Paid advertising for electricians, plumbers, builders and trade businesses across Australia - built around one number: what it costs you to book a job.
When a hot water system dies or a switchboard trips, nobody scrolls Instagram. They search Google and call whoever shows up first with a clear number and a local address. That is the moment Google Ads is built for. The trouble is most trade accounts also pay for clicks from DIYers, job seekers and people three suburbs outside the service area - and fixing that is most of the job.
Recent Google Ads results for a Queensland business.
Trade customers don't browse. They have a problem, they search, and they call. Your campaigns need to be built around that.
Most trade searches happen because something needs fixing now, nearby. Winning the top of the page in your own service area matters far more than reaching a big audience.
If you are not tracking calls, you are only seeing a fraction of what your ads produce - and Google is optimising blind. Call assets and call conversion tracking come first.
A plumber in Logan does not want clicks from the Sunshine Coast. Radius and suburb targeting, set to people actually located in the area, stops that spend leaking.
A $12 click that books a $900 job beats a $2 click from someone looking for a how-to video. Every campaign is measured on cost per booked job.
Both work - for different jobs. Google Ads captures demand that already exists: emergencies, repairs and people actively asking for quotes. Facebook and Instagram create demand: they suit visual, planned work like renovations, landscaping, pools and solar, and they are the best tool for remarketing to people who visited your site but did not call.
For urgent trades - electrical, plumbing, locksmiths, air conditioning repair - Google should carry most of the budget. For visual trades, Meta earns a much bigger share. Read the full Google vs Facebook comparison for tradies →
Electricians · Plumbers · builders and renovators · roofers · landscapers · air conditioning and HVAC · painters · concreters · fencing and decking.
Most effective campaigns start at around $1,000 a month in ad spend and scale from there. The right number depends on your average job value and how much work you can take on. If an average job is worth $800 and you win one in three quotes, you can afford to pay well over $100 per lead and still be comfortably profitable - so the question is less about the budget and more about the cost per booked job.
Google Ads for urgent and repair work, because people are actively searching for someone to call. Facebook and Instagram for visual and planned work such as renovations, landscaping and solar, and for remarketing to people who visited your website. Most established trade businesses end up running both, with Google as the base.
Most well-structured campaigns generate their first enquiries within 2 to 4 weeks. Full optimisation typically takes 60 to 90 days as search term data builds up and wasted spend is cut.
You need a page to send people to. A focused landing page with your phone number, service areas, licence details and reviews almost always converts better than a general homepage, and it can be built as part of the campaign setup.
Fill out the form and I'll get back to you within 24 hours with a free audit and a clear plan for your paid advertising.
Get Your Free Audit →Tell me about your trade business and I'll send back a free audit of your current ads - what's booking jobs, what's wasting money, and what I'd change first. No commitment, no sales pressure.