16 Cleaning Services Advertising & Marketing Ideas to Wipe Out the Competition

Cleaning services advertising can be tricky. Like tackling a stubborn stain on a carpet or scrubbing baked-on cheese from a pan, creating a great advertising campaign takes some elbow grease.

Cleaning services providers face several hurdles in attracting new business. Earning trust is crucial, as you’re asking customers to invite your team into their homes. You must also target customers in the right location—you have a geographic area your team works within. And for some prospects, psychological barriers prevent them from hiring a cleaning service. There may be guilt in asking for help or fear that the cost won’t be worth the benefit.

It’s your job to address all these elements in your cleaning services advertising. That may sound like a tall order. But with the many marketing tactics available to you, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to build trust and sweep away objections with a local audience (pun intended).

We’re outlining the top cleaning services advertising ideas and marketing tips you need to try to get more customers and grow your business.

16 cleaning services advertising ideas and marketing tips to try

Advertising your cleaning services business doesn’t have to be messy. Try these ideas and add them to your marketing plan for 2023.

1. Claim your local listings

Have you claimed your profile on Google, Yelp, and other review sites? If not, now’s the time! Review sites are often where high-intent prospects head looking for advice from other homeowners. Your business must have a presence on these top local listings sites.

Here are some resources to help you get started:

• How to claim your business on Google
• How to claim your business on Yelp
• How to claim your business on Bing

Related: Not sure where your local listings currently stand? Find out instantly with the LocaliQ Free Business Listings Grader.

2. Offer deals on your listings sites

Once you’ve set up your profile, make the most of each platform’s features. Google allows you to post updates and create limited-time offers on your Google Business Profile. Yelp deals give you space to create incentives to buy. These are cleaning services advertising tactics every provider should take advantage of!

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Displaying offers on these platforms is sometimes the last nudge a high-intent searcher needs to take the plunge and buy. A well-placed offer can be the final piece in the conversion puzzle.

3. Make it easy for clients to schedule your services online

An easy, online scheduling tool customers can use to book your services heightens your chances of landing more business. In fact, 50% of consumers prefer to schedule their cleaning services appointments online. Luckily, there are plenty of online options that can help you simplify scheduling.

Make sure to add your appointment scheduling link to your website, your social sites, and in email marketing messages to increase the chances that someone will book you for a cleaning.

Check out the LocaliQ Scheduler Tool to maximize the number of bookings your cleaning services business can generate.

4. Advertise in the right places

Not all online advertising is created equal. Before you start placing ads online, do your research to find the platforms where you’re most likely to get in front of serious buyers.

Angi (formerly known as Angie’s List) is a great example. Angi is a home services aggregator site, and many homeowners head there when looking for help around the house. Cleaning services advertising on Angi has the potential to generate great results. It puts you in front of a group of people you know are likely to be interested in your services.

Even if someone is searching Angi for a housepainter today, you know this individual is a homeowner. You can also infer that they’re interested in keeping their home looking nice and rely on Angi for advice. Perhaps tomorrow they’ll be in the market for a housecleaner. Advertising on a platform geared toward your ideal customer helps you boost your marketing ROI.

Even on more general sites like Facebook, there are ways to ensure the right eyeballs see your advertising. A college student probably isn’t in the market for home cleaning services, but a new homeowner might be.

Use Facebook’s advertising targeting tools to find the right people on the social network. You can direct your cleaning services advertising towards people in a specific geographic location or age group. You can even target ads based on prior purchases—maybe create ads touting your expertise in tackling pet messes toward folks who have recently bought dog food.

5. Take advantage of marketing and advertising features specifically for services businesses

Beyond advertising and getting your business in the right places, you should also take advantage of advertising and marketing features specifically for service-based businesses.

For example, Google Local Services Ads is a subset of Google Ads available just to services businesses. Google LSAs allow searchers to contact you or schedule an appointment directly through your advertising on Google.

An example of Google Local Services Ads for cleaning services. Learn more about Google LSAs here.

You can also use features in your listings for service-based businesses like the service area feature. This allows you to set a specific service area radius or include ZIP codes your cleaning services business serves. By including a service area instead of a specific city where your business is physically located, you can increase your chances of showing up on Google for relevant searches where your customers are.

