Google Ads for diesel is not the same animal as Google Ads for plumbers, dentists, or HVAC. The keywords are more expensive, the auction is more brutal, and the LTV is higher. The shops that win run their campaigns like a derivatives trader runs a portfolio: every bid is a position, every position has a thesis.
The auction is an auction.
The cheapest mistake you can make is bidding low to "save money." The auction sorts ads by bid × quality score. Bid below the median, you don't show up at all — your money produces zero. Bid above the median, you show up and you compete. There's no middle ground. $100/day in ad spend ($3,000/mo) is our floor not because of our pricing, but because below that floor the auction won't surface you on the keywords that pay.
That ratio is the entire game. As long as you're paying $28 for clicks that lead to $3,500 tickets, the math works at almost any close rate above 8%.
The bid hierarchy we run.
Tier 1 — bid expensive ($30–$50/click)
Anything where the keyword itself signals a $3,000+ ticket: injector replacement, DPF cleaning, turbo rebuild, head gasket, fuel pump, EGR system, transmission rebuild. We bid 1.5× the auction median to guarantee top placement.
Tier 2 — bid medium ($12–$20/click)
Service categories where the ticket is variable but trends commercial: fleet maintenance, DOT inspection, brake service (commercial), preventive maintenance. We pace bid to maintain a #2–#4 position.
Tier 3 — bid low or skip ($0–$5/click)
Oil change, tire rotation, fluid flush, basic diagnostic. Low ticket, low LTV, often consumer not commercial. We either skip these or run them defensively to capture our existing customer base.
Don't bid where the
$200 ticket lives.
Negative keywords are the alpha.
Most diesel campaigns don't lose money on the wrong keywords — they lose money on the right keywords getting matched to the wrong searches. Our standard negative list runs 220+ terms and includes:
- Intent killers: DIY, free, cheap, estimate, used parts, salvage, junkyard, rebuild kit
- Wrong audience: volkswagen, jetta, passenger, light-duty, recreational
- Job seekers: jobs, hiring, salary, training, school, certification
- Tire kickers: "how much does it cost," "average price for"
Conversion tracking is non-optional.
If you're running Google Ads and you don't have call conversion tracking firing back to the ad account with audio recordings and lead-scoring data, you are flying blind. Google's algorithm needs to know which clicks turned into real diesel jobs — not which ones rang the phone.
Once that loop is closed, the algorithm starts finding more of the people who actually book. Cost per booked job typically drops 25–40% inside 60 days, with zero change in budget.
What a $3,000/mo campaign should produce.
Verified across our portfolio: 60–150 tracked calls per month, 8–10 booked diesel jobs, $30K+ in monthly tracked return on a $3,500 average ticket. Variance comes from market size, competition density, and the shop's call-handling speed. The ad math is the constant.
Want a real audit of your ad account?
If your market is still open, we look at your account, your call data, and your close rate before we ever quote you.