If you're running Google Ads for your roofing company right now, I already know three things about you.
You have budget. You're already spending it. And you're paying for every single lead that comes through that account.
I'm not here to tell you to turn off your ads. They work. But I want to show you the math that most roofing companies never sit down and do. Because once you see it, you'll look at your ad spend differently.
Chapter 01
You're renting your leads
Here's what Google Ads really costs in roofing right now.
"Roof replacement" runs $40 to $80 per click in most markets, and $80 to $120+ in competitive metros like Atlanta, Miami, or Phoenix. "Roofing contractor" sits in a similar range. "Emergency roof repair" can run even higher because the intent is so urgent and fewer advertisers bid at odd hours.
Run a moderate campaign at, say, 200 clicks a month, and you're spending $8,000 to $16,000 every single month depending on your market. Over a year, that's $96,000 to nearly $200,000.
And here's the part nobody likes to say out loud: after 12 months and $100,000 in ad spend, you own nothing. Stop paying, and the leads stop the same day. It's rent, not ownership.
Chapter 02
What SEO does differently
SEO targets those exact same keywords ("roof replacement," "roofing contractor," "roof repair"). But instead of paying per click, you build pages that rank for them organically.
Once a page ranks in the top three, those clicks are free. Not discounted. Free. And they keep coming whether you're actively spending that month or not.
The tradeoff is time. Ads give you leads tomorrow. SEO takes months to build momentum. That's why I'm not telling you to pick one. I'm telling you to do both, in sequence. Run your ads now. Build your SEO so you need those ads less later.
This is local SEO for roofers at its most direct: same keywords, no per-click cost.
Chapter 03
The strategy: money pages for your money keywords
Here's the specific play I recommend for roofing companies already running ads.
Take your five most expensive keywords, the ones where you're paying $40+ per click. Build a dedicated landing page for each one, optimized to rank organically for that exact search.
Month one, you build five pages. Month two, five more targeting the next tier of keywords. By month six, you have 30 pages actively targeting keywords and building ranking history. By month twelve, up to 60. Each one is a shot at pulling a keyword off your ad bill and onto your organic rankings.
Every keyword that starts ranking organically is a keyword you can dial back in Google Ads. Your ad spend shrinks while your lead volume holds steady, or grows.
Pro tip: Pull your top 5 keywords by cost from your Google Ads account before you start. Those are your first five money pages. Highest CPC first, because that's where the savings are biggest.
Chapter 04
You don't have to touch your website
One objection I hear: "I don't want anyone messing with my website."
You don't have to. The pages live on a subdomain of your domain, something like get.yourcompany.com. Your branding, your phone number, your business. Your main website stays exactly how it is.
And you own everything. Every page, every word, every link built to those pages. When the campaign ends, it all transfers to you.
Chapter 05
Track every lead back to the keyword
The other piece most roofers miss: call tracking. Every money page gets its own tracking number, so you can see exactly which keyword drove which call.
This matters because it closes the loop. You'll know that "roof replacement" drove 14 calls this month at zero marginal cost, while you were paying $60+ per click for the same keyword in ads last quarter.
When you know your cost per lead per keyword, you know exactly where SEO beats ads. No guessing.
Chapter 06
The math over 12 months
Let's say you're spending $10,000/month on ads right now. That's $120,000 a year.
An aggressive SEO plan built for ad spenders starts at $5,000/month. Five money pages a month, serious link building, full call tracking. That's $60,000 a year, half your ad spend. And unlike ads, every dollar compounds. Month 12's rankings are built on top of months 1 through 11, though rankings do fluctuate with algorithm updates and competitor activity. Your ad spend in month 12 buys exactly what it bought in month 1: nothing permanent.
12 months: ads vs SEO
I'm not going to pretend SEO replaces ads overnight. But 12 months from now, would you rather have spent another $120,000 on clicks that vanish, or built an asset that keeps generating leads?
Chapter 07
What to do next
Book a 30-minute consultation. I'll pull your actual ad data beforehand, map your five most expensive keywords, and show you which pages I'd build first. If you want to run your own numbers first, try our interactive calculator to plug in your real CPCs and see the comparison yourself.
FAQ
Google Ads vs SEO questions, answered
Should I stop running Google Ads if I start SEO?
No. Keep your ads running while SEO builds momentum. The goal is to gradually reduce ad spend as organic rankings take over your most expensive keywords. Not to create a lead gap.
How long before SEO reduces my ad spend?
Most roofing companies see meaningful organic movement in 4 to 6 months for targeted keywords. By month 6 to 9, you can typically start dialing back ad spend on keywords where you're ranking in the top three.
Will SEO work if my market is competitive?
Competitive markets need more aggressive link building and more money pages, but the math actually gets better. Because your CPCs are higher, every keyword you pull off ads saves you more money.
Do I need to give you access to my website?
No. Money pages are built on a subdomain of your domain. Your main website is never touched.
What happens to the pages if I stop SEO?
You keep everything. All pages, all content, all links transfer to you. The rankings you've built continue working.
Kemar Lawrence is the co-founder of CSRA Marketing, where he leads growth strategy for roofing companies. He looks at marketing the way an owner looks at a P&L: what you invest, what it brings in and how fast it pays back. Websites, local SEO and Google Business Profile are just the tools. The goal is more booked jobs at a lower cost per lead.