What’s Changing in Google and Meta Right Now
When Costs Rise and Performance Rises With Them
Hi H Client!
Working exclusively with landscaping businesses gives us something most marketing teams do not have: a real-time view of performance data across an entire industry. Every week, we are looking across our entire client base, spotting patterns, comparing results, and using that picture to sharpen what we do for each business we serve. Here is what the data is showing right now in paid media.
Across our client accounts, we pulled year-over-year actuals and cross-referenced them against patterns we are tracking in adjacent home services industries. Industry-wide, ad costs are up on both Google and Meta. What our accounts are showing is something worth noting. On Google, despite higher cost-per-click, conversion rates have improved and cost-per-opportunity is down. The traffic coming through is converting at a stronger rate because of how we have been refining targeting, landing page alignment, and budget structure. On Meta, reach costs more due to a larger advertiser pool and increased seasonal demand across home services. And yet click-through rates are up. That is not a coincidence. It means our audience targeting is precise, our messaging is resonating with the right homeowners, and the creative is earning attention in a noisier feed. In a more expensive environment, the accounts we manage are becoming more efficient, not less, because the underlying work is dialed in.
That does not happen by accident. It happens because paid media does not operate in isolation. Google and Meta perform better when they are connected to a strong website, clear messaging, consistent SEO/GEO presence, and a follow-up system that captures demand once it arrives. When those pieces work together as a growth system, each channel reinforces the others. Paid media brings the right homeowner in. The website converts them. SEO/GEO and reputation build the trust that makes the decision easier. That integration is what separates businesses that hold performance through a competitive market from ones that drift.
One of the highest-leverage things you can do to support that system right now is invest in fresh visual content. Video in particular is a baseline, not a differentiator. The platforms are prioritizing it, homeowners expect it, and it gives the entire growth system stronger material across every channel simultaneously. One dedicated video shoot per year is the minimum we recommend, and the businesses seeing the strongest results are the ones treating it as a recurring investment (multiple times a year), not a one-time project.
There is also a budget conversation worth having. If your business grew 10 percent last year but your marketing investment stayed flat, you are asking the same spend to support more revenue and more competition than it was designed for. Growth compounds when the investment scales with the business. If your goals have shifted, your PM can help you look at whether your current budget still matches the opportunity in your market.
Regardless of where your budget sits or where your creative library stands today, our team is working your growth system every week. That is what partners do. If you want to review how things are performing across channels, or talk through what a video shoot or budget adjustment could unlock, your Project Manager is the right place to start.
Lauren Cullnan
Senior Director of Client Experience and Design Operations
