For Australian trade businesses
Digital marketing for tradies, explained
What a website, your Google listing, reviews, paid ads and social posts do for a trade business, what they cost, and where to start.
The short version
- Start with
- Your Google listing, the free listing Google gives your business with your reviews, hours and a call button. Keep your business details accurate and ask clients for honest reviews.
- Choose your next step
- A website represents your business professionally and turns website visitors into enquiries. SEO means getting your business found on Google. Google Ads puts paid ads in front of people searching for your trade.
- Before paying
- Check the whole cost: the website build, ongoing work, management fees and the money paid to Google. Choose the services that fit the work you want and the budget you can keep paying.
- Measure
- Calls and form enquiries, how many turn into quotes, and how many become paid jobs.
Ways to get work online
Online marketing for tradies can help people find your business, see your work and get in touch. Each option has a different job.
| Option | What it does | What to allow for |
|---|---|---|
| Website | Shows what you do, where you work and why someone should hire you | The build and any ongoing website costs |
| SEO | Gets your business found on Google without paying for each click | Ongoing work and time for the results to build |
| Google Ads | Shows paid ads when people search for your trade | Money paid to Google for ads, called ad spend, plus a management fee if someone runs them for you |
| Google listing | Shows your business details, reviews and how to contact you | Free to use; keeping it accurate takes time |
| Reviews | Give people a way to check what your clients say | Ask for honest reviews and reply to them |
| Social posts | Show photos and information about your business | Your time, or a separate fee for someone to create posts |
| Enquiry platforms | Put you in touch with people who have posted a job | Platform fees, shared enquiries and contract terms |
Why does the website come first?
Because your website needs to represent your business professionally and make it easy to enquire before you pay to bring more website visitors to it.
Anyone who lands on your website should be able to see who you are, what you do, where you work, why they should trust you and how to get in touch. Use your own work photos, clear service information and genuine reviews.
Building a website and getting more people to find it are separate jobs. SEO is the ongoing work of getting your business found on Google. Google Ads sends people to your website through paid ads.
A new website does not guarantee new work. Check that the phone number works, the form submits and the pages are easy to read on a phone.
Handling enquiries before paying for ads
- Answering calls and messages
- Name who will answer calls, form enquiries and messages during the hours you plan to advertise. Check that they can handle those enquiries alongside their other work.
- Following up missed enquiries
- Agree who checks missed calls and unanswered messages, how they will respond and where the enquiry is recorded. Include enquiries that arrive outside your working hours.
- Room for the work
- Check how many extra jobs you can take on in the services and areas advertised. Compare that capacity with the jobs needed to cover the full advertising bill.
Our websites for tradies page explains the build. The tradie website cost guide covers the costs to compare.
How do Google Ads work for a tradie?
You pay Google each time someone clicks your search ad. You choose which jobs and areas the ads are for, and set the budget.
You pay for a click whether or not that person gets in touch. The price changes with the search, the competition and the quality of the ad and the page it takes people to. Google explains how its ad pricing works.
Google Ads can show your business while the work to get found without ads is still building. Getting an ad approved is different from getting a paying client.
Our Google Ads for tradies page explains the service. The advertising for tradies guide covers where to put your advertising money.
SEO vs Google Ads
For a local trade business, Google Ads vs SEO comes down to when you need enquiries, what you can afford and what the work brings in. SEO means getting your business found on Google without paying for each click.
| What you are comparing | SEO | Google Ads |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay for | Work on your website and getting your business found | Clicks on your ads, plus management if you hire someone |
| How long it takes | Done properly, you can see movement within about 2 months, then it keeps building | Ads can show once they are approved and running; that does not guarantee enquiries |
| What you control | Your website, its information and the work you put in; Google decides which businesses it shows | The jobs, locations and budget you choose for the ads |
| When you stop paying | The website and its pages stay; future enquiries and your place on Google are not guaranteed | Pausing your ads stops them from showing; you keep the account history |
| What stays in your name with KINGTRADIE | Your website, website address and Google listing | Your Google Ads account |
SEO timing is KINGTRADIE's stated expectation in the original SEO video at 2:09.
SEO has no charge per click, but the work is not free. Google Ads has an ongoing ad budget, and management is a separate cost.
