Microsoft Ads success story · Plumbing, heating and air company

How a plumbing and heating company got 318% greater return on ad spend from Bing Professional Service ads.

Name: Overtop Media Digital Marketing
Address: 933 Louise Ave Suite 101-18, Charlotte, NC, 28204, US
Telephone: (704) 237-0707
Price range: $$

Len The Plumber Heating and Air needed a cheaper source of qualified leads when its Google local ads slowed down. Professional Service ads on Bing, a local ad format built for service businesses, delivered cheaper clicks, cheaper qualified leads and a far better return than its regular Bing search ads.

Business: Len The Plumber Heating and Air
Market: Not stated by Microsoft
Goal: Cheaper qualified leads after Google local ads slowed

Plumber in a red shirt fitting white drain pipes under a sink

The results.

Compared with non-branded Microsoft Search ads running in the same markets.

318%greater return on ad spend
78%lower cost per qualified lead
80%lower cost per click

The Professional Service ads campaign launched June 8, 2023 and was still running when Microsoft published the story on April 1, 2024. Microsoft does not state the measurement period or method.

The challenge.

Len The Plumber Heating and Air handles general plumbing, sewer and drain work, water heaters and well service. It offers same-day service seven days a week and does not charge extra for emergencies. For a business like this, the phone ringing with a real job is what keeps the trucks busy.

The company ran its Google local service ads in-house, and both clicks and leads started to fall. Moving a large share of that budget into regular search ads to make up the gap did very little. It needed a new source of qualified leads that did not cost more per job.

Microsoft Advertising example of a Bing search ad with links and details shown on desktop and mobile

What they did.

Professional Service ads on Bing (local ads for service businesses) · Search ads on Bing

Added a local ad format on Bing: The company started running Professional Service ads, a Microsoft Advertising format made for local service businesses. They show up when people search Bing for a pro to hire, and the business pays when someone clicks.
Tested it against regular search: The new ads ran in the same markets as the company’s existing non-branded Microsoft Search ads, the ones that show for searches like “plumber near me” rather than for its own name. That gave a fair side-by-side comparison.
Judged on qualified leads: Success was measured by cost per qualified lead and return on ad spend, not by raw lead count. Numbers like these depend on conversion tracking that ties each lead back to the ad that produced it.
Kept it live for the results: The campaign launched June 8, 2023. Microsoft notes it does not yet bring in as many leads as Google local service ads, but the company kept it running because the leads it does bring cost far less and return far more.

Why it worked.

Our read on the decisions behind the numbers, and what any business can take from them.

Built for hiring a pro: Someone searching for a plumber usually has a leak, a clog or a cold shower right now. An ad format made for local service businesses meets that person at the moment they are ready to call.
Less competition per click: Many home service companies put their whole budget into Google. On Bing, the same kind of searcher can cost much less to reach, which is how clicks came in 80% cheaper.
Quality over volume: Fewer leads at a much lower cost can be worth more than a flood of expensive ones. Measuring cost per qualified lead and return made that visible instead of hiding it behind lead counts.
A second channel when the first slows: When Google local ads dropped off, the company had nowhere cheap to go. Adding Bing spread the risk, so one platform’s slowdown no longer meant an empty schedule.

How we would run this play for your business.

You do not need a national budget to use the same ideas. This is how Overtop Media Digital Marketing puts them to work in our microsoft ads management.

Get you set up for local search on Bing: Our Microsoft Ads management covers local service ads and search campaigns built around the jobs you want most, in the areas you actually serve.
Count jobs, not clicks: We track calls and form leads back to the ad that produced them and mark which became booked jobs, so you see your real cost per qualified lead.
Keep the cheap leads coming: We watch cost per lead week by week, cut searches that bring tire kickers, and move budget to the services and towns that book the most work.
Cover Google too: Most of your customers still search on Google. Our Google Ads management runs alongside Bing, so a slowdown on one platform does not leave your phones quiet.