If you're still running Facebook ads the way you did in 2022 — tight audience targeting, interest stacks, lookalike audiences — you're probably seeing CPLs climb with no clear reason why. The algorithm changed. Your strategy needs to change with it.
The Big Shift: Broad Targeting Now Wins
For years, the best practice on Meta was tight targeting: homeowners, specific income brackets, age ranges, home improvement interests. That era is over. Meta's algorithm has gotten so good at finding buyers from conversion signals that adding demographic restrictions now actively hurts performance by shrinking the pool the algorithm can optimize within.
The contractors we work with who made the switch from tight targeting to broad (18–65+, no interests, location only) saw CPLs drop 20–40% in most markets. You're giving Meta's AI more room to find the people who actually convert — and it's better at finding them than you are at manually specifying them.
The Creative Formula That's Working
Creative is now the primary targeting mechanism on Meta. The ad itself signals to the algorithm who to show it to. This means your creative needs to be specific enough that the right people self-select, and it needs to stop the scroll.
The creative format that's consistently outperforming polished production in home services right now is lo-fi video shot on a phone. Here's why: it looks real. It looks like what a friend would send you. It doesn't look like an ad. That pattern interrupt is worth more than any production value.
- Film at the job site — real equipment, real technicians, real work being done
- Open with a problem statement, not a brand introduction
- Example hook: "Your AC is about to fail and you don't know it yet. Here's the sign."
- Include a specific offer in the first 3 seconds
- Keep it under 60 seconds — most viewers decide in the first 5
Offer Structure That Converts
The offer needs to be compelling enough to generate a click from someone who wasn't actively looking for your service. "Free estimate" doesn't do that — it's too vague and too common. Specificity creates urgency.
The best-performing contractor offers on Meta right now follow this formula: a specific service + a clear benefit + a time constraint or availability hook. Examples:
- "Same-day AC tune-up — only 8 slots open this week"
- "We'll beat any written quote by 10% — call before Friday"
- "Free 21-point plumbing inspection for homes built before 2005"
- "Book before the rush — 3 spots left for next-week install"
Campaign Structure in 2026
Keep it simple. Meta Advantage+ campaigns (their AI-driven campaign type) are now the default recommendation for lead gen in home services. One campaign, one ad set with broad targeting and your full service area radius, 3–5 creative variations testing different hooks and offers.
Don't over-segment. We see contractors running 12 campaigns for different services and it creates budget fragmentation and kills the algorithm's ability to optimize. Consolidate to 1–2 campaigns and let Meta's AI do the distribution work.
Budget Thresholds That Matter
Meta's algorithm needs data to optimize. In competitive home service markets, you need a minimum of $50–75/day to generate enough conversion events for the algorithm to learn within a reasonable timeframe. Running $15/day and waiting for results is like trying to analyze a survey with 10 respondents — the sample is too small to mean anything.
If budget is limited, run for 2 weeks at $75/day rather than 6 weeks at $25/day. Get the data faster, make decisions, then scale or pivot. Slow-burn low-budget campaigns are one of the most common ways contractors waste money on Meta.