The $20/Day Google Ads Myth That’s Bankrupting Shed Companies

Ok, Look. This Blog Post Was Hard to Write.

I’m usually a “live and let live” kind of guy. But every now and then, advice gets published that’s going to cost small businesses thousands in wasted ad spend, and I can’t stay quiet.

Yesterday, the August/September 2025 issue of Shed Business Journal hit my mailbox. I noticed Matt Poe had written a piece on Google Ads strategy. Naturally, I was curious, seeing as it’s my world, so I gave it a read.

And here’s the thing: while Matt’s article offers some well-meaning generalities, it’s missing critical components that, if ignored, will cost your shed business real money.

Let me be clear: I know Matt. I’ve met him several times. He’s a likable guy. I’m sure he had a deadline. But I’ve spent 20+ years in the trenches managing Google Ads, with the last several focused almost exclusively on shed companies. So when I see advice that skips the essentials, sorry (but not sorry), I’ve got to say something.

Here’s what’s completely missing from his article:

❌ No discussion of conversions

❌ No mention of conversion tracking

❌ No focus on cost per actual conversion

And those aren’t small details. Ignoring them leads to expensive, avoidable mistakes. The kind that drain budgets and kill campaigns.

The Problem with “Just Start with $20/Day”

If you read that article and thought, “Finally, a roadmap!” you need to pause.

That advice isn’t just incomplete. It’s expensive. The kind of expensive that can bleed your budget dry without warning.

We’ve audited over 200 shed company ad accounts in the past five years. The pattern is nearly always the exact same:

In our experience, businesses that follow generic “start small” advice (or treat Google Ads like a DIY project) end up wasting three times more money than those who get it right from day one.

And honestly, that’s not surprising.

Imagine what would happen if I tried to build a shed.

No blueprint. No tools. No experience. Just vibes.

It wouldn’t be a shed. It’d be a pile of wood and regret.

That’s exactly what happens when shed businesses try to “test” Google Ads without tracking, landing pages, or a real strategy.

They don’t get leads. They get lessons. Expensive ones.

You don’t have a budget problem. You have a strategy problem.

Let’s Do the real Math..

Here’s what $20/day actually gets you in the shed industry:

• $20/day = ~$600/month
• Shed industry CPC = $0.72-$3.73 (based on current July 2025 data)
• That’s will equal 160-320 clicks per month
• Conversion rate without proper landing pages: 1-3%
• So you’re looking at 2-5 leads per month. Maybe.

And here’s the brutal truth: Without conversion tracking, you have no idea which of those leads actually showed up to your lot or bought a shed.

You could be getting 25 leads and closing zero. Or 2 leads who each bought a $15,000 custom shed. You literally have no way to know.

That’s not marketing. That’s gambling.

Meanwhile, competitors with proper tracking and systems are getting qualified lot visits for $25-$35 each. They know exactly which keywords put buyers on their lot.

“But the Article Says Smart Bidding Will Handle It”

The article mentions Google’s Smart Bidding as if it’s magic. Here’s what he didn’t tell you:

Smart Bidding needs 30-50 conversions to work properly.

At $600/month with a 2% conversion rate, you’re looking at 6+ months before Google has enough data to optimize anything. And that’s assuming you’re tracking conversions properly (which the article never mentioned how to do).

So what’s Google optimizing for in the meantime? Clicks. Not sales. Not shed lot visits. Just clicks.

You’ll get plenty of clicks from people who:

• Want free shed plans
• Are browsing for ideas (not buying)
• Aren’t even in your service area
• Are your competitors checking your prices

Better approach: Start with Enhanced CPC or Manual Bidding until your tracking is bulletproof and you have real conversion data. Then graduate to Smart Bidding.

Don’t let Google “learn” on your dime while feeding it garbage data.

The Facebook Lead Generation Myth

So the article is on Google, but there’s another elephant we need to address. I know plenty of folks who preach “Facebook leads are only $10-15 each!”

Let’s be honest about what you’re actually getting:

Google Ads captures people actively searching:

• “Sheds for sale near me”
• “Rent to own sheds in Tampa”
• “Custom barn builder”

Facebook interrupts people scrolling through cat videos and political arguments.

The real cost comparison:

• $15 Facebook lead × 3-4 contacts to find one serious buyer = $45-60 per qualified prospect
• $30 Google lead (when done right) × 1 contact = $30 per qualified prospect

Plus, your sales team wastes hours chasing Facebook tire-kickers instead of helping actual customers on your lot.

