When paid advertising actually works
Ads amplify what's working. They don't fix what's broken.
Fix retention and follow-up first
Running ads while you have a 25% close rate and a 30% retention rate is paying to fill a leaky bucket. Get the fundamentals to a healthy floor, then spend on top.
Local Service Ads / Google first
For most local service shops, Google Local Service Ads, Search Ads, and a well-managed Google Business Profile outperform every other paid channel, usually by a lot.
Track to the close, not to the click
A platform that reports 'leads' is measuring its own performance. The number that matters is closed revenue per dollar spent, and that only lives in your books.
Take your version of this question further
This is one operator-tested angle on the question. Your shop, your size, your trade, and your team change the answer. Ask your specific version inside Ask a Shop Owner to get a response grounded in how owners like you actually handled it.