Google Ads reach homeowners searching for your trade, wherever they search; Yelp Ads reach only the ones who open Yelp, and they show your Yelp rating next to the ad whether you like it or not. For nearly every contractor, Google Ads are the first paid channel and Yelp Ads are a maybe. Run Yelp only if your Yelp page already brings you calls on its own, you can get a non-term program in writing, and you cap the monthly budget.

Yelp's sales team calls contractors to sell ad packages. That alone explains most of the "should I try Yelp Ads" questions we get. This page compares the two on billing, contract terms, targeting, lead quality, and where each one still earns its keep, so the next time a rep calls you have the answers before they finish the pitch.

Google Ads vs Yelp Ads at a Glance

Factor Google Ads (Search) Yelp Ads
Where the ad shows Google search results for the keywords you choose. Yelp search results and competitor pages, in categories Yelp matches to you.
You pay for Clicks. You set bids and a daily budget. Clicks. Yelp sets the price per click from supply and demand at that moment and spends your monthly budget.
Targeting Exact keywords, negative keywords, location, schedule, device. Your business category and area. No keywords, no negatives.
Ad copy control Full. Headlines, descriptions, landing page. Limited. Your Yelp page is the landing page.
Your rating is in the ad No. Yes. A weak Yelp rating rides along with every impression.
Contract None. Pause any time. Depends on the program. Yelp offers a "non-term contract program" and other programs with different cancellation terms.
Budget cap Daily, per campaign. Monthly. Yelp says it will "never charge you more than the monthly budget you've set."
Bad-click protection Google filters invalid clicks; neither platform offers a per-click dispute like LSA lead credits. Same: no per-click dispute process.
Reporting Search terms, calls, conversions, cost per lead if tracked. Clicks, calls, and page views inside Yelp for Business.

How Each One Bills You

Google Ads: bids, keywords, a daily budget

You choose the searches you want to appear for, set a maximum bid, and pay when a homeowner clicks. Google describes its standard ads as "customizable, pay-per-click text ads open to any business." Everything about the campaign is yours to change the same day: the keywords, the negatives that block junk searches, the ad text, the page the click lands on, the hours the ad runs. That control is the reason a Google Ads account takes work to run and the reason it can be tuned until it books jobs at a cost you can live with.

Yelp Ads: a monthly budget Yelp spends for you

Yelp's help center says "Each time your ad is clicked, we will charge you according to your CPC price," and that "You pay a different price per click depending on the supply and demand of that moment, which will depend on factors like how many other businesses like yours are competing for the same clicks, available ad inventory, and consumer interest." You set a monthly budget; Yelp says it will "never charge you more than the monthly budget you've set and you should plan to have 100% of your budget fulfilled." Ads "are delivered in categories matching your specific business, as well as other similar categories that our ad delivery system has identified as relevant."

Read those two lines together. You do not pick the searches. Yelp picks the categories, sets the click price, and spends the whole budget. Your levers are the budget amount and the on-off switch.

The contract question

Yelp's cancellation page opens with "Depending on your program, the terms of cancellation vary" and then describes the "non-term contract program," which you can stop at any time. The existence of a non-term program means other programs carry terms. If a rep offers you a discount for a longer commitment, that is the term program. Ask for the non-term program by name, get the monthly budget and the cancellation terms in writing, and confirm the exit: Yelp's page on cancelling Yelp Ads says "Cost-per-click advertising programs will end immediately upon cancellation."

What the Leads Look Like

A Google search lead already decided to hire a plumber, a roofer, or a tree company. They are choosing which one. That is why close rates on exclusive Google leads can run high in our accounts. AMN Plumbing in Ormond Beach, Florida, a Watson & Co. plumbing client, closed 83% of 94 exclusive leads in about 60 days and booked $130,000 or more in its first 30 days.

A Yelp lead has been reading reviews, yours and your competitors', on the same screen. Yelp Ads put you at the top of that list, but the homeowner still sees your rating and the competitor's rating before they call. A Yelp Ad on a 3.5-star page pays to send homeowners to a 4.8-star competitor two rows down. Fix the page before you fund the ad; our Google reviews vs Yelp reviews comparison covers how, including the rule that you cannot ask for Yelp reviews.

We do not publish a Yelp Ads cost per lead because we do not run enough Yelp accounts to state one we would stand behind, and we will not borrow a number from a vendor that sells against us.

