Billboard Advertising for Contractors: When It Works (And When You're Just Burning Money)

Billboard Advertising for Contractors: When It Works (And When You’re Just Burning Money)

“We’re thinking about billboards. What do you think?”

That’s the question I get from contractors who’ve hit a certain revenue level and are looking for their next marketing move. Usually, they’re torn between two fears: the fear of wasting tens of thousands on billboards nobody responds to, and the fear of missing out while their competitors plaster their faces across every highway in town.

Here’s what I tell them: Both fears are valid. I’ve seen billboard campaigns generate massive ROI for contractors, and I’ve seen them burn through marketing budgets faster than a bonfire burns through gasoline. The difference between the two isn’t luck. It’s strategy, timing, and honest assessment of whether you’re actually ready for billboard advertising.

TL;DR: Billboards can work for home service contractors, but only as supplemental marketing after your website, SEO, and Google Ads are already delivering consistent leads. Start with low-cost digital billboards to test messaging, focus on pain points rather than brand awareness, and understand that tracking ROI is nearly impossible—most people forget your custom URL by the time they pass the sign, but they remember your company name when they need you.

Why Most Contractors Are Right to Be Skeptical About Billboards

Let me be brutally honest: Most smaller contractors are correct when they think billboards will just burn money.

Here’s why. Unlike Google Ads campaigns where you can track every click, call, and conversion, or SEO strategies where you can measure organic traffic and rankings, billboard advertising is a black box. People drive past your billboard, forget the custom phone number or vanity URL you spent weeks creating, and then search for your company name three weeks later when their roof starts leaking.

Did the billboard work? Maybe. Did they also see your Google Business Profile? Probably. Did a neighbor mention you? Possibly. Good luck proving causation.

The tracking challenge alone makes billboards a tough sell for contractors who rightfully want to know where every marketing dollar goes. But that’s not the only problem.

The Foundation Problem: I’ve talked to too many contractors who want to invest in billboards while their website converts at 1%, their Google Business Profile hasn’t been updated in six months, and they’re not even running Google Ads yet. That’s like buying a Ferrari before you’ve learned to drive stick shift.

Billboards are supplemental marketing. They’re the cherry on top of a conversion-optimized marketing system, not the foundation. If your website is garbage, if your SEO isn’t working, if your Google Ads aren’t delivering leads consistently—billboards will just send more people to a broken system.

When Billboard Advertising Actually Works: Real Examples

Now that I’ve scared you with the truth, let me share when billboards actually deliver results.

The Utah Roofer Who Dominated with Strategic Messaging

A few years back, we worked with a roofing contractor in Utah who went all-in on billboards. I’m talking billboards from Logan down to Saint George—the entire state. They became the most visible roofing company on Utah highways, and it worked spectacularly.

But here’s what made it work: strategic, pain-focused messaging.

Their billboards weren’t generic “Call us for roofing!” garbage. Instead, they rotated seasonal messages based on the actual problems Utah homeowners were experiencing:

• Winter: “Experienced Hail Damage?” (addressing storm damage insurance claims)
• Spring/Fall: “Roof Leaking?” (the most common pain point)
• Summer: “Got Wind Damage?” (monsoon season concerns)

Every billboard hit a specific pain point at the exact time homeowners were likely experiencing it. When someone’s roof was leaking during spring storms, they’d remember seeing that exact message on their commute.

The other brilliant move? The sheer volume of billboards made them look ten times bigger than they actually were. Competitors assumed they were some massive national company. Homeowners assumed they must be the dominant player because they saw them everywhere. Market positioning through visibility.

They ran this campaign for about a year, investing the majority of their marketing budget into billboards. The result? They looked like the 800-pound gorilla in the Utah roofing market, even though they were a mid-sized operation.

The Burrito Company and the Exit Billboard Strategy

Not every billboard success story is from the contractor world, but this one illustrates an important principle: billboards work best when there’s immediate action potential.

We worked with a company selling burritos located right off a freeway exit. Instead of brand awareness billboards scattered across the city, we put up a few targeted billboards right before their exit—hitting people at the exact moment they were getting off work, hungry, and looking for quick food they could eat in the car.

