Last month, I watched a tree service owner spend $4,200 on Facebook ads.

He had three different campaigns running. Seven ad sets. Twelve different creatives. All of them targeting "homeowners interested in home improvement" within 25 miles.

When I asked him which one was working, he said: "I don't know. I'm just hoping one of them hits."

That's not marketing.

That's a slot machine run by Zuckerberg.

You'd never let a ground guy just "try stuff" with a saw and hope it works. But that's exactly how most tree service owners treat their ad account—pull the lever, cross their fingers, hope for a jackpot.

When it works? They celebrate and scale it.

When it doesn't? They blame "the algorithm" or "ad fatigue" or whatever sounds good.

Then they do it all over again next month.

Here's what that actually costs you:

We took over an account last quarter that was burning $6,000/month on Google and Facebook. The owner was getting leads. Plenty of them. But his cost per booked job was $480.

We killed two audiences. We stopped optimizing for form fills and started optimizing for phone calls over 60 seconds. We tested three angles instead of twelve.

Ninety days later? Same $6,000 budget. Cost per booked job dropped to $220.

Same market. Same company. Different approach.

Science First. Art Second.

Here's what we changed: we stopped guessing and started testing.

When you approach ads like a scientist, you're not hoping for wins. You're testing for them.

You're asking specific questions:

Then you run the experiment. You collect data. You learn something.

And you use that knowledge to make the next test better.

This is how you build a system that delivers booked jobs at a cost you can live with. Instead of hoping you get lucky.

Now, does that mean advertising has to be boring?

Hell no.

That's where the art comes in.

Once you've got your science dialed in—once you know what messages resonate, once you've tested your way to a winning structure—THEN you get creative.

You can test wild hooks. Try different angles. Push boundaries.

But you're doing it from a place of knowledge, not desperation.

The problem is most people do it backwards.

They lead with art. They make "creative" ads based on what they think is cool, without testing whether their market actually cares.

Then when it flops, they either give up or they strip out all personality and run boring ads nobody notices.

Both approaches suck.

The real move? Combine them.

Use science to find what works. Use art to make it interesting.

Quick hits worth your time:

→ Tracking tip: Set up call tracking with duration minimums. Calls under 60 seconds probably aren't qualified leads worth optimizing for.

→ Testing timeline: Run each test at least 7 days or until you've got 15+ calls before you decide if it's working. Killing a campaign after 3 days teaches you nothing.

→ Audience test: Try running two identical ads—one to a 10-mile radius, one to 25 miles. Watch which one delivers lower cost per booked job, not just lower cost per lead.

→ Headline test: Storm season's coming. Test whether "storm-damaged tree" language outperforms "tree removal" in your market. One usually destroys the other.

Stop Gambling With Your Ad Budget

If you can't explain WHY an ad worked or didn't work, you're just guessing.

And guessing is expensive.

Most established tree services I talk to are sitting on $2,000–$5,000/month in wasted ad spend. Not because they're running ads wrong. Because they're treating their ad account like a slot machine instead of a tool they can tune.

That's what our $100 consult fixes.

You complete a short intake. We audit your digital footprint and how people looking for tree service see your business. Then we show you exactly where you're bleeding money and what to fix first.

Not 47 things to fix "someday." The one straight-line change that moves your cost per job down and helps fill your calendar up.

If you show up, complete the intake, and don't honestly feel it was worth at least $1,000 to you? Tell us and we'll refund your $100. Simple as that.

No pitch. No pressure. Just the plan to turn your ad account into something that delivers steady, qualified work instead of expensive surprises.

P.S. If your ad account feels like a mystery instead of a machine, hit the button above.
We'll fix that.

Written by Jacob Hastings
Head of Growth & Client Strategy at Growth Ring Media