12 Landscaping Marketing Strategies To Grow In 2026

The Point

Leads did not vanish, they shifted, Costs rose a bit, conversions dipped a bit, seasonality still decides who wins, Owners who plan for January research and April buying keep their calendars full

TL,DR

• CPC and CPL creep up slowly most years, plan for it, improve funnel to offset
• Conversion rates dip in soft economies, tighten offers and forms
• People research on desktop, they contact on mobile, design for thumbs
• Do not pause winter ads, January research fuels April bookings
• December searchers convert well, volume is low, keep a small budget live

What To Track Weekly

• Calls to bookings percent, target 65 to 80
• Google Ads CPL, target within 8 to 15 percent of first job revenue
• Organic conversion rate, target 6 to 10 percent on service pages
• Device split, users by desktop vs conversions by mobile
• Map pack actions, calls and website taps

Overall Google Ads and SEO Performance, 2026 Reality

What changed

• CTR, small drop is normal as auctions get crowded
• CPC, expect gradual lift, offset with tighter geo and negative keywords
• CPL, follows CPC unless you fix landing speed, forms, and offers

What to do now

• Exact match for money terms, “paver patio installers City”
• Negative keywords, DIY, jobs, parts, wholesale
• Landing pages per service, above the fold phone and quote buttons, four fields max

Users vs Conversions by Device Type

The pattern

• More visits on desktop, more contacts on mobile
• Translation, research on big screens, action on phones

Actions to take

• Mobile first, tap to call top and bottom, sticky bar with quote button
• Autofill enabled, four fields, name, phone, zip, service
• Click to text on mobile, default to SMS reply in under 5 minutes during business hours

Google Ads Performance by Season

The rule

• January, peak research, lower conversion, seed demand
• March to April, peak conversion, harvest demand
• Summer to Fall, level out, maintain presence, tighten targeting

Budget cadence

• Keep 30 to 50 percent of peak budget live in December and January
• Ramp to 100 percent March and April
• Hold 70 to 90 percent May to October
• Never go dark

Impressions vs Budget

What it means

• Fewer landscapers bid in winter, impressions remain, cheap attention is available
• If you are visible all winter, your April CPL drops, you primed buyers early

Your move

• Run evergreen ads in winter, brand plus core services, add “spring scheduling now”
• Point to fast pages with galleries and proof, do not bury the phone number

Monthly Clicks vs Impressions

The takeaway

• Clicks rise with budget, but conversions lag in January
• April wins because you planted in January, do not confuse research with intent

Fixes

• Use remarketing lists from winter traffic, 30 to 90 day windows
• Offer priority scheduling to winter researchers, limited slots, real dates

Cost per Conversion by Month

What to expect

• January, higher CPL than peak months, still worth it for the April payoff
• April, lowest CPL of the year when winter awareness was active
• December, low volume, strong intent, CPL can spike, keep a tight radius

How to lower CPL fast

• Speed, sub 2 seconds mobile load, compress images
• Proof, before and after plus reviews above the fold
• Offer, price range and next available window, remove “contact us” vagueness

Benchmarks and Targets, Use These Ranges

Google Ads

• CTR, 3 to 7 percent on tight service plus city terms
• Conversion rate, 6 to 12 percent on focused service pages
• CPL, within 8 to 15 percent of first job revenue, installs tolerate more than maintenance

Organic and Map Pack

• Service page conversion, 6 to 10 percent with phone and quote buttons
• Review velocity, 1 review per 3 jobs, steady rise beats spikes
• GBP actions up 50 to 200 percent in 90 days with weekly posts and photos

Playbook, Make The Numbers Move In 30 Days

Week 1, Fix The Funnel

• Add tap to call and quote buttons top and bottom
• Cut forms to four fields, enable autofill
• Install missed call text back, “We saw your call, reply 1 for call now, 2 for a quote window”

Week 2, Tighten Ads

• Break out campaigns by service and city, one intent per ad group
• Add 50 plus negatives from search terms, protect budget
• Swap generic landing pages for service pages with galleries and price ranges

Week 3, Own Local

• Post two Google Business updates, add nine geo tagged photos
• Ask for reviews at job close, send short link, reply to all reviews with city names
• Publish two neighborhood pages, “Service in Area, what it costs, how long it takes”

Week 4, Retarget And Follow Up

• Launch remarketing from winter visitors, show proof and next available dates
• Add SMS quote follow ups, 30 minutes, 24 hours, 3 days, stop on booked
• Track quote to job, raise it 10 to 20 percent with reminders and reschedule links

KPI Dashboard, Review Every Monday

• Calls answered, over 90 percent
• Calls to booked estimates, 65 to 80 percent
• Quote to closed job, 45 to 60 percent
• Revenue per crew day, maintenance 900 to 1,600, installs 2,500 to 6,000, market dependent
• Organic service page conversion, 6 to 10 percent
• Ads CPL vs target, within 8 to 15 percent of first job revenue

Print it, wall mount it, what gets displayed gets done

Common Mistakes, Stop Doing These

• Pausing ads in winter, you destroy April performance
• Desktop only thinking, mobile does the contacting, design for it
• Slow pages, heavy galleries, no click to call
• Broad match without negatives, budget leak
• One form for everything, no service specific pages

Scripts You Can Use Today

Phone Intake, 45 seconds

“Hi Name, we service Area, soonest window is Time, projects like yours run Range, I can schedule a free 20 minute curb appeal audit, today or tomorrow works for you”

Review Ask, 15 seconds

“Name, glad we finished on time, this link helps neighbors find us, takes 20 seconds, thank you”

SMS Follow Up, quotes

“Hi Name, we have a slot open Day, 2 to 4 pm in Area, reply 1 to book, 2 for tomorrow, 3 for a call”

Winter To Spring Budget Plan

December

Keep 30 percent of peak live, tight radius, proof ads, strong call handling

January

Increase to 50 percent, build remarketing lists, publish spring scheduling pages

March

Ramp to 100 percent, expand radius, add install campaigns

April

Maintain 100 percent, protect lead velocity, simplify scheduling

Google Sites Build Notes

• Use H1 to H4 as shown, one section per block
• Put call and quote buttons top and bottom, sticky bar on mobile
• Embed Google Business reviews near the hero
• Compress photos, add one 15 to 30 second proof video per section
• Service area pages for top five neighborhoods, link in header and footer

People Also Ask, Fast Answers

Should I pause ads in winter

No, keep 30 to 50 percent live, January research feeds April conversions

Do desktop users convert better

They research more, mobile contacts more, build for mobile action

What is a good CPL

Within 8 to 15 percent of first job revenue, installs can tolerate higher than maintenance

How fast should pages load

Under 2 seconds on mobile, or you pay tax in CPL