Quick Answer
Google Ads can cost UK tradespeople £18–£65 per click with no guarantee of a booking. For most sole traders and small contractors, three alternatives deliver better returns: optimising your Google Business Profile (free), switching to Google Local Services Ads (pay-per-lead, not pay-per-click), and building a systematic review strategy. Together these three can generate more qualified leads for a fraction of the budget.
Table of Contents
- What £500/Month on Google Ads Actually Gets You
- Why Google Ads Struggles for Small Trades
- Alternative 1: Google Business Profile (Free)
- Alternative 2: Google Local Services Ads
- Alternative 3: Lead Gen Platforms
- Building Your Review Engine
- Side-by-Side Comparison
- Cost Per Lead: The Numbers
- What Other Trades Think
- The Verdict
What £500/Month on Google Ads Actually Gets You
Five hundred pounds a month sounds like a reasonable marketing budget. But when you do the maths on Google Ads for trades in the UK, it unravels fast.
The average cost-per-click for trade searches in the UK sits between £3 and £8 for general terms, but for anything competitive like "emergency plumber London" or "boiler installation near me", clicks regularly hit £18–£45. In London and other major cities, some keywords push past £65 per click.
If you're paying £10 per click and your landing page converts at 5% (which is generous for a basic site), you're paying £200 per enquiry. Not per job. Per enquiry. With no guarantee the person actually books or that the job is profitable.
The catch with standard Google Ads is that you pay for every click, whether the person books a job or just price-compares and walks away. Lead gen platforms and Google Local Services Ads (LSAs) charge per verified enquiry, which is a fundamentally different, and often cheaper, model for trades.
Why Google Ads Struggles for Small Trades
Google Ads was built for scale. The companies that get the best return from it have dedicated marketing teams, professional landing pages, constant campaign optimisation, and budgets of £2,000 a month or more. That's what the platform is optimised for.
For a one-man band or small team, several structural problems stack up:
- Click fraud: Competitors or bots click your ads, eating budget with no leads in return. Google credits some of these back, but not all.
- Auction dynamics: Larger firms with bigger budgets can consistently outbid you for the best positions. Your £500 competes against their £5,000.
- Keyword mismatch: Without ongoing management, broad keywords attract tyre-kickers, DIYers, and people outside your area.
- Landing page quality: Google scores your ads partly on how good your landing page is. A basic website or Facebook page tanks your quality score and raises your CPC.
- No capacity to scale: If the ads suddenly work brilliantly and you get flooded with enquiries while you're on a job, you miss the calls. Leads go cold fast.
The Capacity Trap
Most established tradespeople are already booking weeks ahead through word of mouth and repeat customers. Paying for Google Ads when you can't take on more work simply wastes the budget. Sort your capacity and review systems first, then consider paid ads.
This isn't to say Google Ads never works for trades. For new businesses with no reputation yet, or for specific emergency services with high job values, it can make sense with the right setup. But for most trades spending £500/month on campaigns they haven't fully optimised, there are better places to start.
Alternative 1: Google Business Profile (Free)
Your Google Business Profile (GBP, formerly Google My Business) is the single highest-value free marketing asset a tradesperson has. When someone searches "electrician near me" or "plumber in Bristol", the map pack results that dominate the top of the page come from GBP, not from paid ads.
And here's the thing: most tradespeople set up a GBP profile, fill in the basics, and then ignore it. That's a huge missed opportunity, because the algorithm rewards active profiles.
What actually moves the needle on GBP
- Reviews, reviews, reviews. The number and recency of your 5-star reviews is the biggest ranking factor. One new review a week beats ten reviews from last year. Ask every customer immediately after finishing the job, not a day later.
- Photos. Upload before-and-after photos from every job. Google treats photos as a signal of an active, legitimate business. Aim for at least two new photos per week.
- Posts. Use the "Updates" post feature to share completed jobs, seasonal offers, or tips. Each post lasts 7 days and signals activity.
- Q&A. Seed your own Q&A section with the questions customers actually ask, and answer them properly. This gets picked up by voice search and AI-generated answers.
- Services. Fill in every service with a detailed description. Google uses this to match your profile to specific searches.
- Business hours. Keep these accurate, especially around bank holidays. An incorrect "closed" status during a search is an immediate bounce to a competitor.
Real-World Result
A Bristol heating engineer who spent 30 minutes each week maintaining his GBP: uploading job photos, responding to reviews, and posting updates. He reported going from position 8 in the local map pack to position 2 within 4 months, without spending a penny on ads. His enquiry volume tripled.
Alternative 2: Google Local Services Ads
Google Local Services Ads (LSAs) are the pay-per-lead version of Google advertising. They appear above the standard paid ads in search results, show a verified badge, and charge you only when a potential customer calls or messages you directly through the listing.
This is a fundamentally different model from standard Google Ads. You're not paying for someone to see your ad or even click it. You pay when a real person contacts you.
How LSAs work for UK trades
- Apply and verify: Complete Google's background and business verification process. You'll need proof of licensing, insurance, and business registration. This takes 1–4 weeks but gives you a "Google Verified" badge.
- Set your budget: Choose a weekly budget and the types of jobs you want leads for. Google will show your listing when it estimates a match.
- Receive leads: Customers call or message through the listing. You're charged per lead, typically £20–£85 depending on your trade and location.
- Dispute bad leads: Since October 2024, Google automatically credits poor-quality leads (wrong area, wrong service, etc.) rather than requiring manual disputes. This improves the cost-effectiveness significantly.
- Build your profile: Reviews on your LSA profile are separate from GBP. The more reviews, the higher your placement in the LSA results.
