Research · Sep 2025 – 24 Sep 2026 Google Ads benchmarks for Australian trades.
Quick answer
Google Ads cost an Australian trade business a median of A$117 in ad spend per enquiry across 37 SoudCoh-managed trade and home-service accounts (Sep 2025 – 24 Sep 2026). By trade, the median was A$141 for plumbing, A$118 for electricians and A$58 for cleaning. We recommend at least A$5,000 a month in ad spend; our fee is separate.
Key facts
- A$117median cost per enquiry, all tradesMiddle half of accounts: A$61–A$15737 accounts, 8,061 enquiries · Sep 2025 – 24 Sep 2026
- A$141median cost per enquiry, plumbingMiddle half of accounts: A$110–A$17415 accounts, 4,044 enquiries · Sep 2025 – 24 Sep 2026
- A$118median cost per enquiry, electriciansMiddle half of accounts: A$115–A$1297 accounts, 2,219 enquiries · Sep 2025 – 24 Sep 2026
- A$58median cost per enquiry, cleaningMiddle half of accounts: A$44–A$8814 accounts, 1,758 enquiries · Sep 2025 – 24 Sep 2026
- 64.0%of trade enquiries were phone callsThe rest were website forms37 accounts, 8,061 enquiries · Sep 2025 – 24 Sep 2026
- 76.0%of ad clicks came from mobile phones37 accounts, 8,061 enquiries · Sep 2025 – 24 Sep 2026
Source: SoudCoh-managed Google Ads accounts, Sep 2025 – 24 Sep 2026, n = 37 accounts. An enquiry is a recorded phone call or submitted form, not a booked job.
The figures, by trade
Medians and the middle half of qualifying accounts (the 25th to 75th percentile), in Australian dollars excluding GST and agency fees. Each column is one trade; the sample size is under its name.
| Measure | Plumbing | Electricians | Cleaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost per enquiry, in ad spend (median) | A$141middle half A$110–A$174 | A$118middle half A$115–A$129 | A$58middle half A$44–A$88 |
| Cost per click (median) | A$16.84middle half A$15.38–A$20.49 | A$21.80middle half A$14.40–A$22.75 | A$12.18middle half A$9.27–A$13.96 |
| Clicks that became an enquiry (median) | 12.3%middle half 11.8%–16.6% | 14.0%middle half 13.1%–18.9% | 20.1%middle half 14.0%–26.5% |
| Ad click-through rate (median) | 5.7% | 6.0% | 10.4% |
| Enquiries that were phone calls | 74.6% | 75.5% | 25.7% |
| Ad clicks from mobile phones | 74.4% | 77.0% | 75.0% |
| Qualifying accounts | 15 | 7 | 14 |
| Enquiries recorded | 4,044 | 2,219 | 1,758 |
Source: SoudCoh-managed Google Ads accounts, Sep 2025 – 24 Sep 2026, read 25 Sep 2026. Amounts are AUD excluding GST and agency fees. Cost per enquiry is ad spend divided by recorded calls and forms — not booked jobs.
How these numbers are defined
- Enquiry
- A recorded phone call (from an ad or a tracked website number) or a submitted enquiry form. Page views, clicks and other soft actions are excluded.
- Cost per enquiry
- Ad spend divided by enquiries, per account, in AUD excluding GST and excluding agency fees. Median and interquartile range across accounts.
- Which accounts are included
- 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.
- Minimum sample
- A vertical is published only with 5 or more qualifying accounts.
- Middle half of accounts
- The 25th to 75th percentile across accounts: a quarter of accounts sat below the lower figure and a quarter above the higher one.
- Pooled cost per enquiry
- Total ad spend divided by total enquiries across every account, rather than the middle account: A$116 for plumbing; A$91 for electricians; A$58 for cleaning.
How each figure is measured
- What counts as an enquiry in these benchmarks?
- A recorded phone call (from an ad or a tracked website number) or a submitted enquiry form. Page views, clicks and other soft actions are excluded.
- How is cost per enquiry calculated?
- Ad spend divided by enquiries, per account, in AUD excluding GST and excluding agency fees. Median and interquartile range across accounts.
- Which Google Ads accounts are included?
- 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.
- What is left out
- Booked jobs and revenue (an enquiry is not a sale), agency fees and GST, and the identity of every account in the sample. No client can be picked out of these figures, and no single account’s result is published here.
How a new account ramps up
Accounts launched inside the window with 4+ full months and 40+ enquiries. Month 1 is the first month with spend, usually a part-month. Medians across 8 accounts; each month is compared with that account’s own first month.
| Month | Enquiries vs month 1 | Cost per enquiry vs month 1 | Clicks that became an enquiry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 1.0× | 1.0× | 17.5% |
| Month 2 | 1.9× | 1.4× | 15.3% |
| Month 3 | 2.1× | 1.3× | 16.5% |
| Month 4 | 2.2× | 1.4× | 14.5% |
Quote it, link it, download it
- How often are the benchmarks updated?
- Monthly, from a fresh read-only pull of the Google Ads API. The current figures cover Sep 2025 – 24 Sep 2026, read on 25 Sep 2026; the page, the structured data and the CSV are rebuilt from the same file.
- Can I quote or reuse these figures?
- Yes. Quote them with SoudCoh named as the source and a link to this page, and say which trade and which statistic you are quoting — the median and the middle half of accounts are different numbers.
SoudCoh. Google Ads benchmarks for Australian trade and home-service businesses — SoudCoh-managed accounts, Sep 2025 – 24 Sep 2026. Read 25 Sep 2026. https://soudcoh.com/research/google-ads-benchmarks-australia
Download the aggregate table as CSV — one row per trade and one for all trades, with the sample size, the medians, the middle half and the window.
For what we do with these numbers in an account, see Google Ads management, or the pages for plumbing marketing, electrician marketing and cleaning business marketing.