The messaging leaned hard into their luchador theme with copy like “Give Hunger a Sucker Punch.” The call-to-action was immediate (you’re hungry, the exit is coming up, we’re right there), the location was visible from the exit ramp, and the campaign delivered serious results.

We ran it for six months before it started losing effectiveness. Why? Same buyers, same commute, same restaurant. The message got stale. But for those six months? Massive success.

The Rebel Ape Billboard Testing Framework

If you’re serious about testing billboard advertising without betting the farm, here’s the framework we use with contractors.

Step 1: Make Sure Your Foundation is Solid First

Before spending a single dollar on billboards, audit your existing marketing:

• Is your website actually converting visitors into leads?
• Is your Google Business Profile optimized and generating reviews?
• Are your Google Ads delivering consistent, profitable leads?
• Is your SEO driving organic traffic and phone calls?

If the answer to any of these is “no” or “kind of,” fix those first. Billboards won’t fix a broken conversion system. They’ll just expose more people to your broken system.

Think of it this way: billboards increase the volume of people who know your company name. But if those people search for you and find a terrible website, missing information on Google, or reviews from three years ago, you just wasted that billboard investment.

Step 2: Start with Shared-Space Digital Billboards

If your foundation is solid and you want to test billboards, start small with shared-space digital billboards.

These cost a fraction of static billboards (sometimes a few hundred dollars per month instead of several thousand) and let you test creative and messaging without massive financial commitment. You can also change the creative quickly if something isn’t resonating.

Digital billboards are your testing ground. If they show positive results—increased branded search traffic, more direct website visits, uptick in calls—then you can consider static placements in high-traffic areas.

Step 3: Focus on Pain Points, Not Brand Awareness

The biggest mistake contractors make with billboard creative is thinking billboards are just about getting their name out there.

Wrong.

Your billboard should address a specific pain point your target customer is experiencing. “Experienced Hail Damage?” works infinitely better than “Smith Roofing - Serving Utah Since 1995.”

Why? Because most people don’t pay attention to billboards until they need that service. Until then, it’s just background noise. But the moment their roof starts leaking, suddenly that “Roof Leaking?” billboard they’ve passed 100 times becomes the most relevant thing they’ve seen all day.

Pain-focused messaging works because it speaks directly to the problem the prospect is experiencing right now. Your branding matters, but the pain point is the hook.

Step 4: Understand the Attribution Challenge

I’m going to save you a lot of frustration: tracking billboard ROI is nearly impossible with traditional attribution methods.

People will not remember your vanity URL. They will not call your custom tracking number. They’ll drive past your billboard, maybe register your company name subconsciously, and then three weeks later when they need a roofer, they’ll Google “roofing companies near me” or search for your company name directly.

The best way to measure billboard effectiveness is tracking:

• Branded search traffic increases: Monitor Google Search Console for upticks in people searching for your company name
• Direct website traffic: Check Google Analytics for increases in direct traffic (people typing your URL directly)
• Google Business Profile views: Track whether more people are finding your GBP listing
• Overall lead volume: Watch for general increases in calls and form submissions during billboard campaign periods

It’s not perfect attribution, but it’s more realistic than expecting people to remember “CallUsNow.com/Utah” when they’re driving 75 mph on I-15.

Step 5: Cycle Your Creative Every 6-12 Months

One of the common objections we hear: “Won’t the message get stale quickly if the same people drive past it every day?”

Yes. That’s exactly what happens.

But that’s also why you cycle creative every 6-12 months. Change the messaging, refresh the visuals, address different pain points. For seasonal businesses like roofing, rotate messages based on seasonal problems (hail damage in winter, leaks in spring, wind damage in summer).

The other truth contractors don’t realize? Most people only truly see your billboard when they need your service. Until then, it’s background noise. But when their roof starts leaking, suddenly that billboard they’ve driven past 200 times becomes extremely relevant.

That’s the power of pain-point messaging combined with consistent visibility.