Where Yelp Ads Still Work

Yelp's business skews toward contractors more than most owners realize. In 2025, Yelp's advertising revenue from Services businesses, the category that includes home services, was $948 million, more than double the $444 million from restaurants, retail, and everything else. Yelp is a home services ad company that also lists restaurants.

That money has to come from somewhere, and in our experience it comes from a specific kind of shop: a plumbing, HVAC, or moving company in a large metro where homeowners still open the Yelp app for trades, with a Yelp page that already carries dozens of recommended reviews and a strong rating. For that company, in our experience, Yelp Ads amplify a page that already converts. For a tree company in a suburban county with four Yelp reviews, the same budget buys visibility on a page nobody was going to read.

Which One Fits Your Situation

First paid channel, any size

Google. Start with Local Services Ads, then search ads for your highest-ticket service. You reach every homeowner searching your trade, you control every dollar, and there is no contract.

Yelp page already brings calls without ads

Google first, test Yelp at a capped budget. If your Yelp page shows real recommended reviews and a rating you would put on a truck, a non-term Yelp Ads program at a fixed monthly budget can add calls. Track them with a separate number. Cut it the first month the cost per booked job runs above your Google number.

Yelp rating below 4.0, or fewer than 25 recommended reviews (our rule of thumb)

Google only. Do not fund the Yelp page. Ads on a weak page pay to show homeowners why they should call someone else. Clean the page up first, then revisit.

A Yelp rep is offering a discount for a commitment

No. Ask for the non-term contract program, in writing. If the rep will not put it in writing, the answer stays no. Yelp's own help center says cancellation terms vary by program, and a discount is how you end up in the program that does not let you leave.

If your Google Ads are running and the phone still is not ringing, the fix is inside the account more often than on another platform. Start with why your Google Ads are not ringing your phone and the Google Ads budget guide for contractors. Our Google Ads service page covers what we run for clients.

We run Google Ads for one contractor per trade per market. If a rep is pitching you this week, send us the proposal and we will tell you what it is worth.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is it better to advertise on Yelp or Google for a contractor?
Google, for nearly every contractor. Google Ads reach homeowners searching for your trade and let you control keywords, budget, and landing page with no contract. Yelp Ads reach only people using Yelp, in categories Yelp chooses, and they display your Yelp rating in the ad. Yelp Ads make sense only as a capped, non-term test for a company whose Yelp page already brings calls.
Is $500 a month enough for Google Ads?
Not for search ads in most home services markets; $500 buys too few clicks to find the keywords that produce calls. Put $500 into Local Services Ads instead, where you pay per lead rather than per click; in the accounts we run, the floor for search ads is $1,500 a month. Spending $500 on Yelp Ads at that budget has the same problem plus a weaker audience.
Can you run Google Ads and Yelp Ads at the same time?
Yes, and if you test Yelp that is how to do it: keep Google Ads as the base, add a non-term Yelp Ads program at a fixed monthly budget, and give each its own tracking phone number so you can compare cost per booked job. Cut whichever channel books jobs at the higher cost after 60 to 90 days. Do not move Google budget to Yelp to fund the test.
Is Google or Yelp more accurate for finding a contractor?
Yelp's ratings are harder to inflate: Yelp's recommendation software hides reviews it does not trust, and a study by FTC economist Devesh Raval found Yelp ratings spread more evenly across one to five stars while Google ratings skew high. So on Google the useful signals are review count, recency, and owner responses. For advertising, accuracy matters less than reach: Google is where the homeowner searches, so it is where the ad belongs.
Can you cancel Yelp Ads any time?
It depends on the program you signed. Yelp's help center says cancellation terms vary by program and describes a non-term contract program you can stop at any time from the Billing page, with cost-per-click ads ending immediately. Programs with a term commitment have different rules. Ask for the non-term program in writing before you agree to anything.
Do Yelp Ads work for home services?
In our experience, only for a narrow case: a company in a large metro where homeowners still open Yelp for trades, with a Yelp page that already carries strong recommended reviews. Yelp's own 2025 results show Services businesses generate $948 million in ad revenue, so plenty of contractors pay. For most, Google Ads and Local Services Ads book more jobs per dollar because the homeowner is already searching.

Sources checked September 19, 2026: Yelp for Business help on how the cost-per-click program works, cancelling an advertising program, and cancelling Yelp Ads; Yelp's 2025 results and its summary of the FTC economist's review study (the paper: Devesh Raval, Do Bad Businesses Get Good Reviews?); Google's Local Services Ads page for its description of standard pay-per-click search ads. Client figures are from Watson & Co. accounts and apply only to the trade named.