Every plumber, electrician and roofer I know has an opinion on Google Ads — usually formed after either a great month or a painful one. The truth is less dramatic than both camps claim.
Here’s an honest look at whether Google Ads pay off for local UK tradespeople, and how to avoid burning money.
Is It Worth Paying for Google Ads as a Local UK Tradesperson?
It can be, but only for the right trades in the right areas. Google Ads work best for urgent, high-value jobs where customers search with intent: ’emergency plumber near me’, ‘boiler replacement’, ‘roof repair’. Those clicks cost £3-£15 each in competitive areas, which sounds steep until one converted click becomes a £400 boiler job. The maths is simple: if your average job profit is £150 and one in ten clicks becomes a paying customer at £5 a click, you’re spending £50 to make £150 — a solid return. Where it falls apart is low-value or vague work: paying £6 a click for ‘handyman’ searches that convert rarely is just donating to Google. Your website matters enormously too — ads pointing at a slow site with no reviews and no phone number prominently displayed will waste most of the budget.
Before spending a penny, get the foundations right: a Google Business Profile with plenty of genuine reviews, a mobile-friendly site that loads fast, and call tracking so you know which enquiries came from ads. Start with a tight campaign — a 10-15 mile radius, exact-match keywords for your money services, ads running only during hours you can answer the phone. Set a daily budget you can afford to lose for a month (£10-£20 a day is a sensible test), because the first few weeks are data-gathering, not profit. Review the search terms report weekly and block irrelevant searches ruthlessly; ‘free’, ‘jobs’, ‘DIY’ and ‘course’ are budget killers.
Some wider context
Customer retention beats customer acquisition on almost every measure: it’s cheaper, the buyers spend more, and they refer others. Yet most small firms spend 90% of their marketing effort chasing new customers while ignoring the ones they have. A simple follow-up email, a loyalty discount, or just remembering names does more for revenue than another round of ads. Look after the customers you’ve got first.
Networking still works, despite everything the internet promised. Local business groups, trade associations and even the regulars at a co-working space generate referrals that no ad campaign can buy — people recommend people they know. You don’t need to love small talk; just show up consistently, be useful, and follow up. One good contact a month compounds into a powerful network within a couple of years.
When Google Ads Aren’t the Answer
If your trade lives on repeat customers and word of mouth — say, a regular gardening round — ads rarely beat simply asking happy customers for referrals. Very rural areas often lack the search volume to make campaigns worthwhile. And if you can’t answer the phone during the day, don’t run ads during the day: missed calls from paid clicks are the most expensive kind. Alternatives worth testing first include Checkatrade or Rated People profiles, local Facebook groups, and good old-fashioned review generation — all cheaper per lead than ads when they work.
Your suppliers should be reviewed as ruthlessly as you review your own prices. Loyalty is admirable, but an annual quote comparison keeps everyone honest — including your current supplier, who may suddenly find room to move when asked. Small, regular savings on materials, merchant fees and utilities compound into serious money over a year. Put a recurring reminder in your diary; future you will be grateful.
Planning doesn’t have to mean a 40-page document nobody reads. A one-page plan — where the money comes from, where it goes, what success looks like this year, and the three things that could go wrong — reviewed quarterly, outperforms most formal business plans. The value isn’t the document; it’s the habit of thinking ahead instead of reacting.
Record-keeping is a superpower disguised as admin. HMRC can ask for six years of records, but the real benefit is to you: clean books mean you actually know which products, clients and months make money. Cloud accounting software does most of the heavy lifting now — photograph receipts as they happen and reconcile weekly, and the year-end becomes a non-event rather than a crisis.
VAT registration sneaks up on growing businesses. The threshold (currently £90,000 of taxable turnover in a rolling 12-month period) is easy to drift past during a good year, and registration is then compulsory — backdated. Keep a rolling eye on turnover, and consider voluntary registration earlier: it lets you reclaim VAT on purchases and can make you look more established to business clients. Talk to your accountant before you cross the line, not after.
Burnout is a business risk, not just a personal one. The founder doing everything, sleeping badly and never switching off makes worse decisions — and eventually the business pays for it. Build rest into the schedule like any other commitment: proper days off, holidays where you genuinely disconnect, and systems that let the business survive a week without you. A business that depends on an exhausted owner is a fragile business.
Quick recap
- Best for urgent, high-value jobs: plumbing, boilers, roofing, electrics.
- Typical clicks cost £3-£15; do the maths on your average job profit first.
- Start tight: small radius, exact keywords, hours you can answer the phone.
- Test with £10-£20/day for a month; block junk search terms weekly.
- A fast site with reviews and a visible phone number is essential.
Keep exploring: How can AI help with managing a busy family schedule tackles the question people ask us most on this topic, alongside Can AI help me decorate my living room and Is it normal to feel tired all the time and when should i see a GP with further practical advice.
The official guidance at MoneySavingExpert’s business and self-employment guides is the definitive source here.
Wrapping up
Google Ads are worth it for many UK tradespeople — if you target urgent high-value work, keep campaigns tight, and answer the phone. Test small, measure every call, and kill what doesn’t pay within a month or two.
1 Comment