What is the most efficient way for a trade business to get leads?

Efficient means more than cheap. A lead source is efficient when it produces enquiries that turn into jobs, at a cost the job can carry, quickly enough to matter, and in a way you control. On those four tests, a well-built Google Search account on a website that converts is the strongest starting point for most trades, with SEO and a Google Business Profile building underneath it.

Key facts from the Google Search accounts we manage

• Median cost per enquiry: A$117, middle half A$61 to A$157 (37 trade and home-service accounts, Sep 2025 – 24 Sep 2026).
• Median cost per click: A$15.51; median click-to-enquiry rate: 14.7%.
• 64% of 8,061 recorded enquiries were phone calls; 76% of clicks came from mobiles.
• In 8 accounts we launched, second-month enquiries ran at a median 1.9 times the first month.

How we measure. An enquiry is a recorded phone call or a submitted form, not a booked job. Cost per enquiry is ad spend divided by enquiries, in Australian dollars excluding GST and excluding agency fees. Each figure is the median across accounts, and ranges are the interquartile range: the middle half of accounts, from the 25th to the 75th percentile. Inclusion rule: Accounts with at least A$2,000 of spend and 20 enquiries in the window, whose conversions are at least 75% calls and forms, and whose phone calls are tracked as calls. Taps on a phone number or email link are never counted as enquiries. Duplicate accounts counted once. A vertical is published only with 5 or more qualifying accounts.

The deciding column for most trades is intent. Someone with a blocked drain or a dead power point is searching now, and Google Search puts your business in front of them at that moment. Channels that interrupt people who were not looking can still pay, but for planned, visual or seasonal work rather than emergencies. Our guide to starting with Google Ads or Facebook ads goes deeper on that choice.

A note on Local Services Ads: Google publishes its help for them country by country, and availability depends on your country and service category. Check that they run for your trade in Australia before planning around them.

The cost of a Search enquiry is not fixed. Excluding searches that never book, matching ads to each job and fixing the pages are the levers that move an account toward the cheaper end of the range. These accounts show the size of those gains, each compared with itself. We publish a client's measured improvement and rates, never their enquiry counts or spend.

That is the case for Search as the core channel: it is measurable to the enquiry, so every change can be judged against what it did to cost and volume. Our Google Ads management page describes that work.

Google Search is the fastest of the owned channels. In 8 trade and home-service accounts we launched (Sep 2025 – 24 Sep 2026), this is how the first four months compared with month one:

Accounts launched inside the window with 4+ full months and 40+ enquiries. Month 1 is the first month with spend, usually a part-month. Part of the jump after month 1 is simply that month 1 is short. The full story is in our guide to how long Google Ads takes to get leads.

SEO runs on a slower clock: organic rankings usually take months, while a well-kept Google Business Profile can start producing calls sooner. Our guide on how long SEO takes in Australia sets out what happens in that time. Marketplaces are quick but shared, and Meta ads are quick to launch but slower to turn into urgent bookings.

When a customer calls your number from your ad or your website, the relationship is yours: the review, the repeat job and the referral all come back to you. When a lead arrives through a marketplace, the platform shapes the relationship, and on some platforms the same job is sent to several businesses at once.

Ownership also feeds efficiency. Calls and forms measured on your own site tell Google which clicks turned into enquiries, and that data improves the bidding. A lead bought elsewhere teaches your ad account nothing. Owning the measurement is why the Google Search accounts in our benchmark can be compared at all: every figure is a recorded call or form on the business’s own number or website.

1. A website that converts. Tap-to-call at the top, a page for each service and a short quote form. See what that means in our guide to a trade website that converts calls and forms, or have our website design team build it.
2. A complete Google Business Profile with the right categories, service areas and a steady flow of genuine reviews. Our local SEO work covers it.
3. Google Search ads, split by service and suburb and measured to the enquiry. We recommend a minimum of A$5,000 a month in ad spend for most businesses; our guide on how much a trade business should spend on marketing explains why.
4. Then test the rest: Local Services Ads where they run for your trade, Meta ads for planned and visual work, and SEO content for the long run.

Our lead generation work puts these together in that order. For trade-specific set-ups, see marketing for plumbing businesses, electricians and cleaning businesses.

What is the most efficient way for a tradie to get leads?

For most trades, Google Search ads on a website that converts, backed by a Google Business Profile. Search reaches people already looking for the job: across 37 trade and home-service accounts we manage (Sep 2025 – 24 Sep 2026), the median cost per enquiry was A$117 and 14.7% of clicks became an enquiry. SEO lowers the cost over time.

Are lead marketplaces worth it for trade businesses?

They can fill quiet weeks or test a new area quickly, but you share the customer. The platform holds the relationship, and some send one job to several businesses. Treat marketplaces as a supplement to channels you own, and compare their cost per booked job with your own ads and website.

Are Google Local Services Ads available in Australia?

Availability in Australia is limited and varies by category and city. Google’s Local Services sign-up page lists the eligible countries and categories, so check it for your trade and area before budgeting for it. Where it runs, you pay per valid lead rather than per click, and Google says lead prices vary by location, job type and lead type.

Should a trade business use Facebook ads or Google Ads first?

Google Ads first for most trades, because it captures people already searching for the job, including urgent work. Facebook and Instagram ads reach people who were not searching, which suits planned, visual jobs, seasonal offers and remarketing once the core search account is running and measured.

How quickly do Google Ads produce leads for trades?

Usually within the first month, but volume keeps building. In 8 trade and home-service accounts we launched (Sep 2025 – 24 Sep 2026), second-month enquiries ran at a median 1.9 times the first month, and month four at 2.2 times. Month one is usually a part-month, so judge an account over its first few months.