Facebook has its place in the marketing mix, but it’s not a Google Ads replacement. It’s a supplement for retargeting and brand awareness, and a way to keep your salespeople engaged in conversations.

What the Article Completely Missed: The Conversion Tracking Crisis

Here’s the most dangerous part of the article’s advice: There’s zero discussion of what happens after someone clicks your ad.

The article talks about:

• Setting up campaigns ✓
• Choosing keywords ✓
• Writing ads ✓
• Setting budgets ✓

But completely ignores:

• ❌ Where you send the traffic
• ❌ How to track phone calls
• ❌ How to track form submissions
• ❌ How to measure actual sales
• ❌ How to optimize for conversions

This is like teaching someone to drive but never mentioning the destination.

Without proper tracking, you’re flying blind. You could be spending $600/month and have no idea if it’s generating $0, $6,000 or $60,000 in sales.

The Landing Page Problem Nobody Talks About

While the article mentions sending people to “a specific page on your website,” it doesn’t explain what makes a page convert clicks into customers.

Most shed companies make this mistake: They send Google Ads traffic to their homepage or a generic “sheds” page.

That’s like inviting someone to your lot and then pointing vaguely toward a row of sheds when asked a question.

Here’s what actually works:

High-Intent Traffic (Ready to Buy)

• Keywords: “shed installation,” “buy shed near me”
• Landing Page: Phone number prominent, easy quote form, clear next steps
• Goal: Get them to call or visit immediately

Research-Intent Traffic (Still Shopping)

• Keywords: “shed financing options,” “storage shed sizes”
• Landing Page: Helpful calculator, guide download, or virtual tour
• Goal: Capture contact info for nurturing

Local Traffic

• Keywords: “shed company near me”
• Landing Page: Location info, hours, directions, local phone number
• Goal: Drive shed lot visits or online “design appointments”

One size does NOT fit all. Yet the article suggests creating generic campaigns without any discussion of matching intent to experience.

The Real Cost of Bad Google Ads

Here’s what we see when we audit accounts that followed generic advice:

Typical Poorly Run Account:

• $800/month ad spend
• 2-3 leads per month
• $267-400 cost per lead
• No idea which leads convert to sales
• Business owner concludes “Google doesn’t work for sheds”

Same Business After Proper Setup:

• $800/month ad spend
• 15-20 qualified leads per month
• $30-53 cost per lead
• Clear tracking from click to sale
• 3-5 lot visits or interactive calls visits per week

The difference? Systems. Not budget.

Why “Start Small” Actually Costs More

The magazine makes it sound smart: “Start with $20 per day and scale up.”

On paper, that feels responsible. In practice, it’s a money pit.

Here’s what actually happens when you follow that advice:

• You collect too little data to optimize anything
• Your campaigns stay stuck in Google’s learning phase for months
• Your cost per click increases because of low Quality Scores
• You can’t trust your test results because the sample size is too small
• Meanwhile, competitors with real budgets are racking up conversions and market share

Trying to “start small” doesn’t reduce your risk.

It just guarantees you’ll spend longer losing money without knowing why.

The smarter play: Launch with enough budget to generate real data (around $1,200 to $2,000 per month) then adjust based on what actually works.

Think of it like hiring an employee.

You wouldn’t bring someone in for three hours a week and expect them to revolutionize your operations.

Google Ads works the same way. If you want results, treat it like a real hire, not a side hustle.

The Automation Trap

Back to the article, there is mention of automated bidding strategies but doesn’t explain the prerequisites. This is dangerous advice for beginners.

Google’s automated bidding is incredible, but only AFTER you have:

• Proper conversion tracking setup
• At least 30-50 conversions per month
• Clean data (no spam leads counted as conversions)
• Optimized landing pages
• Proper negative keyword lists

Without these foundations, automation optimizes for garbage.

I’ve seen accounts where Google was optimizing for leads that never showed up because the business owner was counting every form submission as a “conversion”, including people asking for free plans and competitors checking prices.

Start with manual control. Graduate to automation once your data is bulletproof.

