Start from the move, not from the click
What you can pay for a lead comes from three figures you already know: the average move value, the share of quotes you book, and the margin you need after crew, fuel, and trucks. Google Ads knows none of them, so it happily spends on clicks that look fine in the dashboard and never become moves.
| Input | Local 1 to 2 bedroom | Local 3 to 4 bedroom | Long distance household | Office move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average move value | $750 | $1,600 | $4,800 | $9,000 |
| Quotes booked | 35% | 30% | 22% | 15% |
| Revenue per lead | $263 | $480 | $1,056 | $1,350 |
| Share of revenue for ads | 10% | 10% | 10% | 10% |
| Maximum cost per lead | $26 | $48 | $106 | $135 |
-
Average move value
Local 1 to 2 bedroom
$750
Local 3 to 4 bedroom
$1,600
Long distance household
$4,800
Office move
$9,000
-
Quotes booked
Local 1 to 2 bedroom
35%
Local 3 to 4 bedroom
30%
Long distance household
22%
Office move
15%
-
Revenue per lead
Local 1 to 2 bedroom
$263
Local 3 to 4 bedroom
$480
Long distance household
$1,056
Office move
$1,350
-
Share of revenue for ads
Local 1 to 2 bedroom
10%
Local 3 to 4 bedroom
10%
Long distance household
10%
Office move
10%
-
Maximum cost per lead
Local 1 to 2 bedroom
$26
Local 3 to 4 bedroom
$48
Long distance household
$106
Office move
$135
Revenue per lead is move value times booking rate, and the last row takes 10 percent of it. These are assumptions, not market averages. They show why one campaign for all moves is a mistake: a $60 target overpays for a one-bedroom local move and underbids a long distance household, where a single booked job justifies a much higher click price. Track the booking rate per move type for a month before you trust the table.
The searches that eat a moving budget
Moving terms attract people who will never hire a crew. In a typical search terms report the same groups return again and again.
- Job seekers: moving company jobs, mover salary, moving driver jobs, hiring movers.
- Truck and container rentals: u-haul rental, moving truck rental, portable storage price.
- DIY and tips: how to pack dishes, free moving boxes, moving checklist.
- Industry searches: moving leads, how to start a moving company, moving company marketing.
- Research: cost of living comparisons, best cities to move to, with no move planned.
Each group is a pattern, so one phrase negative blocks hundreds of future queries. A monthly review catches the pattern after the damage, while daily negative keyword automation catches it after a few clicks. Broad negatives on words like moving or movers would block your own customers, so use phrase and exact matches.
How much to spend per month on moving leads
Work backward from the moves your crews can handle. If you want 30 booked moves a month and book 30 percent of quotes, you need 100 leads. At an average cost per lead of $60 that is $6,000 a month. At $95 it is $9,500. The gap between those two numbers is mostly wasted clicks, not better marketing.
Season changes the plan. Demand builds in late spring, peaks in summer, and dips in winter, with spikes at the start and end of each month. Keep a steady base budget and let a pacing rule on month-to-date spend stop a strong first week from emptying the month. The bid and budget rules page explains how that pacing works.
Google Ads versus bought leads and Local Services Ads
Mover lead providers sell the same request to several companies, so you compete on price and speed with people who got the identical lead. Exclusive leads cost more per lead but are not shared. Local Services Ads charge per lead and show a verified badge, and Google documents how Local Services Ads work. Search ads give exclusive leads and full control over keywords and geography, which matters most for long distance and commercial work where the value per lead is high.
Whatever the source, you only learn the true cost of a lead by matching marketing spend to booked jobs. Keeping deposits and job payments reconciled against your bank feed, for example with a tool such as Bankreconciler, makes the revenue side of that calculation reliable.
What happens after the click decides the real cost per lead
A cheap click that lands on a slow page, or a phone nobody answers on a Saturday morning, produces expensive leads. Four things move the number more than bids do.
1. Answer calls live during peak days, and return form requests within the hour. Quote seekers contact several movers and book the first good reply.
2. Send each campaign to a page about that move type, with a visible phone number and a short quote form.
3. Track calls and form submissions as conversions, so the rules know what counts as a lead.
4. Judge lead quality, not only count. A $40 lead who never answers costs more than a $75 lead who books.
Let rules do the daily work
Moving company owners rarely have an hour a day for Google Ads. PpcAutomate runs the routine: blocking job-seeker, rental, and DIY searches, lowering bids on keywords whose cost per lead drifts above your target, pacing monthly budget, and alerting you when calls stop while spend continues. Every change sits in a log with one-click undo. The Google Ads for moving companies page shows the full rule set and plans, and PPC management for small business covers the general workflow. Plans start at $49 per month billed yearly, listed on the pricing page.
Questions about moving leads and Google Ads
It depends on your market, the move type, and how many junk clicks you block. Instead of chasing an average, set a maximum from move value times booking rate times the share of revenue you will spend on marketing. In the example above that is about $26 for a small local move and $106 for a long distance household.
Separate local, long distance, and commercial campaigns, block job, rental, and DIY searches, send each campaign to a matching quote page, and answer calls fast. Raising the budget before fixing wasted clicks only buys more of the same junk.
Search ads give exclusive leads and control of keywords and geography, but need ongoing management. Lead providers need no setup, but often sell each lead to several movers. Many companies use Search for long distance and commercial work and a provider as a second source.
Start with jobs, hiring, salary, driver, truck rental, container rental, free boxes, diy, and how to, then add more from your search terms report. Avoid broad negatives on words customers use, such as moving, movers, or storage.