Case study / Junk removal company / Southern California
We read 321 junk removal sales calls. Here's where $42,000 in Google Ads went.
By Justin Hubbard, founder of AdimizePublished Last updated
- of ad calls went unanswered
18%
of ad calls went unanswered
- of answered leads never heard a price
52%
of answered leads never heard a price
- ad spend per booked job
$615–$1,045
ad spend per booked job
Key findings
Most of the money leaked on the phone, not in the ads.
An owner-operated junk removal company in Southern California spent about $42,000 on Google Ads search in six months. We read 321 of its recorded sales calls to see where the money went. Most of it leaked on the phone, not in the ads.
- ·Nearly 1 in 5 ad calls went unanswered. That was 60 of 327 calls and about $7,700 in clicks. Only 3 of 66 missed callers got through later.
- ·Half of answered leads never heard a price. 52% of calls ended on “text me photos” with no price and no time. Only 32% of callers heard any number.
- ·Google Ads counted 558 conversions. There were 293 real inquiries. The account’s own reporting nearly doubled the real lead count.
- ·Each booked job cost $615 to $1,045 in ad spend. 40 jobs were booked on the call, and 68 were tagged as booked in the call tracker.
- ·28% of callers wanted same-day or next-day service. Most were told to wait for a callback.
- ·Hot tub removal was the third most requested job and the biggest typical ticket, with quotes from $300 to $589.
- ·Only 9% of job inquiries came on weekends.
- ·On 16 calls, callers were told the tracking number was spam and moved to a personal text line. Every job booked that way lost its link to the ad that paid for it.
About the data
One company, six months, 321 recorded calls.
The company is an owner-operated junk removal business in Southern California, mostly residential work. Its previous agency ran its Google Ads search campaigns and call tracking. We kept the company anonymous and left out every caller’s name and number.
| What | Detail |
|---|---|
| Period | Six months, late March to the end of September 2026 |
| Ad spend | About $42,000 on Google Ads search. Local Services Ads ran separately and aren’t included. |
| Calls | 327 calls from Google Ads, plus 52 web forms |
| Recordings read | 321 call transcripts, each coded for job type, location, price quoted and how the call ended |
| Checks | Every call coded as booked was read a second time, and a few that were really photo requests were corrected |
A few terms used below:
- Real inquiry:
- a unique caller or form asking about a job. Repeat callers count once, and vendors, spam and existing customers don’t count.
- Unanswered:
- a call the tracker marked abandoned, missed or voicemail, or one where the recording is only the voicemail greeting.
- Booked on the call:
- a day and time were set before the caller hung up. This undercounts, because some jobs closed later by text.
- Tagged booked:
- marked “Schedule booked” in the call tracker. This includes jobs closed later by text, and may include a few that never happened.
The transcripts were read and coded with AI assistance. This is one company in one market over six months, so treat the numbers as one detailed example, not an industry average.
Finding 1
Nearly 1 in 5 ad calls went unanswered
60 of the 327 calls from Google Ads (18%) were abandoned, missed or went to voicemail. Spread across all ad calls, that’s about $7,700 in clicks, or roughly $128 per unanswered call.
Missed callers almost never came back. Of the 66 callers who couldn’t get through the first time, only 3 reached someone on a later call. The rest presumably called the next company on the page.
The answered calls show the setting. The owner often picked up himself while driving or at the dump, and calls he couldn’t take went to voicemail. That’s normal for a small hauling company. A paid lead doesn’t wait for you, though.
What fixes it
- ·Forward ad calls to a second phone that someone can answer during jobs.
- ·Turn on an automatic text to every missed call within a minute (“Sorry we missed you, we’re on a job. What do you need hauled?”).
- ·Use an answering service during the hours you know you’re on jobs or at the dump.
Finding 2
Half of answered leads never heard a price
Of 257 callers who reached someone and asked about a job, 134 (52%) hung up with no price and no appointment time. Only 81 (32%) heard any number on the call.
The usual ending went like this: “Text me some photos and I’ll call you back with a price.” Callers heard it even when they asked “how much?” directly, or asked whether the truck could come today. 71 callers (28%) wanted same-day or next-day service.
