The Commercial Cleaning Marketing Stack: Ads + GBP + SEO

By Dipa Gandhi

 

 

Read it to me! Click the video below.

 

Commercial cleaning is one of the most competitive service industries online—and also one of the easiest to waste money in.

Not because your company isn’t good.

But because the way people search for commercial cleaning is different than how they search for residential maid services.

A homeowner might type:
“house cleaning near me”

A property manager, facility director, or office admin types:

• “janitorial services for office building”

• “medical office cleaning company”

• “commercial cleaning bid”

• “nightly cleaning contract”

• “post construction cleaning contractor”

And if your marketing isn’t built around those searches, you end up paying for leads you don’t want, fighting price shoppers, and wondering why your phone only rings for one-time jobs.

Let’s fix that.

The Real Problem: Commercial Cleaning Leads Are High-Value… and High-Confusion

Commercial cleaning leads can be worth thousands of dollars a month. One signed contract can change your revenue overnight.

But the marketing funnel is messy.

You’re trying to reach people who:

• Don’t always know what service they need

• Aren’t searching the same way homeowners do

• Often need approval from someone else

• Care more about reliability and compliance than “cheap pricing”

• Are comparing 3–6 vendors before contacting anyone

That’s why so many commercial cleaners try Google Ads, turn it on for 30 days, and conclude:

“Google Ads doesn’t work for commercial cleaning.”

It can work.
But not with a generic strategy.

Why Most Commercial Cleaners Burn Money on Google (Even When They’re Good)

Here’s what usually happens:

A commercial cleaning business runs Google Ads using broad keywords like:

• “cleaning services”

• “janitorial”

• “office cleaning”

• “cleaning company near me”

The clicks come in fast.

The calls start… and half the time they’re for:

• Residential house cleaning

• Carpet cleaning

• One-time deep cleaning

• “How much for a 2-bedroom apartment?”

• Someone looking for a job

• A competitor checking pricing

So you pay for clicks, your team gets distracted, and the actual commercial decision-makers never even see you.

And it gets worse: commercial cleaning searches often happen during business hours, when your office might be busy, understaffed, or out on jobs.

So even the good leads don’t convert.

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The Fix: Build a Commercial Cleaning Funnel That Filters, Qualifies, and Converts

The smartest commercial cleaning companies don’t rely on one channel.

They use a simple stack:

• Google Ads to generate fast, high-intent traffic

• Google Business Profile (GBP) to dominate local trust

• SEO to bring in long-term leads without paying per click

Each channel does a different job.

And when they work together, you get something rare in commercial cleaning marketing:

More contract leads, fewer junk calls.

1) Google Ads: Stop Paying for “Cleaning” and Start Buying “Contracts”

Google Ads is still one of the fastest ways to get commercial cleaning leads.

But commercial cleaning ads must be built like a filter—not a fishing net.

The #1 Rule: Your keywords should describe a commercial buyer

Instead of targeting “cleaning company,” target terms that signal commercial intent, like:

• office cleaning services

• janitorial services for businesses

• warehouse cleaning company

• industrial cleaning services

• school cleaning services

• medical office cleaning service

• bank cleaning service

• church cleaning company

• commercial cleaning contract

• nightly janitorial service

• cleaning company for property management

These phrases are longer and lower-volume.

That’s a good thing.

Because lower competition often means lower cost per click, and better-quality leads.

Use negative keywords aggressively (this is where most campaigns fail)

For commercial cleaning, your negative keyword list should usually include:

• house

• apartment

• maid

• home

• carpet

• rug

• couch

• upholstery

• jobs

• hiring

• salary

• hourly

• resume

• “near me” (sometimes—depends on your market)

You don’t need to be everywhere.

You need to show up for the right searches, so use the right keywords.

Make your ads sound like a commercial vendor, not a maid service

A commercial decision-maker doesn’t want “sparkling clean kitchens.”

They want:

• consistency

• compliance

• after-hours service

• trained staff

• background checks

• insurance

• a vendor who shows up

Ad copy that converts in commercial cleaning includes phrases like:

• “Nightly Janitorial Contracts”

• “Licensed & Insured Commercial Cleaning”

• “Office, Medical, Warehouse Cleaning”

• “Request a Cleaning Quote in 24 Hours”

• “Background-Checked Staff”

Build landing pages for industries, not just services

A generic “Commercial Cleaning” page is a conversion killer.

Create pages like:

• Office Cleaning

• Medical Office Cleaning

• Post-Construction Cleaning

• Warehouse & Industrial Cleaning

• School & Daycare Cleaning

• Restaurant & Kitchen Cleaning

• Property Management / Multi-tenant Buildings

This is one of the easiest ways to increase conversion rates without increasing ad spend.

