1. Decide what Google Ads should achieve
Google Ads can put your business in front of people searching for a service you provide. For a trade company, the useful outcome is a suitable quotation opportunity that your team can follow up and fulfil. Before opening an account, choose a specific job type, the areas you cover and the capacity you have available.
A plumber might want boiler installations rather than small tap repairs. A landscaper might want complete garden transformations rather than weekly mowing. A fencing contractor might welcome replacements but decline material-only orders. These choices change the searches, advert and landing page you need.
Write a campaign brief with your preferred work, minimum viable job size, travel limits, available appointments and enquiry route. If you cannot yet describe a useful lead, an advertising dashboard will not decide that for you.
Google Ads, SEO or Facebook?
Search advertising addresses an active search. SEO develops your unpaid search presence over time. Facebook and Instagram use creative to introduce an offer or reconnect with eligible audiences. A search campaign is a practical starting point when people already search for the work you want, but validate that demand using keyword research in your own area.
2. Plan advertising spend and management separately
Your advertising spend buys exposure through Google. A management fee pays for campaign work. Keep those figures separate when assessing affordability. Built for Local charges £499 a month for Google Ads management, with your advertising budget paid separately to Google. See the packages page for the current offer.
Work backwards from the jobs
Use the gross contribution from a typical job after direct fulfilment costs, rather than its headline sales value. Decide how much of that contribution you can afford to spend acquiring a customer. Then use your actual lead-to-job conversion rate to assess a sustainable cost per enquiry.
Suppose £1,000 of ad spend generates 20 valid enquiries and four become jobs. Add £499 management: total marketing cost is £1,499, or £74.95 per valid enquiry and £374.75 per won job. If each job contributes £1,000 before marketing and overheads, the four jobs contribute £4,000 before the £1,499 campaign cost. Replace every assumption with your own figures.
There is no universal trade advertising budget. Keyword competition, coverage, demand, website performance and job value all matter. Use Google's planning tools to estimate activity, then agree a test budget you can sustain and a review point. Avoid dividing a small budget across every service and town.
Google describes an average daily budget rather than a fixed daily spending ceiling. For typical campaigns it may spend up to twice that amount on a day, with a monthly charging limit of 30.4 times an unchanged average daily budget. Check the rules for your campaign type and any budget changes before launch. Read Google's budget guidance.
3. Build searches around the work you want
Begin with a focused Search campaign and group related services around a suitable landing page. An installation and a repair may need different messages, so separate them where the customer need and economics differ. Do not create a new campaign for every minor wording variation.
| Trade | Example buying search | Question to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| Plumbing and heating | Boiler installation Canterbury | Which installations and areas can you fulfil? |
| Landscaping | Garden landscaping Stockport | Are you seeking full projects or maintenance? |
| Fencing | Fence installation near me | Do you install, repair or supply only? |
| Automatic gates | Electric gate installers Kent | New installation, automation or repairs? |
These are planning examples, not measured search volumes. Check the local results and estimated demand, then confirm that the page and offer match the searcher's likely need.
Understand match types
Google offers exact, phrase and broad match. Exact can include searches with the same meaning or intent; it does not mean only identical typed words. Phrase includes the keyword's meaning, while broad reaches related searches. Google stresses Smart Bidding when using broad match. Check the current matching guidance.
For a tightly scoped first test, assess exact and phrase keywords with your campaign manager. This is a practical control choice, not a claim that broad match never works. Review real search terms after launch and investigate requests that do not fit.
Exclude unwanted searches carefully
Potential exclusions include jobs, training, DIY and services you do not offer. Review them in context: excluding “repair” would damage a campaign for a repair specialist. Keep a shared record of why each negative keyword was added and check that it does not block worthwhile work.
4. Check locations and timing
Target areas your team genuinely serves and assess travel time, job value and scheduling. A cheap enquiry two counties away can cost more to fulfil than a more expensive local opportunity. Put accurate coverage in the advert and landing page, and ask for the project postcode.
Check location options explicitly. Google's broader setting can include people interested in the area as well as those physically there. For a local contractor, consider the Presence setting for people in or regularly in the targeted locations, while recognising that location signals are estimates. Read Google's location guidance. Check actual enquiry postcodes too; account settings alone cannot prove lead relevance.