Photos have a place. They protect you from a “one couch” job that turns out to be a full garage. But a caller who wants it gone today has three other companies to call while waiting for your text. The photo step moved the sale from a live call to a text thread. The tracker shows only 28 more booked jobs than were booked on the call, so most of those 134 photo threads never became jobs.
What fixes it
- ·Keep a short price sheet by the phone: minimum load, common single items, quarter, half and full load, hot tub.
- ·Give a range on the call (“a couch like that usually runs $X to $Y”), then offer the next open slot.
- ·Use photos to confirm the price before the truck rolls, not to delay giving one.
Read more: Should junk removal companies give prices over the phone?
Finding 3
Google counted almost twice the real leads
Google Ads reported 558 conversions over the six months. Reading the calls and forms turned up 293 real job inquiries. Google’s count was 1.9 times the real one. Every campaign was overstated.
| Campaign | Google Ads conversions | Real inquiries | Overcount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential junk removal | 322 | 175 | 1.8× |
| Junk hauling | 182 | 88 | 2.1× |
| Specialty (hot tubs, sheds) | 27 | 17 | 1.6× |
| Brand | 18 | 7 | 2.6× |
| Dumpster rental | 7 | 5 | 1.4× |
| Cleanouts | 2 | 1 | 2.0× |
We didn’t audit how the old conversions were set up. The usual causes are counting every call however short, counting the same person’s repeat calls, and counting clicks on the phone number as leads.
The overcount matters for two reasons. The cost per lead in reports looked about half of what it really was. And Google’s automated bidding learns from conversions, so any automated bidding in the account was chasing the wrong signal.
What fixes it
- ·Count only calls of 60 seconds or longer and real form submissions, and track booked jobs as their own conversion. Judge the account on cost per booked job, not cost per conversion.
Read more: Why does Google Ads show more conversions than you have leads?
Finding 4
The real cost per booked job was $615 to $1,045
About $42,000 in search ads produced 40 to 68 booked jobs. That’s $615 per job if you count every job tagged as booked, and $1,045 if you count only jobs booked on the call.
The ads did their part: 379 calls and forms became 293 real job inquiries. The steep drop came after that, between an inquiry and a booked job, and that step happens on the phone.
Of 293 real inquiries, only 40 to 68 became booked jobs
Ad calls and forms
84% carried on
Answered calls and forms
92% carried on
Real job inquiries
only 14% to 23% of inquiries became jobs
Booked jobs
Booked on the callTagged booked in the tracker
| Campaign | Spend | Cost per click | Jobs tagged booked | Spend per booked job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residential junk removal | $26,600 | $18.38 | 41 | $650 |
| Junk hauling | $11,300 | $14.04 | 20 | $563 |
| Specialty (hot tubs, sheds) | $1,700 | $21.58 | 3 | $568 |
| Cleanouts | $1,300 | $15.14 | 0 | no jobs |
| Dumpster rental | $500 | $6.28 | 1 | $477 |
| Brand | $400 | $6.51 | 3 | $128 |
| Light demolition | $100 | $19.80 | 0 | no jobs |
Brand searches, from people who already knew the company name, booked jobs at $128 each. The cleanouts and light demolition campaigns spent about $1,400 between them and booked nothing.
Compare those numbers with the job itself. A minimum load quoted at $145 to $179 can’t carry $600 or more in ad spend. The math only works on bigger jobs, or when more of the inquiries you already paid for turn into jobs.
Run your own numbers: Cost per booked job calculator
Read more: What does a booked junk removal job cost from Google Ads?
Finding 5
What callers actually wanted
Mixed household junk and furniture made up more than half of all requests. Hot tubs came third, ahead of appliances and cleanouts.
Hot tubs were the third most requested job, and the biggest ticket
Main job per inquiring caller, for the 233 callers who named one. Hot tub quotes ran $300 to $589, median $400.
Mixed household junk
Furniture
Hot tub / spa
Appliances
Estate / move-out cleanouts
Garage cleanouts
Construction debris
Mattress
Commercial
Piano / safe
Yard waste
Dumpster rental
Shed
Deck / fence
Other demolition
Three things stand out:
- ·Speed sells. 28% of callers asked for same-day or next-day pickup. A company that can say “we can be there tomorrow at 10” on the call wins those jobs.