2) GBP: The Trust Builder That Makes Every Other Channel Convert Better

Even when a commercial lead comes from Google Ads, most buyers still do this:

They Google your business name.

And the first thing they see is your Google Business Profile.

If your GBP is weak, inconsistent, or missing reviews, you lose the deal before you even speak.

What commercial cleaning buyers look for in GBP

They scan for:

• Professional photos (not stock images)

• Reviews that mention commercial spaces

• Proof you serve their area

• A real phone number and business name

• Signs you’re active (posts, recent reviews)

The most important GBP shift for commercial cleaners

Your reviews should not just say:

“Great service!”

They should say things like:

• “They clean our medical clinic 5 nights a week.”

• “We manage multiple office buildings and they’ve been reliable.”

• “They handled post-construction cleanup on a tight deadline.”

Those reviews act like mini case studies.

And they increase conversion rates for:

• Google Ads

• SEO

• referrals

How to get better commercial reviews (without begging)

Commercial clients are busy. They won’t leave a review from a generic link.

Instead:

• Ask after a milestone (first month completed, first inspection passed)

• Send the link with a short prompt:

  • “Would you mention what type of building we clean for you?”

• Have your point-of-contact forward it internally if needed

3) SEO: The Long-Term Lead Machine That Stops the Pay-Per-Click Bleeding

Google Ads is great for speed.

SEO is what builds stability.

Because once you rank for commercial cleaning keywords, you’re not paying for every click.

And commercial cleaning SEO is often less competitive than you’d think—especially for niche services.

What commercial cleaning SEO should focus on

Instead of trying to rank for “cleaning company,” focus on:

• Industry-specific pages

• Location pages (service area pages done right)

• Proof-based content (case studies, checklists, compliance)

• Commercial intent keywords

Examples:

• “medical office cleaning [city]”

• “janitorial services for office buildings [city]”

• “post construction cleaning [city]”

• “warehouse cleaning services [city]”

• “school cleaning company [city]”

Why this works (and why most cleaners don’t do it)

Most cleaning companies publish fluffy blogs like:

• “Benefits of a Clean Office”

• “Why Cleanliness Matters”

Those posts don’t rank, don’t convert, and don’t attract buyers.

Instead, publish content that matches commercial decision-making, like:

• “Janitorial Cleaning Checklist for Property Managers”

• “How Often Should a Medical Office Be Professionally Cleaned?”

• “What’s Included in Nightly Office Cleaning?”

• “How to Compare Janitorial Bids (Without Getting Burned)”

That content attracts people who are actively evaluating vendors.

The Best Strategy: Use Paid to Start, SEO to Scale, GBP to Close

Commercial cleaning marketing works best when each channel has a job.

Here’s the simplest breakdown:

Google Ads

• Fast leads

• Great for niche commercial services

• Needs strong filtering and landing pages

GBP

• Converts leads from every channel

• Builds trust

• Reviews act like proof

SEO

• Long-term growth

• Lower cost per lead over time

• Helps you win contracts consistently

A Commercial Cleaning Lead Strategy That Actually Works (Step-by-Step)

If you want a practical starting plan, do this:

Week 1–2: Fix your foundation

• Clean up your GBP (categories, services, photos, description)

• Add commercial-focused reviews (start asking strategically)

• Build or improve a landing page for commercial cleaning

Week 3–4: Launch paid traffic with strong filters

• Run Google Ads with commercial-intent keywords

• Add negative keywords immediately

• Track form submissions and phone calls

Month 2–3: Add SEO pages that match how buyers search

• Create industry pages (office, medical, post-construction, etc.)

• Create location pages for your top service areas

• Publish 2–4 commercial buyer-focused blogs

Month 3+: Optimize what’s working

• Cut keywords bringing junk leads

• Increase budget on high-converting industries

• Add case studies and proof-based content

The Bottom Line: Commercial Cleaning Marketing Isn’t Hard—But It Has to Be Specific

The commercial cleaning companies that win online aren’t always the biggest.

They’re the most intentional.

They stop marketing themselves like a generic cleaning company… and start positioning themselves like a professional commercial vendor.

And when you do that, the leads change.

Not just in quantity.

In quality.

Your next step (do this today)

Pick one commercial niche you want more of—office, medical, post-construction, warehouse—and tighten your marketing around it.

Because in commercial cleaning, being “everything to everyone” is how you stay stuck doing one-time jobs.

Being specific is how you win contracts.