Set scheduling around customer behaviour and the enquiry route. A form can collect requests outside working hours if the confirmation explains when you will respond. Emergency advertising needs a response process that can handle urgency. Do not advertise immediate availability your team cannot provide.
5. Match the advert to a useful landing page
A person clicking a patio advert should arrive at patio information, examples and a clear quote request, rather than a homepage that makes them search again. Lead with the service and coverage, then show genuine projects, relevant reviews and the practical next step.
- Explain the specific work you undertake and what you exclude.
- Show your own comparable projects with clear captions.
- Describe surveys, quotations and installation without invented guarantees.
- Ask for name, contact details, location and a short project description.
- Make the form usable on a phone and confirm successful submission.
Write ad copy around truthful advantages. A local team, relevant installation experience or a clearly described survey process can be useful. Avoid unverified “number one” claims, permanent false discounts or photos presented as work you did not complete.
For a boiler campaign, the landing page could explain the installations you offer, relevant credentials, the survey and quotation process and what details you need. For fencing, show fence styles and completed replacements. The promise in the advert and the information on the page should agree.
6. Measure enquiries and won work
Configure the actions that matter before spending. A successfully submitted quote form is different from a visitor clicking Submit and receiving an error. A WhatsApp click is an intent signal, not proof of a message or a qualified enquiry. Separate those actions in reporting.
Google supports website and other conversion sources. See its conversion measurement guidance. Agree which conversions inform optimisation and test that a genuine submission arrives where the team expects it. Implement tracking with appropriate privacy and consent controls for your setup.
Record each enquiry's service, postcode, validity, quotation stage and outcome. Where supported and properly configured, qualified or won lead information can feed back into the advertising account. Start with a dependable manual record if that is what your team can maintain.
Review spend, valid enquiries, cost per valid enquiry, quotations and won jobs. Distinguish duplicate requests and existing customers from genuinely new opportunities. Platform attribution and business records may differ; investigate rather than quietly treating every reported conversion as a sale.
7. A practical first-month plan
Before launch
- Agree the service, coverage, budget and definition of a worthwhile enquiry.
- Use a business-owned account with appropriate access and payment details.
- Check keywords, exclusions, advert claims and destination pages.
- Test the complete form and enquiry delivery process on mobile.
- Verify conversion events and agree who responds to requests.
During the first week
Check delivery, unexpected search terms, locations, broken destinations and enquiry routing. Fix obvious waste or technical problems promptly. Avoid changing every setting after a single quiet day; early data is often sparse.
At the agreed review point
Compare lead relevance, quotations and commercial outcomes with the budget. If leads are unsuitable, inspect searches, coverage and page wording. If suitable enquiries do not turn into quotes, review response and qualification. If relevant visitors rarely enquire, review the landing page and offer. Change a clear problem, record the change and evaluate it with enough context.
Do not scale simply because clicks increased. Increase spend when the enquiry quality, fulfilment capacity and economics support it.
8. Common Google Ads questions
How quickly can Google Ads generate enquiries?
Once approved campaigns are running, paid visibility can start sooner than building organic rankings. A first enquiry and a dependable profitable campaign are different milestones. Timing depends on demand, competition, budget and the offer.
Can I run it myself?
Yes, if you can maintain targeting, pages, measurement and regular review. Management is useful when you want someone to own those tasks and explain the decisions. Compare the full cost, scope and account access arrangements.
Does paying for Google Ads improve my organic rankings?
Treat paid and organic acquisition separately. Advertising purchases sponsored exposure; it is not an organic SEO service. Build useful website content and local visibility alongside a campaign where those channels fit.
What should an agency report?
The agreed spend, management fee, meaningful enquiries, quality feedback and work completed on the account. Ask what changed and why, and connect reports with your quotation and sales records.
Advertising support for your trade
Explore the relevant service page to see how campaign planning applies to your work and the questions we discuss before launch.
Keep learning
Read the Facebook & Instagram Ads guide, compare Google Ads with local SEO, or read our complete SEO, Maps and AI search guide.
Platform details above link to Google or Meta guidance. Trade examples, budget illustrations and launch recommendations are Built for Local's practical advice. Settings and available features change, so check the provider's current documentation when setting up a campaign.
Want help putting the plan into practice?
Google Ads management is £499 a month, with advertising spend paid separately to Google. Tell us your trade, coverage and preferred jobs through our enquiry form.
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