- ·Hot tubs are the best ticket. Quotes ran $300 to $589, with a median of $400, the highest of any common job. Yet the specialty campaign got only $1,700 of the $42,000.
- ·Demolition demand was thin. Sheds, decks and other demolition added up to 5 callers in six months, even with a light demolition campaign running. Lead specialty ads with hot tubs, and test the rest later.
Read more: Is hot tub removal worth advertising?
Read more: Do junk removal customers expect same-day service?
Finding 6
Why callers said no on price
15 callers turned the job down after hearing a price. Most wanted one item gone and were quoted $134 to $229.
Their objections fell into three groups:
- ·They expected it free. Several were looking for free pickup.
- ·They had a cheaper number, such as a competitor’s $125 price.
- ·They’d seen a lower price online, such as $150 to remove a hot tub.
The prices themselves weren’t consistent. Minimum loads were quoted anywhere from $145 to $179, full loads from $750 to $799, and the same single couch from $129 to $189 on different calls. Callers who shop around notice that.
What fixes it
- ·Set one price for each common single item and one minimum, and quote the same numbers every time.
- ·Add “free”, “city pickup” and “bulk trash” as negative keywords so you stop paying for clicks from people who won’t pay.
- ·Put single-item pricing on the website, so callers arrive expecting the number you quote.
Read more: Why do junk removal customers turn down your quote?
Finding 7
When and where the calls came from
Only 23 of 269 job-inquiry calls (9%) came on a Saturday or Sunday, and just 2 on Sundays. For this company, running ads only on weekdays gave up very little.
Evening calls were a different problem. After 5 pm there were 21 job inquiries, and none was booked on the call. All 3 calls that came in at 7 pm went unanswered. If you run ads into the evening, someone has to answer them, or the ads should stop at close.
The ads also reached people the company could never serve. Callers from the high desert, the Inland Empire, Ventura County and Santa Barbara were turned away as out of area: paid clicks that could never become jobs. One caller near the coast had a job too small to make the drive worth it.
The usual cause is a Google Ads location setting. By default, ads show to people in your area or interested init. That second group includes someone in another county searching your city’s name.
What fixes it
- ·Set location targeting to “Presence: people in or regularly in your targeted locations”, exclude the regions you won’t drive to, and check the search terms report every week.
Read more: Should junk removal ads run on weekends?
Read more: Why do your Google Ads bring leads from outside your service area?
Finding 8
Jobs that lost their link to the ad
On 16 calls, the person answering told the caller the number they’d dialed was a Google spam number. The caller was then asked to text a personal cell instead. On one call the reason was given plainly: every call to that number cost money.
We get why it happens. Tracking numbers look unfamiliar, the bill comes per minute, and texting from your own phone is easier. But a job booked on the personal line has no record tying it to the ad. The ads look worse than they are, and the budget gets cut on a campaign that was working.
The second problem was ownership. The previous agency’s call tracking account held every tracking number, including the numbers printed on the truck wrap and on door hangers. When the agency relationship ends, those printed numbers can stop ringing unless they’re moved first.
What fixes it
- ·Text and call back from the tracking number, not a personal phone. Most call tracking tools have a texting inbox for this.
- ·Make sure your business owns its tracking account, or that your agency agreement lets you take the numbers with you.
- ·Move any number printed on trucks, signs or flyers before closing an old account.
Read more: Who owns your call tracking numbers when you leave your agency?
What we changed
Each change traces back to a finding.
The company then got a new website and a new Google Ads account. Each change below traces back to a finding above.
| Finding | Change |
|---|---|
| Out-of-area clicks | Location targeting set to people in the service area only. Search partner sites turned off. |
| Clicks from people who won’t pay | Negative keywords for free pickup, dumps, scrap, city trash schedules, competitors and out-of-area cities |
| Hot tubs are the best ticket | Hot tub and shed removal moved into the main campaign, with new keywords and ads |
| Few weekend inquiries | Ads run on weekdays, with lower bids in the evening |
| Inflated conversions | Calls count only at 60 seconds or longer, plus real quote-form submissions. Booked jobs are tracked as their own conversion. |
| What callers ask for | New website pages for the most requested jobs, such as single-item pickup and hot tub removal |
Results
What this study does not claim.
