Key takeaways
- Pay for searches that name a service and a frequency, such as biweekly house cleaning or move-out cleaning, not the bare word cleaning.
- Run residential and commercial keywords in separate campaigns with separate landing pages and budgets.
- Add a negative list before launch: jobs and hiring, supplies, DIY, dental and car cleaning, and every specialty trade you do not offer.
- Read the search terms report weekly for the first month, then before each busy season.
The Google Ads keywords worth paying for at a cleaning company name a service and, often, a frequency: "biweekly house cleaning", "move out cleaning service", "office cleaning company". The bare word "cleaning" is not one of them. It attracts job seekers, shoppers and dental patients, so a cleaning company's keyword list is as much about what you block as what you buy.
The keywords worth paying for
The keywords worth paying for are the ones a household or a facility manager types when they are ready to book a visit. They fall into a few themes, and each theme needs its own ad group and its own landing page.
| Keyword theme | Example searches | Send the click to | Worth it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recurring house cleaning | "weekly house cleaning", "biweekly maid service", "house cleaners near me" | A page with frequency options and an instant quote | Always; this is where recurring clients come from |
| Deep cleaning | "deep house cleaning service", "spring cleaning service" | A deep-clean page that also shows the recurring rate | Year-round, heavier in spring |
| Move-out and move-in | "move out cleaning", "end of lease cleaning" | A move-out checklist page with a booking form | When teams have month-end slots to fill |
| Commercial janitorial | "office cleaning company", "janitorial services for small business" | A commercial page with a walkthrough request | Only if you staff evenings and carry the insurance facility managers ask for |
| Your business name | Your name, with or without "cleaning" | Your home page | Usually; it is cheap and protects past clients from competitors' ads |
Searches from a new parent, a family before the holidays or someone mid-move rarely include the trigger itself. They search for the service, so your ad text is where you speak to the trigger: "Home cleaned before the baby arrives" or "Guests on Friday? Book a deep clean."
Keep the SEO view separate. The SEO keywords guide covers which pages to build for organic search. This page is about what to pay for.
Building a keyword list that pays
- Pick high-intent terms Searches that name a service you sell
- Choose match types Phrase and exact for control
- Add negative keywords Block searches you never want to pay for
- Read the search terms What people actually typed
Then refine the list
Match types
Match types decide how loosely Google reads your keyword, and in cleaning, loose reading is expensive. Broad match lets Google show your ad for searches it judges related (Google's match type help). For "house cleaning", that can include "house cleaning jobs", "house cleaning checklist" and "how much to charge for house cleaning", which is a search from your competitor, not a client.
- Start with phrase and exact match on the themes in the table. They keep spend on searches that contain your service words.
- Try broad match later, in one ad group, once first cleans and recurring clients are imported as conversions. Automated bidding needs those signals to tell a household from a job seeker.
- Keep commercial terms in their own campaign. "Office cleaning" on broad match can wander into dry cleaning, carpet cleaning and supply searches.
Negative keyword list
- Block the hiring searches before launch. Add jobs, hiring, careers, apply, salary, part time, indeed and resume. Cleaning companies recruit constantly, and these searches look like yours.
- Block the do-it-yourself and supply searches. Add how to, DIY, checklist, supplies, products, solution, vacuum, recipe, homemade and template.
- Block the other kinds of cleaning. Add teeth, dental, dry, car, auto detailing, chimney, pool, gutter, air duct and septic, unless you offer one.
- Block the specialty trades you do not do. Carpet shampooing, window washing, pressure washing, post-construction, biohazard and hoarding cleanup, if those are not on your service list.
- Block the business-starter searches. Add franchise, start a, business plan, insurance for, pricing guide and how much to charge.
- Decide on price words carefully. "Cheap" and "free" usually bring shoppers who cancel after one visit. Block "free" outright; test "affordable" before you block it.
- Add negatives at the right level. Put job-seeker and supply terms on a shared list for every campaign (Google's negative keyword help). Put "office" and "commercial" as negatives on residential campaigns, and "house" and "home" on commercial ones, so each search lands in the right place.
Review cadence
Review the search terms report weekly for the first month, because that is when the surprises show up. After that, a monthly review holds most accounts steady.
- Weekly, first month: read every search term that cost money, add negatives, and move good terms into exact match.
- Monthly: compare each ad group's cost per recurring client and pause themes that only book one-time cleans.
- Before spring cleaning, the holidays and move-out season: add seasonal terms such as "spring deep clean" and "end of lease cleaning", and check that the landing pages match the offer.
- After you add or drop a service: update the keyword list and the negatives the same day.
How VETS Growth Marketing helps
We build your cleaning keyword list and the negative list from your own search terms and call recordings, split residential from commercial, and keep the review schedule so no one has to remember it. The Google Ads account is in your name, the build has a set finish date, and we report cost per recurring client by theme. Book a growth consultation and we will show you which search terms are spending your budget today.
Sources
- About keyword matching options, Google Ads Help
- About negative keywords, Google Ads Help