6. Keep it seasonal

Leaning into seasonal events is an intelligent advertising tactic for any business, and cleaning services are no exception. Tailor your advertising messaging to the seasonal concerns of your clients. There’s spring cleaning in April, pre-winter holidays cleaning in October, cleaning to eliminate seasonal allergens in the spring and fall, and New Year’s resolutions to keep a cleaner home.

Tapping into seasonal messaging makes your services seem more pressing and timely. Of course, homeowners can benefit from a cleaning service year-round. But sometimes, pointing out an immediate problem to be solved—like making sure the house is picture-perfect before your in-laws roll in for Thanksgiving dinner—can create an urgent need to book a cleaning service with you.

7. Use relevant hashtags on social

Most people are familiar with the concept of hashtags by now. But do you know how to get more out of hashtags in your cleaning services advertising?

On social media platforms, hashtags can function almost like a search engine. Go onto Instagram or Twitter and search for a hashtag like #SpringCleaning. All sorts of content will pop up—any post that contains that hashtag will appear. If you use cleaning-related hashtags on your posts, you’ll show up there, too!

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Any business can use hashtags to get in front of audiences looking for content related to what they do. If you want some cleaning services-specific hashtag advice, check out this post for some hashtag ideas.

8. Make the most of local print ads

Did you know that US consumers consistently rank print ads as the most trustworthy form of advertising? It’s true!

And when you run a cleaning service, trust is crucial. After all, you’re asking people to invite you into their homes to clean their spaces. Your team members might be sorting through their laundry or have access to a desk drawer with their checkbook. Building trust is the only way to seal the deal.

For that very reason, local print advertising is an excellent option for cleaning services providers. Not only does it help establish that trust, but advertising in local papers also allows you to target the right audience with your ads. You know the folks subscribing to the paper are in your geographic area, and that’s crucial when you’re offering an at-home service!

9. Try direct mailers

Speaking of print, direct mailers are another solid option for cleaning services advertising. You want to clean people’s homes; why not send some mail there first?

When it comes to direct mail, it pays to be a little creative. Think outside the postcard-with-a-coupon box. Consider sending an attention-grabbing freebie that’s tied in with what you do. You might ship a super-absorbent branded cleaning towel with a note about how it can keep a home spotless between visits from your team.

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If you don’t have the money to invest in swag, send a mailer with helpful advice or tips only you could provide. Perhaps in advance of the holidays, you create a checklist for ensuring a home is ready to host out-of-town family members. Of course, include tidying up on the list. Then invite folks to give you a call if they need a hand ticking off that task.

10. Always seek to educate and inform

On that theme of advice and tips, a key piece in any marketing tactic is to highlight your expertise—but not in a braggadocious way. Instead, offer your advice to prospects with a generous heart.

Think about your areas of expertise. Is there a type of cleaning service you do best? Maybe it’s caring for antiques, dealing with pet messes, or deep-cleaning rugs. Wherever you shine, share that advice with others!

Host a cleaning ask me anything on your social channels. Create video content where you show the step-by-step process for polishing up antique silverware. Develop a checklist for reorganizing chaotic kitchen pantries.

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When you become a trusted source of valuable information, your content attracts attention. People who know your brand start to follow you on social media or subscribe to your email newsletter for regular updates. They share the content with their friends. And you remain top-of-mind with your audience, so when they’re faced with a cleaning quandary they can’t tackle themselves, they call on you.

11. Get involved in local groups

Local businesses benefit from tapping into local networks. While local retailers or restaurants can engage with the community in their brick-and-mortar locations, it’s not always as easy for services-based businesses to make that personal connection.

That’s why online networking is the way to go. Many cities and towns have created communities online. If nearby towns have Facebook groups, join them! Ask the moderators about ad-sharing policies, and do so if it’s allowed.

If the groups frown upon direct advertising, you can simply be a helpful presence. When someone posts a warning that the local park is muddy after last night’s rainstorm—and shares a photo of their mud-covered dog lounging on their couch—chime in with some cleaning tips.

