The Client
Trusted Locksmith Service is a 24/7 mobile locksmith in the Greater Toronto Area, and our Google Ads for locksmith services grew their real leads from 5 to 248 a month.
Trusted Locksmith Service is a 24/7 mobile locksmith based in Concord, Ontario, serving the Greater Toronto Area. They handle residential lockouts, lock changes and rekeying, commercial high-security locks, access control and master key systems, and automotive work: car lockouts, key replacement and broken-key extraction.
We launched their Google Ads in October 2023. In the first month the account produced 5 leads.
5 leads in October 2023. 248 a month by the summer of 2026.
The Challenge
Locksmith advertising is one of the hardest categories on Google:
- Scam competition. Bait-and-switch operators with fake addresses and misleading prices flood the ads, and they make every real locksmith look suspicious.
- Pure emergency intent. Someone locked out of their home or car calls the first credible number they see, often at night or on a weekend.
- A big, dense market. The GTA spans Toronto, Vaughan, Mississauga, Brampton, Markham and dozens of neighborhoods, each with its own competitors.
- Easy-to-fake numbers. Taps on a "call now" button and page visits can look like leads in an ad account while bringing in no customers.
What We Built
1. Emergency-First Search
We built Search around the jobs people actually call about, split into residential, commercial and automotive lockouts, lock changes and key replacement. Exact-match single-keyword campaigns and call-only mobile ads put the phone number in front of people standing at a locked door.
2. Consolidated Into Two Engines
Once the data showed what worked, we consolidated the early campaigns into one Performance Max campaign and one conversion-focused Search campaign. Budget now flows to whatever is producing calls this week. A dedicated access-control campaign was tested for commercial work, then paused when it didn't earn its keep.
3. Real Leads Only
Every number on this page is a real lead: calls from ads, calls from the website and form submissions. "Call now" button taps and page visits are excluded. In 2026 we added website call tracking, so calls from people who find the site through the ads are counted too.
4. Constant A/B Testing
Every major campaign runs with a controlled A/B test beside it, covering bidding strategies, match types and CPA targets. Winners replace the originals and losers are switched off.
5. Daily Optimization via Ad Campaign Concierge™
Every campaign is reviewed daily through our proprietary Ad Campaign Concierge™ system: search-term mining against DIY and job-seeker queries, bid and budget adjustments, and budget moved to the areas calling most.
The Results
- 2024: 803 leads
- 2025: 1,581 leads, nearly double the year before
- 2026 so far: 1,591 leads from January to September, already more than all of 2025
- Leads a month: from 5 in October 2023 to about 100 a month from July 2024, 174 in December 2025, and 246 to 248 a month from July to September 2026
Cheaper Leads as the Account Grew
In the first three months, a lead cost C$275. From July to September 2026 it cost C$41, a drop of 85%, while monthly volume went up almost fiftyfold.
Every Lead Since Launch
3,991 real calls and forms since October 2023, at an average of C$62 per lead.
Key Takeaways
- In emergency services, the phone call is the product. Call-first campaigns and call tracking beat traffic every time.
- Only count what brings in customers. Button taps and page visits inflate reports and mislead bidding. Real calls and forms are what cut the cost per lead by 85%.
- Consolidate when the data is in. Many small campaigns to learn, then a few strong ones to scale.
- Test everything, keep the winners. Continuous A/B tests turned a C$275 lead into a C$41 lead.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much should a locksmith spend on Google Ads?
Trusted Locksmith Service started at about C$1,500 a month in late 2023 and grew to about C$10,200 a month by the summer of 2026. Leads went from 5 a month to 248 a month, and the cost per lead fell from C$275 to C$41.
How long does it take for Google Ads to work for a locksmith?
The first three months produced 5 to 7 leads a month while the account learned. By July 2024, nine months in, it was producing about 100 leads a month, and it reached 246 to 248 a month from July to September 2026.
Do locksmith customers call or fill out forms?
They call. Of 3,991 real leads since October 2023, all but 48 were phone calls. That is why the account is built call-first, with call-only mobile ads and call tracking.
How do you avoid fake locksmith leads in Google Ads?
Count only real calls and forms. Taps on a call button and page visits can look like leads in an ad account without bringing in customers, so we exclude them from bidding and from every number on this page.
About This Campaign
This account is managed daily through Ad Campaign Concierge™, our proprietary optimization system for lead generation.
Industry: Home Services: Locksmith Platforms: Google Ads (Search, Performance Max) Location: Greater Toronto Area, Canada Account Duration: October 2023 to present (ongoing)
Leads are calls from ads, calls from the website and form submissions as tracked in Google Ads. "Call now" button taps and page visits are excluded. Amounts in Canadian dollars.