MyLeadsFactory markMYLEADSFACTORY
Trades PPC

Google Ads for UK Tradespeople & Trades Businesses

Booked jobs, not just quote requests from competitor-comparison shoppers.

We run Google Ads for UK heating engineers, plumbers, electricians, roofers, builders, and landscapers. Our focus is on booked jobs that dispatch — coordinated with Local Services Ads, Checkatrade, and trade-specific marketplaces where they apply.

Book a 15 min callGet free audit
No long contracts24-hour replyYou own the account
10+ yrs
Inside Google before this
500+
Brands we've worked with
Vertical
Home Services & Trades-specific playbooks
What breaks

Why Home Services & Trades Google Ads fail.

01

Trade marketplaces intercept high-intent traffic

Checkatrade, Rated People, TrustATrader, and MyBuilder dominate the middle of the SERP for most trade queries. Trades businesses running Google Ads without coordinating against marketplace listings waste 30-50% of budget on impressions the marketplaces win anyway.

02

Emergency vs planned-job intent gets mixed

'Emergency plumber Manchester' converts in 10 minutes. 'Bathroom renovation quotes' takes weeks. Campaigns mixing them optimise toward the wrong intent — emergency keywords need 24/7 bids, planned-job keywords need research-phase strategy.

03

Seasonal demand wrecks consistent optimisation

Gas boiler demand spikes October-February. Roofing spikes after storms. Garden work peaks April-August. Smart Bidding trained on off-season data underbids peak demand by 30-50% — leaving revenue to Checkatrade and competitors.

What works

Home Services & Trades PPC tactics that actually produce revenue.

Tactic 01

Local Services Ads + Google Ads coordination

UK Local Services Ads (available for plumbers, electricians, heating, and more) give top-SERP placement with pay-per-lead pricing. Stack LSAs with Google Ads below to catch research intent. Run both with negative keywords preventing overlap — together they outperform either alone by 40%+.

Tactic 02

Gas Safe / NICEIC / TrustMark credential emphasis in copy

Trade credentials are the single most important trust signal in UK trade advertising. 'Gas Safe registered' for heating, 'NICEIC approved' for electrical, 'TrustMark' for multiple trades — must appear in headlines, descriptions, and landing pages. Credential-free copy underperforms by 30-50%.

Tactic 03

Separate emergency and planned-job campaigns

Emergency keywords get 24/7 campaigns with max-CPC bidding and click-to-call prioritisation. Planned-job keywords get daytime-hours campaigns with quote-form focus and longer-form landing pages. Different funnels, different intent, different bid strategies.

Tactic 04

Call tracking with dynamic number insertion

70-85% of UK trade leads come by phone. Install Ruler Analytics, CallRail, or CallTrackingMetrics with dynamic number insertion per campaign. Disqualify quote-only calls from conversion counting so Smart Bidding optimises toward booked jobs, not price-shoppers.

Tactic 05

Weather-triggered and seasonal bidding

Bid 50-200% higher during first cold snaps (heating), storm seasons (roofing), and first warm weeks (garden). Automated bid scripts tied to Met Office weather data, or manual monitoring. Peak-season revenue is where most UK trades leave money on the table.

Our playbook

How we run Home Services & Trades campaigns.

01

Week 1: LSA + marketplace audit + service-area mapping

Audit existing LSA/Google Ads setup and marketplace listings (Checkatrade, Rated People). Map your actual profitable service area down to the postcode. Identify emergency vs planned-job campaign split.

02

Week 2: Emergency + planned-job rebuild with credentials

Separate emergency and planned-job campaigns live with Gas Safe/NICEIC/TrustMark credentials prominent. Call tracking installed with dynamic number insertion. Postcode-level service-area targeting enforced.

03

Week 3: Seasonal bidding + booked-job conversion tracking

Seasonal bid modifiers configured. Booked-job conversion tracking wired through your job management software (ServiceM8, Tradify, JobLogic, simPRO). First optimisation cycle on day 7.

04

Month 2+: Scale on average job value

Once booked jobs flow back with revenue, shift Smart Bidding from target CPA to target ROAS based on average ticket. A heating engineer optimising toward £3,500 boiler installs scales differently than one optimising toward £150 service calls.

Frequently asked

Questions about Home Services & Trades Google Ads.

Should UK trades use Local Services Ads or Google Ads?

Both, coordinated. UK LSAs (available for plumbing, electrical, heating, carpentry and more) give top-of-SERP placement with pay-per-lead pricing. Google Ads captures research-phase intent LSAs miss. Running both with negative keywords preventing overlap consistently outperforms either alone by 40-60%.

What is a realistic cost per booked job via Google Ads UK?

Emergency trades (emergency plumbing, heating): £25-£120 per booked job. Planned maintenance and service: £50-£200. Large installs and renovations (boiler replacement, roofing, kitchen): £150-£500 per booked job. Ratio to average ticket value matters more than the raw cost figure.

How do Checkatrade and Rated People affect Google Ads?

They dominate middle-SERP for most trade queries by bidding on generic terms and converting clicks to marketplace leads. You cannot compete on their generic keywords cost-effectively. Instead, compete on local long-tail ('Gas Safe engineer [postcode]') where marketplaces don't optimise as tightly. LSAs also sit above marketplaces on SERP.

How important is Gas Safe / NICEIC / TrustMark in ad copy?

Critical. UK consumers trust trade credentials above almost any other signal. Headlines including 'Gas Safe registered', 'NICEIC approved', or 'TrustMark verified' routinely outperform credential-free headlines by 30-50% in CTR and conversion rate. Credentials should appear in ad copy, landing pages, and extensions.

What's the minimum ad spend for UK trades Google Ads?

£1,000-£2,500/month for single-trade, single-area businesses. £5,000-£20,000/month for multi-trade operations or multi-region franchises. LSAs can start at £300-£500/month. Below £1,000/month on Google Ads proper, local-intent CPCs absorb budget before you can accumulate conversion data.

Can new trades without reviews make Google Ads work?

Harder. LSAs require reviews and Gas Safe/trade-body verification before activation. Google Ads can work for new trades, but expect 30-50% higher cost per booked job until reviews accumulate on Google Business Profile and marketplaces. Prioritise review collection as a parallel workstream — ads without reviews convert at a structural disadvantage.
Also relevant

Related industries we serve.

Estate Agents →

Buyer and seller leads for brokerages, agents, and developers.

Solicitors & Law Firms →

Case inquiries for law firms across personal injury, family, and corporate.

Start here

Ready to fix your home services & trades Google Ads?

Free audit of your current account. Loom walkthrough of what we would fix. Send the form or book a 15-minute call — we respond within 24 hours.

Book a 15 min call
10+ yrs
Google experience
500+
Clients managed
Vertical
Specific expertise
Send an Enquiry

Get a free audit of your ad account.

We respond within 24 hours.

Your information is safe. We never share it.