Google Ads for UK Trades Businesses: What You Need to Know Before You Spend a Penny
Why Google Ads Works for Trades
If you are a plumber, electrician, builder or roofer, Google Ads puts your business in front of people actively searching for what you do, in your area, right now. No waiting around for SEO to kick in. No cold outreach. Just qualified people looking for a job done.
Done properly, it is one of the most cost-effective ways to fill your diary consistently.
What Does It Actually Cost?
For most trades, cost per click typically ranges from £3 to £7, higher for more competitive services like solar installs or rewires. As a rough guide, a minimum viable budget for UK trades is around £300 to £500 per month in ad spend. Below this, click volume is too thin to generate consistent enquiries or gather enough data to optimise.
The key is understanding your job value. If a bathroom fit costs £4,000 and you convert one in every 20 clicks, the maths works heavily in your favour.
Where Most Trade Businesses Go Wrong
- Targeting too broad an area and wasting budget on enquiries you cannot fulfil
- Not setting negative keywords, so ads show for irrelevant searches
- Sending clicks to a slow or unclear website that does not convert
- Spending too little to generate enough data to improve
For most trades, a 10 to 20 mile radius around your base is the right starting point. Get that wrong and you are paying for enquiries you cannot service.
What to Look for in an Agency
Not all agencies are equal. Before you sign anything, ask:
- Do they have experience running ads for trade businesses specifically?
- Will you own the Google Ads account, or does it stay with them if you leave?
- How do they report results? Leads and calls matter, not just clicks.
- What is their minimum contract and what does management include?
A good agency will be transparent about what your budget can realistically achieve before taking you on.
The Bottom Line
Google Ads can be a serious growth tool for UK trades businesses. The difference between money well spent and money wasted comes down to how the campaign is structured, how your website performs and who is managing it.
If you want a straight conversation about what Google Ads could do for your business, get in touch with the Orbis team.