Let's TalkLet's TalkDemand that doubles overnight when a storm passes and sags for weeks when it does not - in an account usually built for neither.
Give us read access to the account. We come back with how your spend splits between storm and planned work, what happened to the account during the last storm, what DIY and equipment searches cost you, how your targeting compares with where crews can actually go, and the three changes worth making first. Recorded walkthrough, no call required.
Four failures we see repeatedly in this vertical, and what each one actually costs.
When a storm passes, searches for emergency tree removal jump immediately. Accounts without prepared storm campaigns either miss the surge while someone writes ads, or overspend on it with no rule for stopping when every crew is booked for a fortnight. Both waste the most valuable days of the year.
Pruning, planned removals and stump grinding are steady, considered work that keeps crews busy between storms. In a campaign shared with emergency searches, they are either drowned out after a storm or left unfunded in calm weeks, when they are exactly what the business needs.
Tree keywords attract people renting chainsaws and stump grinders, looking for how to cut down a tree themselves, buying firewood and searching for tree service jobs. None will book a crew, all of them click, and broad match finds them eagerly.
A small pruning job across the county is rarely worth the drive, while a large technical removal may be worth travelling for. Accounts with a single radius for every job type buy small jobs far away and miss the big ones that justify the trip.
Business outcomes rather than dashboard metrics. None of these is a guaranteed number - where we do guarantee something, it is written into the offer above.
The real deliverables, not a list written to make a proposal look thicker.
Not the general agency pitch. The reasons that only apply to this kind of business.
Storm ads written after the storm arrive too late. We build them in advance - the ads, the emergency landing page, the budget and the targeting - and leave them paused, with a clear rule for switching them on and for pausing them when your crews are booked. The first hours after a storm are then spent answering calls rather than building campaigns.
Storms are unpredictable; pruning, removals and stump grinding are steady. We give planned work its own campaigns and budget so crews stay busy in calm weeks, rather than letting the account swing between feast and famine with the weather.
Tree keywords attract a lot of chainsaw rentals, how-to searches and firewood buyers. We build your negative list from what your account actually attracts, weekly at first, because generic lists miss most of it - and on emergency keywords the waste is expensive.
A season of searches grouped into storm, planned, DIY and equipment traffic.
Separate campaigns and budgets, so each can be managed on its own rhythm.
Ads, landing page, budget and targeting prepared and paused.
When to switch storm campaigns on, how far to reach, and when to pause for capacity.
Radius and bids set separately for small jobs and technical removals.
Revenue by job type, storm and planned separately, monthly.
The parts of this that come from having run it in this industry before rather than from running it well in general.
After a major storm, crews can be booked for weeks within a day. Continuing to spend then buys enquiries you cannot serve and frustrates homeowners you will never reach. A pre-agreed pause rule tied to your schedule protects the budget and the reputation.
Stump grinding searches come from homeowners who removed a tree themselves or had it removed elsewhere, and from your own removal customers. A dedicated campaign captures the first group; offering it with every removal captures the second.
Where Local Services Ads are available for tree services, they charge per lead and carry a verification badge after screening. They can work well for urgent residential calls. Measure them separately from search and dispute leads that were not genuine.
Property managers and homeowner associations searching for tree care want reliability, safety records and contract terms. Their accounts are worth far more than a single residential job, so they need separate copy, pages and conversion values.
The closest paid-search engagement we can point at is an auto dealership rather than a tree service company, and we will not present it as a trade case study. It is relevant because it is the same account shape: local, high-intent search in a crowded category, where targeting mattered more than outbidding - 1.22M clicks at 627% ROAS. The storm planning and job-size targeting on this page come from how tree service accounts behave.
Read the full case studyWith campaigns prepared in advance and switched on as soon as the storm passes - emergency ads, a storm landing page, and budget and targeting set for the surge. Then pause them when your crews are booked, rather than paying for enquiries you cannot serve.
Yes. Emergency searches spike and fall with the weather, while pruning, removals and stump grinding are steady. Separate campaigns let you manage each on its own rhythm and keep crews busy between storms.
Build a negative keyword list from your own search terms - chainsaw and stump grinder rental, how-to searches, firewood, jobs - and review it weekly at first. Tree keywords attract a lot of do-it-yourself traffic.
It depends on the job. Small pruning jobs are rarely worth a long drive, while large technical removals may be. Set radius and bids by job type rather than using one radius for everything.
Lead with proof: insured, local, certified arborists where you employ them, and clear information on what happens next. Homeowners are wary of storm chasers, so ads that answer that worry directly tend to perform better than urgency alone.
A booked job with its value, imported from your job management system. Calls and form fills are useful signals, but a quick price check and a large technical removal look the same until you tell the account which is which.
It depends on your crew capacity and job values, not on a fixed figure. A steady budget for planned work in your core area, plus a storm budget ready to switch on, usually works better than a single flat amount. Judge it on jobs won.
All year, in two parts. Planned removals, pruning and stump grinding should run steadily to keep crews busy between storms, while storm campaigns sit ready and paused until the weather turns. Running only after storms leaves the account starting cold each time and the crews idle in calm weeks.
This is one part of a bigger service. Here is the whole of it, and the closest neighbours.
No pitch deck, no discovery call you have to sit through. Tell us the situation and we will tell you whether we can help.