What Actually Works: The Lead Engine Approach

Instead of hoping $20/day will magically transform your business, here’s what profitable shed companies actually do:

Phase 1: Foundation (Month 1-2)

• Conversion tracking setup: Track phone calls, form submissions, and actual sales
• Landing page creation: One focused page per campaign type
• Keyword research: Focus on high-intent, local keywords first
• Campaign structure: Separate brand, non-brand, local, and competitor campaigns
• Budget: $40-60/day minimum ($1,200-1,800/month)

Phase 2: Optimization (Month 3-4)

• Search term analysis: Add negative keywords weekly
• Landing page testing: Improve conversion rates
• Bid adjustments: Optimize by location, device, time of day
• Audience building: Create remarketing lists from website visitors
• Quality improvements: Boost relevance scores

Phase 3: Expansion (Month 5+)

• Automated bidding: Graduate to Smart Bidding with clean data
• New campaign types: Add Shopping, YouTube, Display remarketing
• Geographic expansion: Target new service areas
• Competitive campaigns: Target competitor keywords
• Lead nurturing: Email sequences for non-immediate buyers

Typical results after 6 months:

• $25-35 cost per qualified lead
• 15-25% lot visit rate
• Clear ROI attribution
• Predictable lead flow

The Keyword Research Gap

The article mentions using Google’s Keyword Planner, which is fine for basic research. But it misses the most important sources of keyword ideas:

1. Your Sales Team

What questions do customers ask when they walk on the lot? Turn those into keywords:

• “How much does a 12×16 shed cost?”
• “Do you deliver sheds to [specific area]?”
• “Shed company financing bad credit”

2. Your Website Search Data

If you have site search enabled in Google Analytics, you can see exactly what visitors are looking for on your site.

3. Competitor Analysis

What keywords are your competitors bidding on? Tools like SEMrush or even just searching and noting who shows up can reveal opportunities.

4. Seasonal Patterns

Shed searches spike in spring. Storage shed searches increase before holidays. Factor this into your planning.

The article treats keyword research like a one-time setup task. In reality, it’s an ongoing process that informs everything from ad copy to inventory planning.

The Match Type Disaster

Matt briefly mentions keyword match types but doesn’t explain why this matters for your wallet.

Broad match keywords in the shed industry are budget killers.

A broad match keyword like “storage” could trigger your ads for:

• Storage units
• Cloud storage
• Food storage containers
• Storage software

Start with exact match keywords:

• [shed dealer]
• [storage sheds for sale]
• [shed installation near me]

Then gradually add phrase match for tested keywords. Only use broad match for discovery, and watch it like a hawk.

I’ve seen accounts waste thousands on irrelevant broad match traffic because nobody explained this properly.

The Mobile Reality Check

Here’s something the article didn’t mention, and it’s a big one:

Over 60 percent of shed-related searches happen on mobile devices.

And yet, most shed websites? Not even close to mobile-friendly.

When someone pulls out their phone and searches “sheds near me,” they want answers fast:

• A tap-to-call phone number
• Your address with one-click directions
• Business hours, not buried five clicks deep
• A simple quote form, not 17 fields and dropdowns

If your landing pages aren’t optimized for mobile, you’re wasting the majority of your ad spend on frustrated visitors who bounce in under five seconds.

And one more thing:

If your web company or 3D builder vendor tells you that you “don’t need a traditional quote request form if you have a 3D builder,” fire them. Seriously.

Because here’s the truth:

Up to 45 percent of your mobile leads may be disappearing because your fancy 3D visualizer is unusable on a phone.

Shed buyers want speed, clarity, and one-tap options. If they can’t get that, they won’t wait around.leads could be getting lost because your fancy 3D visualizer sucks to try and use on a mobile phone.

The Attribution Problem

The article assumes a simple world where someone clicks your ad and immediately buys. Reality is messier.

Typical customer journey:

1. Searches “storage shed prices” on phone (research)
2. Visits your website, doesn’t convert
3. Searches “shed dealer near me” on computer (ready to buy)
4. Calls from your ad
5. Visits shed lot three days later
6. Buys shed the following week

Which campaign gets credit for the sale?

Without proper attribution modeling, you might pause the “storage shed prices” campaign thinking it doesn’t convert, when it’s actually starting the customer journey.

This is advanced stuff, but it’s the difference between optimizing for actual business results vs. vanity metrics.ts vs. vanity metrics.

Stop Funding Your Competitors

Every day you run ineffective ads without proper tracking, you’re doing more than wasting money. You’re actively helping your competitors win.

Here’s what your wasted budget is really doing:

• Sending qualified traffic to competitors with better systems
• Feeding Google data that helps optimize their campaigns
• Growing their remarketing audiences — not yours
• Supporting their dominance in your local market

In other words, your ad spend isn’t just underperforming. It’s building someone else’s shed empire.

The Real ROI Conversation

The article talks about “$3 revenue for every $1.60 spent on Google Ads” but doesn’t explain how to measure this for your shed business.

