early on—especially when they’re busy in the field. Watch out for:
- Relying on one channel: If that channel slows down, so do your leads. Spread efforts across at least two or three sources.
- Loose location targeting: If your ads aren’t geo‑targeted, you’ll pay for calls you can’t service. Focus on cities, ZIP codes, or neighborhoods you actually cover.
- Forgetting mobile optimization: Make it easy to call or book from a phone. If someone has to pinch, zoom, or search for a button, you can lose a potential client.
- Not tracking ROI: If you don’t track, you can’t tell which ads bring real jobs versus empty clicks. Monitor which campaigns lead to booked work and track every dollar.
- Copying competitors: “Quality service at a fair price” blends in. Call out what makes you different—response time, guarantees, specialties, or memberships.
- Letting unbooked leads go cold: Most people need a few nudges before they book. Use simple drip SMS or email campaigns to stay on their radar.
How Housecall Pro supports your advertising
Advertising gets the phone to ring, but you need the right tools to close the deal. Housecall Pro helps you streamline your sales process so you convert more leads into booked jobs.
With Housecall Pro, you can:
- Store every lead from calls, forms, and ads in one CRM, so you never lose track of a potential customer.
- Send quick estimates, invoices, and review requests without extra manual work.
- Automate follow‑ups and reminders so you close more of the leads you already paid for.
- Use advanced reporting to see which campaigns turn into jobs and which ones to cut.
- Let customers book directly from your ads with online booking.
Frequently asked questions
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How much does lawn care advertising cost?
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The cost of lawn care advertising depends on your revenue and goals. You might start by budgeting 5%–10% of your expected monthly revenue for ads. Test small, check your cost per lead, and scale up what works.
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Which advertising channel works best for lawn care?
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There is no single “best” channel. Search ads (Google) are best for immediate needs (like “lawn mowing near me”), while social ads (Facebook) are better for building awareness. A mix of both usually delivers the best results.
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Why aren’t my landscaping ads generating results?
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The most common reasons ads aren’t generating results are slow response times, unclear offers, or weak follow-up. Make sure your ad has a clear call to action and that you have a system in place to respond to leads immediately.