LSA vs Standard Google Ads: Key Difference
Standard Google Ads: you pay per click (£3–£65), regardless of whether the person books. LSAs: you pay per verified lead (£20–£85 for trades), and Google guarantees a refund for leads that don't meet your criteria. For most trades, the pay-per-lead model reduces wasted spend significantly.
LSAs work best for trades that serve emergency or urgent needs (plumbing, electrical, locksmith, heating) where customers are searching with high intent and need to book immediately. They are less effective for project-based work where customers are still in research mode.
Alternative 3: Lead Gen Platforms
The UK has a well-established ecosystem of lead generation platforms built specifically for trades. Each has a different model, cost structure, and quality level.
The main options compared
| Platform | Model | Typical Cost | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Checkatrade | Monthly subscription | £90–£140/mo + VAT | Established trades wanting a trusted directory profile |
| Bark.com | Credits per lead | £5–£50 per lead | Quick wins when starting out; high volume but mixed quality |
| MyBuilder | Pay if shortlisted | Variable per shortlist | Project work like extensions, renovations |
| Rated People | Credits per lead | £5–£30 per lead | General trades, good for volume |
| TrustATrader | Monthly subscription | ~£60–£100/mo | Less competitive than Checkatrade; good in some regions |
The honest assessment
No lead platform is magic. Bark leads are often quote-shopping across five trades simultaneously. MyBuilder charges you to see contact details with no guarantee of a reply. Checkatrade's fixed cost means you pay the same whether you get ten jobs or none.
The tradespeople who make lead platforms work do three things differently: they respond within minutes (not hours), their profile is fully built out with photos and reviews, and they treat each lead as an opportunity to get a long-term customer rather than just one job.
Watch Out for Checkatrade Lead Quality
Some trades report a decline in lead quality on Checkatrade in recent years, with more "just browsing" enquiries and price-sensitive customers. Results vary significantly by region and trade. Before signing up, ask other local trades in your sector for their experience, not Checkatrade's own testimonials.
Building Your Review Engine
The highest-ROI marketing activity for any established tradesperson is a systematic approach to getting reviews. Reviews feed into every channel discussed in this article: they improve your GBP ranking, boost your LSA position, make your Checkatrade profile stand out, and give you social proof to share on WhatsApp or Facebook.
A simple review process that works
- Ask immediately on completion: Don't wait. The customer is standing there, job done, satisfied. That's the moment. A quick "Would you mind leaving us a Google review? It takes 30 seconds and really helps small businesses like ours." Most people say yes when asked face-to-face.
- Send a follow-up message: Within an hour of finishing, send a WhatsApp or text with your Google review link. Keep it short: "Really appreciate you having me. If you have 2 minutes, here's the link for a Google review; it means a lot."
- Make it dead easy: Use a short link (bit.ly or Google's own g.page short link) that goes directly to your review form. Don't make them search for you.
- Respond to every review: Good or bad. Responding signals to Google that your profile is actively managed. For negative reviews, respond calmly and professionally. Potential customers read how you handle complaints.
- Track your review velocity: Aim for at least one new review per week. Google's algorithm weighs recent reviews more heavily than older ones.
The Review Compound Effect
According to marketing research, businesses with 200+ reviews see an average 44% revenue increase compared to those with fewer than 50. Every review you get today is still working for you in three years, as long as you keep getting new ones alongside it.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Channel | Monthly Cost | Time to First Lead | Lead Quality | Setup Effort |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Google Ads | £300–£1,000+ | Immediate | Variable (pay per click) | High (ongoing management) |
| Google Business Profile | Free | 4–12 weeks | High (warm intent) | Low (1–2 hrs/week) |
| Google Local Services Ads | £200–£600 | 1–4 weeks (verification) | High (pay per lead) | Medium (one-time setup) |
| Checkatrade | £90–£140 | Weeks–months | Medium | Low (profile setup) |
| Bark.com | £50–£200 | Immediate | Low–Medium (price shoppers) | Low |
| Review Strategy | Free | Ongoing (compounds) | Very High (referral quality) | Low (process habit) |
Cost Per Lead: The Numbers
The bar chart below shows typical cost-per-lead estimates for each channel. Standard Google Ads at the top reflects the blended reality when factoring in both management time and click costs. Your figures will vary by trade, location, and campaign quality.
A Note on These Figures
Cost-per-lead estimates are industry averages. Actual results depend heavily on your trade, location, competition, how well you follow up on leads, and how strong your existing reputation is. These numbers are a starting point for comparison, not a guarantee.
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What Other Trades Think
Real voices from UK tradespeople and contractors on Reddit, Instagram, and TikTok about their experience with Google Ads and what they switched to.
The Platforms at a Glance
The three core alternatives to standard Google Ads for UK tradespeople.
Google Business Profile
Google Local Services Ads
CheckatradeThe Verdict
If you're spending £500/month on Google Ads and wondering why the return isn't there, the most likely answer is that you're competing in the wrong arena. Standard Google Ads advantages bigger budgets and professional campaign management. The alternatives outlined here are better matched to how most small trades actually operate.
Start with: Google Business Profile. It's free, compounds over time, and generates high-intent leads from people actively searching for your trade in your area. Spend 30–60 minutes per week on it consistently.
Add: A systematic review process. Ask every customer, every time, immediately. More reviews improve every other channel: GBP ranking, LSA placement, and trust on lead platforms.
Then consider: Google Local Services Ads. The pay-per-lead model is far less risky than pay-per-click for trades, especially for emergency and high-intent services. Get verified, set a modest budget, and test the lead quality for your trade and location.
Use lead platforms: Bark, Checkatrade, or MyBuilder as a supplement when you have capacity to take on more work and want higher volume. Treat them as a testing ground, not a primary channel.
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