Every number on this page describes the old account. This study claims no results for the new account. These are the measures it used for the old account:
- ·Share of ad calls answered
- ·Real inquiries vs. conversions reported by Google Ads
- ·Booked jobs, and ad spend per booked job
- ·Share of answered inquiries that heard a price on the call
- ·Clicks from outside the service area
Check your own business this week
You don’t need six months of data to find the same leaks.
Pull your last 30 days and check these:
- 01
Count your missed calls.
Take every call from your ads and count the ones nobody answered. If it’s more than 1 in 10, fix coverage before you raise the budget.
- 02
Listen to 10 answered calls.
Count how many callers heard a price and a time before they hung up.
- 03
Compare Google’s conversions with your real leads.
Count the actual people who asked about a job. If Google’s number is much higher, your cost per lead is fiction.
- 04
Work out cost per booked job.
Divide ad spend by jobs booked from ads, and compare it with your average ticket.
- 05
Read your search terms.
Look for “free”, city trash schedules, competitor names and towns you don’t serve.
- 06
Check your location setting.
It should target people in your area, not people interested in it.
- 07
Find out who owns your tracking numbers.
If it’s your agency, get the numbers in your name, starting with any that are printed on a truck or a sign.
Call audit
Want us to read your calls?
We’ll read your last 90 days of sales calls and show you where the money leaks.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How many calls do junk removal companies miss?
In this study, 18% of calls from Google Ads went unanswered, nearly 1 in 5. Only 3 of 66 callers who couldn’t get through reached the company on a later call.
How much does a missed call cost a junk removal company?
About $128 in ad spend per unanswered call here, before counting the lost job. The 60 unanswered ad calls added up to about $7,700 in clicks over six months.
Should a junk removal company give prices over the phone?
Give a range on the call and use photos to confirm it. In this study, 52% of answered leads ended with “text me photos” and no price, and most of those never became jobs.
What does a booked job cost from Google Ads for junk removal?
In this study, $615 to $1,045 in ad spend per booked job, with core cost per click of $14 to $22 in Southern California. Brand searches booked jobs for $128 each.
Why does Google Ads show more conversions than I have leads?
Conversions often count short calls, repeat calls from the same person and clicks on a phone number. This account reported 558 conversions against 293 real inquiries.
Should junk removal ads run on weekends?
For this company, only 9% of job inquiries came on weekends, so weekday-only ads gave up little. Check your own call log before deciding.
What junk removal jobs do people call about most?
Mixed household junk and furniture made up over half of requests. Hot tubs were third and had the highest typical quote, a median of $400.
Why do junk removal customers turn down a quote?
Most price objections here were on single items quoted $134 to $229, from callers expecting free pickup or holding a cheaper quote.
Who should own my call tracking numbers?
Your business should, or your agency agreement should let you take them with you. Numbers printed on trucks and flyers are the hardest to replace.
More from this study
Every finding, one question at a time.
- How many calls do junk removal companies miss?
- Should junk removal companies give prices over the phone?
- What does a booked junk removal job cost from Google Ads?
- Why does Google Ads show more conversions than you have leads?
- Is hot tub removal worth advertising?
- Why do junk removal customers turn down your quote?
- Do junk removal customers expect same-day service?
- Should junk removal ads run on weekends?
- Why do your Google Ads bring leads from outside your service area?
- Who owns your call tracking numbers when you leave your agency?
- Junk removal marketing statistics (2026)
- Missed-call cost calculator
- Cost-per-booked-job calculator
Period: late March to the end of September 2026. Real inquiry: a unique caller or form asking about a job; repeat callers count once, and vendors, spam and existing customers don’t count. Unanswered: a call the tracker marked abandoned, missed or voicemail, or one where the recording is only the voicemail greeting. Booked on the call: a day and time were set before the caller hung up; this undercounts, because some jobs closed later by text. Tagged booked: marked “Schedule booked” in the call tracker; this includes jobs closed later by text, and may include a few that never happened. The 321 transcripts were read and coded with AI assistance, and every call coded as booked was read a second time. Spend, clicks and Google’s conversions come from the Google Ads account, Search campaigns only. Calls and forms come from the call tracker’s export. Every number on this page is from that one company’s account.
Cite as: Adimize, "Junk removal call study," 2026, https://adimize.com/results/junk-removal-sales-calls-study