It’s common for members of these groups to ask for home service provider recommendations. If someone inquires about an excellent local cleaning service, you can respond or ask your current clients to recommend you.

12. Partner with other home service providers

I’ve written before about the power of local business partnerships. How can you create package offerings with other home service providers in your area?

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Maybe you team up with a local landscaper to offer a series of deals: monthly lawn mowing and home cleaning, a spring cleaning plus garden mulching package, or a leaf raking and holiday cleaning special.

Perhaps you make friends with a local home organizing business. You offer a package where the organizer calms the chaos in a client’s closet, and you remove all the dust bunnies they uncover along the way.

There might even be an opportunity to partner with a local nonprofit. You clean up your client’s junk room and haul the gently-used unwanted items to your local goodwill.

Partnerships are great because they create a mutually beneficial arrangement. You and your fellow business owner each draw in clients and share the incoming revenue. The homeowners get bundled services that address multiple needs. Everyone wins!

13. Emphasize convenience

People book cleaning services because life is hectic. If they don’t have time to clean their homes, they likely don’t have time for a lot of back-and-forth to book home cleaning services.

Emphasize your convenience in your advertising. Do you have an easy-to-use online booking platform? Do you allow one-click rescheduling on your app? Can customers seamlessly set up recurring payments?

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The convenience you offer goes beyond your actual home cleaning services. It’s about the total customer experience. If you’re offering convenience that goes above and beyond, make sure your prospects know about it.

14. Create offers to build habits

You’ve likely heard the old sales truism that it’s five to 25 times more expensive to win a new customer than it is to retain an old one. The cleaning services industry lends itself to recurring revenue—clean houses will eventually grow dirty again with time—but part of the hurdle you may face is building a habit.

A customer will not always rebook, even if they were pleased with your service. People get busy and, if they’re not in the habit of getting their house cleaned, they may forget to call you again.

It takes as many as 254 days for someone to form a habit, so consider creating offers in your cleaning services advertising that encourage consumers to return multiple times. Provide a discount when people book a series of cleaning sessions, rather than a one-off.

By the time they’ve come home to a clean house five weeks running, they’ll be more likely to rebook to maintain that feeling of calm they get sinking into tidy sheets at the end of a long day.

15. Get more mileage from reviews

As we’ve already discussed, trust is crucial in a home services provider. Hopefully, you’re already working to generate a healthy number of reviews on platforms like Yelp, Facebook, and Google. But don’t stop there—look for ways to get those reviews out to a wider audience!

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Create Instagram posts with quotes from happy customers and share them every so often on your grid. Incorporate reviews on your website. Some tools integrate with Yelp or your Google Business Profile and automatically display existing reviews on your site. Include testimonials in your print ads or direct mailers. Any time you create an advertisement there’s an opportunity to include a review.

16. Measure and optimize marketing campaigns

As you leverage all these ideas, you’ll want to ensure you’re tracking the right marketing metrics. This ensures that you always have ways to accurately report on how you’re progressing towards your marketing goals and objectives.

For example, you could leverage industry benchmarks, like our search advertising benchmarks to compare your campaign performance with your competitors’. This can help you make informed, data-backed decisions on how to best optimize to reach your goals.

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Take your cleaning services advertising up a notch

Cleaning services advertising must do some heavy lifting. From building trust and educating consumers to incentivize first-time buyers and generating leads, there are multiple considerations your cleaning services advertising should address. It won’t happen overnight, but with a solid and steady approach using the wide range of advertising tools available, you can build a strategy that leaves your competition in the dust.

Here’s a recap of our top cleaning services advertising ideas and marketing tips:

1. Claim your local listings
2. Offer deals on your listings sites
3. Make it easy for clients to schedule your services online
4. Advertise in the right places
5. Use marketing and advertising features specifically for services businesses
6. Keep it seasonal
7. Use relevant hashtags on social
8. Make the most of local print ads
9. Try direct mailers
10. Always seek to educate and inform
11. Get involved in local groups
12. Partner with other home service providers
13. Emphasize convenience
14. Create offers to build habits
15. Get more mileage from reviews
16. Measure and optimize marketing campaigns