First off, if you’re only getting $3 back for every $1 spent, you’re doing it wrong. Our clients would fire us if we delivered numbers that low, and they’d be right to.

Here’s how successful shed companies track ROI:

Lead Value Calculation

• Average sale: $8,500
• Close rate: 25% of lot visits
• Visit/design consult rate: 20% of qualified leads
• Therefore: Each qualified lead = $425 in expected revenue

Cost Per Acquisition

• If leads cost $35 each
• And you need 4 leads per sale (25% close rate)
• Cost per sale: $140

ROI Calculation

• Revenue per sale: $8,500
• Cost per sale: $140
• ROI: 60:1

That’s $60 back for every $1 spent — not $3.

But this only works if you’re tracking the entire funnel properly.

Without conversion tracking, you’re just hoping your math works out. And if you’re settling for 3:1 returns, you’re leaving massive money on the table.

The Seasonal Reality

Shed businesses are seasonal. Spring is busy, winter is slow. The article doesn’t address how this affects your Google Ads for shed companies strategy.

Smart seasonal approach:

Peak Season (March-June)

• Increase budgets 50-100%
• Bid aggressively on high-intent keywords
• Focus on immediate conversion campaigns

Slow Season (November-February)

• Reduce budgets but don’t pause completely
• Focus on research-intent keywords
• Build remarketing audiences for spring
• Test new campaigns and landing pages

Shoulder Seasons

• Maintain steady presence
• Focus on covered storage, workshops, man caves
• Target early planners and gift buyers

The article’s “set and forget” approach ignores these crucial seasonal adjustments.

What This Means for Your Business

If you’ve been following generic Google Ads advice and wondering why you’re not seeing results, it’s not because Google doesn’t work for shed companies.

It’s because you’ve been following advice written by journalists, theorists, and generic agencies that don’t have shed industry knowledge. Not people actually out here managing effective campaigns in this industry.

The fundamentals of Google Ads are solid:

• People are searching for sheds
• They’re searching in your area
• They have buying intent
• Google can connect you with them

But the execution details matter enormously.

The difference between success and failure isn’t budget size. It’s having systems that:

• Track what actually matters
• Send traffic to pages designed to convert
• Follow up with leads immediately
• Optimize based on sales data, not vanity metrics

The Path Forward

If you’re currently running Google Ads based on generic advice, here is how you fix it in 30 days:

Week 1: Audit Your Current Setup

• What are you actually tracking?
• Where is your traffic going?
• How many leads convert to actual shed lot visits?
• What’s your actual cost per sale?

Week 2: Fix Your Tracking

• Set up call tracking with recordings
• Install proper conversion tracking
• Create dedicated landing pages
• Implement lead scoring

Week 3: Optimize Your Campaigns

• Review search term reports
• Add negative keywords
• Adjust bids based on performance
• Test ad copy variations

Week 4: Plan Your Scale

• Identify what’s working
• Increase budget on profitable campaigns
• Pause or fix underperforming campaigns
• Set up remarketing for non-converters

Or, if you’d rather focus on running your shed business instead of becoming a Google Ads expert, work with someone who’s been doing this successfully for 20 years.

Bottom Line: Systems Beat Hope

As much as I have respect for the magazine, and the intent behind the ShedBusiness Journal article promotes hope-based marketing: “Start small and see what happens.”

But hope doesn’t fill your sales funnel with qualified buyers. Systems do.

The shed industry is too competitive and seasonal to waste months on trial-and-error campaigns based on generic advice from someone who’s never actually run Google Ads for a shed company.

You need systems that:

• Generate predictable lead flow
• Track ROI accurately
• Work during peak and slow seasons
• Scale with your business growth
• Free up your time for actual business operations

Ready to Stop Wasting Money on Google Ads?

Look, I didn’t write this article to tear down Matt or the magazine. I wrote it because I’ve seen too many good shed companies lose money following generic advice.

If you’re ready to build a Google Ads system that actually fills your sales pipeline with qualified buyers, not just generates clicks and hope, let’s talk.

Book a Free Shed Business Lead Engine Clarity Call

We don’t just run ads. We build revenue systems that work whether it’s peak season or January.

No generic advice. No “start with $20/day” nonsense. Just systems that consistently deliver lot visits and sales.

P.S. Matt, if you’re reading this, no hard feelings. But next time you write about Google Ads, maybe talk to folks who are managing hundreds of thousands in monthly spend for real shed builders and dealers. The industry deserves better than generic advice that quietly drains their budgets.