Addressing the “I Don’t Need Billboards” Objection

The most common pushback we get: “I don’t need billboards. I have great word-of-mouth referrals.”

Here’s my response: Word-of-mouth is fantastic. Keep those referrals coming. But word-of-mouth only works when your customer remembers to share your name, cares enough to recommend you, and happens to know someone who needs your service at exactly the right time.

Billboards work 24/7/365. They don’t rely on your customers’ memory or goodwill. They don’t depend on timing luck. They put your company name in front of thousands of potential customers every single day, creating brand recognition that compounds over time.

Most homeowners don’t pay attention to contractor brands until they need one. That’s the moment when all that passive billboard exposure becomes active brand recall. “Oh yeah, I’ve seen that company’s billboards everywhere. They must be legit.”

But—and this is important—billboards shouldn’t replace your referral strategy or your digital marketing foundation. They should supplement it.

Common Billboard Mistakes That Waste Money

After running 50+ billboard campaigns for contractors and other businesses, here are the mistakes that burn money:

Mistake #1: Too Much Information

Your billboard isn’t a website. It’s not a brochure. Drivers have 3-5 seconds to see, process, and remember your message. If your billboard has your company name, tagline, five services, three phone numbers, a website URL, and social media handles, nobody is remembering any of it.

The fix: One message. One visual. One call-to-action (usually just your company name and service area). That’s it.

Mistake #2: Generic Messaging That Doesn’t Address Pain

“Quality Roofing Since 1985” tells me nothing about why I should care about you right now. “Roof Leaking? We Fix It Fast” addresses my immediate problem and positions you as the solution.

The fix: Lead with the pain point or problem, not your company history. Understanding your customer’s actual problems is the foundation of effective billboard messaging.

Mistake #3: No Testing Before Big Commitments

I’ve seen contractors sign year-long contracts for multiple static billboards without ever testing messaging, creative, or even whether billboards make sense for their market. That’s a $50,000+ mistake.

The fix: Test with digital billboards first. Validate that billboards can move the needle for your business before committing serious budget to static placements.

Mistake #4: Investing in Billboards Before Fixing the Foundation

This is the biggest one. A contractor with a broken website, mediocre SEO, and no Google Ads strategy decides billboards are the answer. Then they wonder why increased brand awareness didn’t translate to increased revenue.

The fix: Get your website converting, your SEO driving organic traffic, and your PPC campaigns delivering profitable leads before spending a dime on billboards.

Mistake #5: Treating Billboards as Primary Lead Generation

Billboards are brand awareness and market positioning tools. They’re not your primary lead generation engine. If you’re counting on billboards to generate 50 qualified leads per month, you’re going to be disappointed.

The fix: View billboards as supplemental marketing that supports your primary lead generation channels (SEO, PPC, referrals). They create the awareness that makes your other marketing more effective.

The Bottom Line on Billboard Advertising for Contractors

Billboards can absolutely work for home service contractors. I’ve seen them help companies dominate markets, create the perception of being much larger than they actually are, and drive real revenue growth.

But they’re not a magic bullet. They’re not a substitute for conversion-optimized website design, effective SEO, or profitable Google Ads campaigns. They’re the supplement that amplifies an already-working marketing system.

If your foundation is solid, if you’re ready to test strategically with digital billboards first, and if you understand the attribution challenges going in, billboards can be a powerful addition to your marketing mix.

If your website is mediocre, your SEO is non-existent, and you’re hoping billboards will solve your lead generation problems? Save your money. Fix the foundation first.

Ready to Build a Complete Marketing System That Actually Generates Leads?

At Rebel Ape Marketing, we don’t just help contractors with billboards. We build complete, conversion-optimized marketing systems that include website design, SEO, Google Ads, Google Business Profile optimization, and yes—strategic billboard campaigns when the timing is right.

But we always start with the foundation. Because billboards don’t fix broken marketing systems. They expose more people to them.

Want to know if billboards make sense for your contracting business? Schedule a call with us and let’s talk honestly about whether you’re ready for billboards or if there are better ways to invest your marketing budget right now.