> services/trades-marketing.dmg
Marketing for Trades
in North Wales
I'm a freelance marketer in Abergele, and I help plumbers, electricians, builders, roofers, heating engineers and landscapers get more of the right phone calls. Google Local Services Ads, Google Ads for urgent jobs, plenty of good reviews and a simple website that makes ringing you easy. You deal with me, and you can leave any month.
> the_job.txt
What Trades Actually Need From Marketing
What most trades need is the phone ringing with jobs worth having, in the area they cover, at a cost that makes sense. Then they need to know which of the things they're paying for made it ring.
Customers find you in one of two moods. Someone with water coming through the ceiling wants a plumber now, and rings one of the first few they see. Someone planning a new kitchen or a rewire is comparing, reading reviews and asking the neighbours. Each needs different marketing, so it's worth knowing which work you want more of.
Word of mouth still does the heavy lifting for most trades. This is about the people with nobody to ask, so they ask Google.
> what_i_set_up.txt
What I Set Up for Trades
Not every trade needs all of it. I'll tell you which bits are worth paying for in your case and which aren't.
Google Local Services Ads
The listings at the very top of Google for searches like "plumber near me", with your star rating and a Google Verified badge. You pay per lead, a call or message, rather than per click.
Google Ads for Urgent Jobs
Search ads for the high-intent stuff, like "emergency electrician Rhyl" or "boiler repair Colwyn Bay". Tight areas, running only during the hours you actually answer.
Google Business Profile
Your listing in the map results, with the right categories, services, service area and photos of real jobs. For a lot of trades it brings in more calls than the website, and it's free.
Reviews
A simple routine for asking every customer for a Google review, usually a text with a direct link the day the job's done. Reviews help you rank in the map results and in Local Services Ads, and help people choose you over the next van.
A Website That Gets Calls
Your number at the top of every page, tappable on a phone. What you do, where you cover, photos of your work, reviews and a short form. Quick to load on one bar of signal.
Call Tracking
Separate tracked numbers for the ads, the website and your Business Profile, so you can see which one made the phone ring. Most trade enquiries are calls, and an account that can't see them is guessing.
> local_services_ads.txt
Google Local Services Ads, Briefly
Local Services Ads are the listings at the top of some Google searches, showing a business name, star rating and a Google Verified tick. People tap to call or message you, and you pay for the lead. The price depends on your trade, your area and the type of lead.
As of November 2026, Google's UK list of eligible trades includes plumbers, electricians, roofers, heating (HVAC), carpenters, handymen, general contractors, landscaping, fencing and flooring, among others. Google checks your business, public liability insurance and any licence your trade needs first. That takes three to four weeks on average, according to Google.
The old Google Guaranteed and Google Screened badges were replaced by one Google Verified badge in October 2025, and the money-back guarantee went with them. Also worth knowing: Google's help pages say junk leads aren't credited back for advertisers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, so in the UK you'll pay for the odd wrong number. The full rundown is in my Local Services Ads guide.
> google_ads.txt
Google Ads for Emergency and High-Value Jobs
Plenty of trades run Local Services Ads and normal Google Ads side by side. Search ads give you the control Local Services Ads don't: which searches you show for, what the ad says, when it runs and which page it sends people to.
For emergency work that control matters. A burst pipe search at 11pm is worth a lot to a plumber who answers at 11pm, and money down the drain for one who doesn't. So the ads run when you're taking calls.
For bigger planned jobs, like a new boiler or a roof replacement, the ads go to a page about that job, with photos, reviews and a guide price if you're happy to give one. Fewer clicks, bigger tickets.
Trade accounts waste money in predictable places: apprenticeship searches, how-to videos, parts, towns you don't cover. I block them. For a rough idea of budget, try my Google Ads cost calculator.
> seasons.txt
Planning Around the Seasons
Most trades have a calendar, even if it's never been written down. Heating engineers get the breakdown calls when the first cold snap hits. Roofers and fencers get the calls after a storm. Landscapers are busiest from spring into summer.
So the budget moves with it. More when the work's there and you've got room, less when you're booked solid. If you're full, tell me and I'll turn things down the same day. The quieter months are a good time to push the work you'd like more of, like boiler services before winter.
> how_it_works.txt
How It Works
No 47-page proposal. This is the order I usually do things in.
Free Review
Start with my free 15-minute review. I look at your Google Ads, website or Business Profile and send you a written list of the three things I'd fix first.
A Quick Chat
What work you want more of, where you cover, when you answer the phone and what a typical job is worth. That last one decides what a lead is worth paying for.
Fix the Basics
Business Profile tidied, review requests set up, call tracking in, and the website checked so calls and forms are counted.
Switch On the Ads
Local Services Ads if your trade's eligible, and Google Ads for the searches and jobs they don't cover. Sensible budgets to start with.
Keep It Tidy
Search terms checked, junk blocked, budgets moved with the season. A plain monthly report on calls, enquiries, cost per lead and, if you tell me, which turned into jobs.
> pricing.txt
What It Costs
Ad management, Google Ads and Local Services Ads included, is from £250 a month, month to month. Your ad spend goes straight to Google on your own card, and the accounts are in your name. If we part ways, you keep everything.
If you need a website, a one-page site built to get calls is from £600, and a bigger business site from £1,500, with a year's hosting included, then £10 to £15 a month. If your current site does the job, I'll say so.
Ad budgets depend on your trade and area. I'd rather start modest, find out what a real lead costs you, then spend more where it's working.
> faq.txt
Questions People Ask
Are Local Services Ads worth it for a small trade?
Often, if your trade's eligible, you answer the phone and you've got a few good reviews. You only pay for leads. The downsides are less control than Google Ads, and in the UK you'll pay for the odd dud. Give it two or three months and judge it on jobs won.
Should I run Local Services Ads or Google Ads?
Often both. Local Services Ads pick up "near me" searches and charge per lead. Google Ads give you control over searches, hours and landing pages, which matters for emergencies and big jobs. If budget's tight, I'll tell you which to start with.
How much should a plumber or electrician spend on Google Ads?
It depends on your area, your trade and how many jobs you can take on. Start with enough for a handful of calls a week, see what they turn into, then decide. My fee is on top, from £250 a month.
Do I need a website if I've got a Google Business Profile?
Plenty of trades get calls without one. A simple site helps with bigger jobs, where people want to see your work first, and Google Ads need somewhere to send people. One page is often enough.
Do you work with trades outside North Wales?
Yes. I know North Wales best, but it all runs online, so the same approach works anywhere in the UK.
> new_message.txt
Fancy More of the Right Calls?
Tell me your trade, the area you cover and the jobs you want more of. I'll tell you honestly what I'd do first, and whether Local Services Ads are even available to you.
"Matt was really responsive throughout the whole process - no questions went unanswered and Matt was really engaged in the whole process."
Lizzie Hill · Abergele Golf Club