Last updated: 5 October 2026
In this article
- 1. Run Google Ads on the Jobs You Want Most
- 2. Target Your Suburbs and Services, Not Broad Terms
- 3. Use Meta Ads for Planned and Visual Jobs
- 4. Give Every Service Its Own Landing Page
- 5. Put Your Number at the Top
- 6. Fill In Your Google Business Profile
- 7. Ask Every Happy Customer for a Review
- 8. Call Back Before the Next Tradie Does
- 9. Track Every Call and Form
- 10. Build SEO Suburb by Suburb
- What to Avoid
Start with Google Ads on the jobs you want most, aimed at your own suburbs, because it reaches people searching for your trade right now. Use Meta Ads for planned and visual jobs, send every ad to a page about that one service, and call back fast. Avoid shared lead sites, ads that land on your homepage and chasing city-wide SEO first. Ranking for a whole city is far harder and more expensive than ranking for your suburbs.
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Most tradies run on word of mouth. It works until it does not, and then the diary goes from full to empty in a fortnight. Referrals are great, but you cannot turn them up when work is slow.
These ten tips are the ones we use on trade campaigns every week, starting with paid ads because they bring calls fastest. After them is a short list of what to avoid. If you would rather hand the whole job over, that is our lead generation service for tradies.
1. Run Google Ads on the Jobs You Want Most
Someone typing "emergency electrician near me" at 9pm is not browsing. They need someone now, and Google Ads puts your number at the top of that search. Start with the jobs that pay best or that you want more of, not every service you offer.
Done well, the numbers are strong. These are from our published case studies:
$17.96
Cost per lead, EA Services, Townsville
$21.10
Cost per lead, Martin & Co Electrical, Perth
28.21%
Conversion rate, Marshall Electrics
22.79%
Conversion rate, Campbell Plumbing
2. Target Your Suburbs and Services, Not Broad Terms
"Blocked drain Fremantle" brings better leads than "plumber". Set your ads to show only in the areas you will drive to. Add negative keywords such as "jobs", "course" and "DIY" so you stop paying for clicks from people who will never hire you. For what to spend, see our guide to a tradie's Google Ads budget.
3. Use Meta Ads for Planned and Visual Jobs
Meta Ads run on Facebook and Instagram. Nobody there is searching for a tradie, so the ad has to catch someone's eye. You choose who sees it by area, age and interests, such as homeowners near your yard.
- Renovations, decks, pergolas and landscaping, where before and after photos sell the job
- Solar, batteries and air conditioning, especially in the weeks before summer
- Seasonal work such as gutter cleaning before winter or pool fencing before Christmas
Meta's lead ads let people send their details through a form without leaving the app. Add a question about suburb and type of job to filter out people who are only curious. Our Google Ads vs Facebook Ads guide compares the two in detail.
4. Give Every Service Its Own Landing Page
Someone who searched for hot water repairs wants a page about hot water repairs, not your homepage. Send each ad to a page about that one job, with a headline that matches the ad. Our guide to landing pages for trade services covers what goes on it.
5. Put Your Number at the Top
Most people looking for a tradie are on their phone. Show a number that dials when tapped in the first screen, and keep a call button on screen as they scroll. Keep the form to name, phone, suburb and one line about the job.
6. Fill In Your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile is the free listing that shows your reviews, hours and a call button in Google Maps. Fill in every service and suburb, add photos of real jobs and post an update when you finish a good one. It costs nothing but time.
7. Ask Every Happy Customer for a Review
Ask in person at the end of the job, then text your review link the same day. Recent reviews that mention the job and the suburb help people choose you, and they help your profile show up.
8. Call Back Before the Next Tradie Does
The first tradie to call back usually gets the job. Set up a text that goes out automatically when you miss a call, and check enquiries at smoko, lunch and knock-off.
9. Track Every Call and Form
If you do not know what each job cost to win, you cannot tell which ads are working. Record calls and forms as conversions in Google Ads, and ask every new customer how they found you.
10. Build SEO Suburb by Suburb
Do you need SEO? It pays off over time, because ranking in Google's free results keeps bringing work after you stop paying for it. But where you aim makes a big difference to the cost.
Ranking for a whole city is far more difficult and expensive than ranking for a suburb. Think "electrician Perth" against "electrician Joondalup". City searches are fought over by big businesses, lead sites and directories with years of content and links behind them.
| City level | Suburb level | |
|---|---|---|
| Example search | "electrician Perth" | "electrician Joondalup" |
| Who you are up against | Large businesses, directories and lead sites | Mostly other local tradies |
| What it takes | Many pages, many links, a big budget, a long time | A good page for each service and suburb, plus reviews |
| Cost and time | Far higher | Far lower |
Use Google Ads to win the city-wide searches now, and build SEO around your own suburbs over time.
What to Avoid
| Avoid | Why it costs you | Do this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Relying on shared lead sites | The same job goes to several tradies, so you compete on price | Run your own ads so the enquiry comes to you alone |
| Sending ads to your homepage | People have to hunt for the service they searched for, and many leave | One landing page per service |
| Broad keywords and no negatives | You pay for clicks from job seekers and DIYers | Target service plus suburb and add negative keywords |
| Meta Ads for emergency work | Nobody scrolls Facebook while a pipe is leaking | Google Ads for emergencies, Meta for planned jobs |
| Chasing city-wide SEO first | It is the hardest and most expensive place to rank | Suburb pages first, ads for the city |
| Judging ads by clicks | Clicks do not pay the bills | Track calls, forms and jobs won |
| Missing calls for hours | The customer has already rung someone else | Missed-call text and set times to call back |
Never fake reviews
The ACCC says it is against the law for a business to create fake or misleading reviews. Customers who check and find nothing will not call either.
Pick the first five tips, do them well and measure your cost per job before adding more. If you would rather have someone run the ads for you, that is what our lead generation service does.
Jordan Pizzica
Director & Head of Growth, J-Digital
I'm the founder and Director of J-Digital, Australia's dedicated Google Ads agency for trade businesses.
I've run campaigns for 150+ Australian tradies through J-Digital, a Google Premier Partner 2026, generating more than 11,800 qualified leads across documented campaigns.
My Rapid Lead Flow System is built around one principle: every dollar a tradie spends on ads must return a trackable, qualified job enquiry.
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