Marketing for tradies works best in a set order. Get your free Google Business Profile right, ask for a review after every job, and have a website built for phones before you add Google Ads and SEO. Track which one brings in each job, so you only keep paying for what works.
Most tradies start on word of mouth, and it works until a big client finishes or a quiet month shows up. You don't need a big budget to fix that. You need the steps below, done in order, starting with the free ones.
Marketing for tradies starts with your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile is the free listing that shows in the map results when someone searches "electrician Gold Coast" or "roofer near me". It is the first thing to set up, because it costs nothing and sits near the top of the page.
Google ranks local results on relevance, distance and prominence, according to its own guide to local ranking. You can't change where you are. You can make the profile relevant and well known:
- Verify it, and pick the category that matches the job people search for.
- List every suburb and town you cover as a service area.
- Add real photos of your work, your van and your team.
- Keep your hours and phone number right.
- Reply to every review, good or bad.
Your Business Profile also counts the calls and website clicks it sends you, in its performance report. Check it once a month.
How do tradies get more Google reviews?
Ask every customer, by text, on the day you finish the job, with a direct link to your Google review page. A steady trickle of recent reviews reads better to a customer than a pile of old ones.
Reviews are how a stranger picks between you and the next tradie on the map. In BrightLocal's 2026 survey of US consumers, 97% said they read reviews for local businesses. That's a US survey, but Australian customers are just as likely to check your reviews before they let you into their home.
of consumers read reviews for local businesses, in BrightLocal's 2026 survey of US consumers.
Show your trust signals next to the reviews. Put your licence number on your profile and website, because customers can check it.
In Queensland the QBCC tells home owners to use its licensee register to check, and in New South Wales people can check a builder or tradesperson licence online. Add trade association memberships too.
What should a website for tradies include?
A website for tradies needs your phone number at the top of every page, a short enquiry form, a page for each service you want more of, and real photos and reviews. Its one job is to turn a search into a call. For typical prices, see how much a website costs in Australia.
Many visitors will be on a phone, often standing next to the problem. Make calling you one tap away, and keep the page quick. Most of the 50 Australian small business sites I speed-tested were slow on mobile.
If you work across several suburbs or towns, add a page for each area. That helps Google match you to searches there.
A Facebook page is worth having as well. It can't replace a website, because you don't control it and it rarely ranks for "plumber Southport".
Should tradies use SEO or Google Ads?
Use both, for different jobs. Google Ads brings in enquiries within days of starting. SEO builds over months and keeps working without paying for each click.
SEO for tradies comes from service pages, area pages, a quick site and links from other local businesses. It is slow and lasting.
Google Ads for tradies is fast. You pay when someone clicks, and you choose the searches, the area and the budget.
Ads get expensive when nobody checks what the clicks turned into. That check is the next step.
How do you know which marketing brings in jobs?
Track phone clicks and form enquiries on your website, ask every new customer how they found you, and log each enquiry with its source. After two or three months, compare the cost per job won for each channel.
Each platform reports its own numbers. Google Ads reports clicks and Facebook reports reach. Neither tells you which ad brought in the kitchen renovation.
Set up these three things this week:
- Phone click and form tracking in Google Analytics, so each enquiry from your website is logged with where the person came from (Google search, an ad, your Business Profile or Facebook).
- One question for every new customer. Ask "how did you find us?" and write the answer down.
- One enquiry sheet. Add a row per enquiry with the date, job, source, and whether you won it and for how much.
Here is an illustration with made-up numbers. Say you spend $600 a month on Google Ads, get 12 enquiries, and win 4 jobs worth $2,000 each. That's $150 of ads per $2,000 job, which is worth keeping.
If another channel costs $400 a month and brings in one small job, you can cut it with confidence.
I set up Mobi-Vac's site in Christchurch, New Zealand this way. Every phone click and form now arrives with where it came from, so they can see which marketing brings in the work.
What order should a tradie do this in?
Do the free steps first, then the website with tracking, then ads, then SEO over time. That way every dollar you spend later can be measured.
| When | What to do | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Week one | Set up or tidy your Google Business Profile, and start asking for reviews | Free |
| Weeks two to six | A phone-first website with a page per service, with tracking set up before it goes live | One-off build |
| Month two onward | Google Ads for the jobs you want most, on a small budget, checked monthly against your sheet | Ad spend you set |
| Ongoing | More service and area pages for SEO, and more reviews | Time, or a monthly fee |
If you want a hand with any of it, see who I work with and what each business needs first, or tell me which jobs you want more of.
I run Obie Digital on my own, building websites and running SEO and Google Ads for small businesses in Australia and New Zealand. I grew up in Invercargill, studied Marketing Management at the University of Otago and have 9+ years in digital marketing.
More about how I work
