Google Ads · Trades Google Ads for tradies.
Local Google Ads for trade businesses, built around the jobs you actually want and the areas you actually service.
Local Google Ads for trade businesses, built around the jobs you actually want and the areas you actually service.
Most trade enquiries start with a local search.
Someone needs a plumber, electrician, roofer, air conditioning technician or builder and searches for a business nearby. For some jobs, they need someone today. For others, they're collecting quotes and comparing businesses over several weeks.
Google Ads can put your business in front of those searches, but getting the click is only part of the job.
The campaign needs to target the right suburbs, the right services and the right type of enquiry. It also needs to account for when you can answer the phone and whether a lead is actually worth sending to the business.
We build trade campaigns around those practical details, for trade businesses across Australia.
Local ads, sensible targeting and tracking that connects enquiries back to the advertising.
A trade campaign shouldn't be measured only by clicks or form submissions.
For many businesses, the most valuable conversion is a phone call from someone who actually needs the service, is within the service area and is ready to book or request a quote.
We look at:
The objective isn't simply to make the phone ring more.
It's to make it ring with enquiries the business can actually service.
Different trades have very different search behaviour.
An emergency plumber has a very different customer journey from a builder quoting a renovation, and a solar installer has different seasonal demand from a pest control business.
Plumbers, electricians and locksmiths can receive highly time-sensitive searches.
Terms such as “emergency”, “after hours” and “24 hour” can indicate someone who is ready to call immediately.
Those searches are valuable when the business can actually answer and attend. There's little benefit in paying for an emergency enquiry at 2am if nobody is available to take it.
Builders, renovators and larger trade businesses often deal with longer sales cycles.
A potential customer may contact several businesses, request quotes and take weeks or months to decide.
The campaign therefore needs to focus on the types of projects the business actually wants to quote rather than generating as many enquiries as possible.
Roofing, gutters, painting and exterior restoration can have strong weather-driven demand.
Storms can produce a sudden increase in searches and enquiries, while demand can be more consistent during the rest of the year.
Campaigns can be adjusted around capacity and the types of work the business wants to take on.
Air conditioning searches can become highly seasonal, particularly when demand increases during periods of extreme weather.
Solar demand can also change with electricity prices, incentives and other market conditions.
The campaign needs to account for those changes rather than assuming search volume stays consistent throughout the year.
Landscaping, concreting, fencing and outdoor construction often have strong seasonal patterns.
A landscaping business may want more substantial design and construction projects rather than small maintenance jobs.
Campaign structure can reflect the type and value of work the business is set up to deliver.
Cleaning and pest control can generate repeat business, making customer value different from a one-off service call.
Where repeat bookings are important to the business, they should be considered when assessing what a new customer is actually worth.
For local trade businesses, your Google Business Profile is an important part of how customers find and assess you.
When someone searches for something like “plumber near me” or “electrician in Parramatta”, Google doesn't always present the same results.
Depending on the search, location and available businesses, the results can include traditional Search Ads, local listings and the Google Maps results built from Business Profiles.
That means your business can be competing for visibility in two closely connected areas:
The paid results that appear for relevant searches.
The businesses Google selects for local searches.
A common source of confusion for trade businesses is seeing one business appear in the paid Search results and a different group of businesses appear in the local results or Maps. They're different parts of Google's system.
Google Ads can give you visibility through paid Search advertising when someone searches for a relevant service. Your Business Profile contributes to your presence in Google's local results and Maps.
Neither gives you a guaranteed position simply because you are running ads or have a Business Profile. The useful approach is to make sure both are properly set up and that the information about your business is accurate.
Your Business Profile contains information such as your business name, phone number, opening hours, services, photos and location or service-area information. For service businesses that travel to customers, the profile can also be configured around the areas you serve rather than relying solely on a shopfront address.
Where appropriate, your Business Profile can also be connected to Google Ads as a location asset, allowing Google to use information about your business location within eligible advertising formats.
Your Business Profile, website and advertising should give customers consistent information.
If one source shows a different phone number, different hours or a different service area, it can create unnecessary friction at exactly the point someone is deciding whether to call.
Reviews are another important part of the local result. People can see the profile, ratings and other business information before deciding which business to contact.
For local trade campaigns, we therefore look at Google Ads and the Business Profile together rather than treating them as completely separate channels.
For many tradies, the phone is the most important conversion.
Google Ads allows campaigns to be scheduled around the hours you actually want to receive calls. Call assets can also be used to make it easier for people to call directly from an ad when that option is available.
This can be particularly useful for businesses that:
There is one important distinction.
A phone number that is permanently displayed on your website is still visible regardless of your Google Ads schedule.
The right setup depends on how the business handles enquiries.
Some trade and building work is subject to licensing and advertising requirements.
For example, businesses carrying out licensed building work in NSW need to make sure their advertising represents the relevant licence information correctly.
The relevant requirements are considered when setting up ads and landing pages.
The business remains responsible for its licensing and regulatory obligations, including ensuring that any licence information used in advertising is accurate and current.
Local search results can contain businesses that don't operate in quite the way a customer expects.
Some websites and lead-generation businesses collect enquiries and pass them on to tradespeople rather than carrying out the work themselves. That can make the search results confusing for someone simply trying to find a local tradie.
A real trade business doesn't necessarily need the most polished website in the market. It does need to make the basics clear:
Google Ads can then put that business in front of people already searching for those services. Landing pages →
Getting more calls isn't necessarily getting better leads.
A plumber might receive calls for jobs outside the service area. A builder might get enquiries for projects far below the type of work they take on. An electrician might pay for searches from people looking for DIY information.
Search terms, negative keywords, location targeting, ad copy and landing pages all play a role in filtering those enquiries.
A campaign can perform well on paper while wasting money outside the hours the business can actually handle enquiries.
Call scheduling and conversion tracking should reflect the real operating hours of the business.
We work with tradies and home service businesses that have a defined service area, clear services and a way to handle the enquiries generated by advertising.
This can include:
Google Ads can put your business in front of people actively searching for the services you provide.
For a local trade business, that can be particularly useful when the campaign is focused on the areas you actually service and the types of jobs you want.
The value isn't simply in generating clicks. It is in generating enquiries that the business can answer, service and convert.
Yes. Campaigns can be set up around the suburbs, postcodes or areas you actually service, and leave out the areas you don't.
Ad copy and landing pages can also make your service area clear, so people outside it are less likely to call.
You can schedule advertising outside normal business hours, but that doesn't necessarily mean you should.
For emergency businesses with genuine after-hours availability, advertising at night can make sense.
For a business that won't answer until the following morning, paying for a call at 2am may not be useful.
The campaign should reflect how the business actually operates.
Send your details and we’ll come back to you.
Platapode specialises in Google Ads.
Based in Sydney, NSW, Australia, working with businesses worldwide.