Paying for Google Ads does not buy a better position in Google's unpaid results. Google keeps advertising separate from those results.
Some trade businesses run both. The ads can bring enquiries while the other work builds, and the ad account shows which searches brought calls and form enquiries.
Example: choosing the first service
This hypothetical owner has a working website, $5,000 for marketing over 3 months, and room for 6 extra paid jobs a month. Their other business costs are covered while they wait for enquiries to build.
For the example, assume each paid job collects $1,000: $200 covers materials, $400 covers labour including owner pay, and $100 covers travel. The remaining $300 is available for marketing and overheads.
| Starting option | Cost over 3 months | Paid jobs needed to cover that cost |
|---|---|---|
| SEO at KINGTRADIE's starting fee | $1,200 × 3 = $3,600 | $3,600 ÷ $300 = 12 |
| Google Ads management, plus assumed ad spend of $800 a month | ($1,400 + $800) × 3 = $6,600 | $6,600 ÷ $300 = 22 |
The example uses KINGTRADIE's starting fees and terms. All other figures are hypothetical. SEO runs 3 months at a time; Google Ads management has a 3-month minimum, then month to month. Ad spend is separate. Assume no extra website or campaign fees.
- The choice in this example
- SEO fits this budget and the owner's ability to wait. Google Ads exceeds the budget and needs more jobs than the assumed capacity: 6 a month means 18 over the period. The 12 jobs are a cost-covering calculation, not a prediction of SEO results.
For your own choice, use your quote, capacity and what each job leaves after costs. Include any extra fees. Check GST in your quote and use the same GST basis for marketing costs and job amounts. Check the result against paid jobs in your records.
What does a Google Business Profile do?
It's the free listing Google gives your business, with your reviews, hours and a call button. Google Business Profile is the name of that listing.
Keep the type of business, services, phone number and working hours accurate. Add real photos of your work and list the areas you serve.
A listing helps people find and contact your business on Google. Having one does not guarantee the top spot: what someone searches for, where they are and how well Google knows your business all matter. Google explains how local results work.
Our Google Business Profile for tradies guide covers the setup.
Google reviews
Reviews give people a way to check what your clients say about your business. Ask clients for an honest review after the job, and send them a direct link to your Google listing.
Reply to reviews, including the negative ones. Keep your replies clear and professional.
Don't buy reviews or offer a discount for one. Google requires reviews to reflect a real experience and prohibits incentives.
Is posting on social media worth your time?
It can be. Social posts give you somewhere to show recent work, explain your services and share your contact details. You can keep doing that alongside your website and Google listing.
Use real photos and useful information about the work you do. Check whether posts bring enquiries and paid jobs before paying someone to make more of them.
How much does social media management cost for tradies?
One published social-post package is $290 a month plus GST for around 8 posts a month on either Facebook or Instagram. The posts are planned, written and scheduled.
That package includes a monthly summary and runs month to month. You handle comments and messages. To stop, give notice before the next billing cycle. Source: published social-post package and terms, checked 12 October 2026.
Ask for a written quote that lists photos or videos, writing and publishing posts, and answering messages.
Paying someone to manage social posts is a separate service from buying ads on a social platform. Check whether an advertising budget is included or separate.
KINGTRADIE does not sell social media management. We provide websites, SEO and Google Ads.
Where do hipages and enquiry platforms fit?
They can help you find posted jobs in your trade and area without building a website first. With hipages, you pay to accept an invitation to quote, and still have to win the work.
hipages plans run from $139 to $649 a month plus GST. You spend the plan's credits to accept enquiries. The membership starts on a 6-month introductory term, then automatically renews for 12 months at a time. Source: hipages membership costs, checked 12 October 2026.
The first three businesses can accept an enquiry, and homeowners can also connect with waitlisted businesses. Your profile and its reviews stay on the platform. Check the current hipages contract and the terms that apply to your membership before signing.
The hipages review covers prices and terms. hipages alternatives compares that approach with building enquiries through your own website and Google listing.
How much does digital marketing cost for a tradie?
These are our starting prices. Your price depends on the work agreed for your business.
| Service | Starting price | What to include in the decision |
|---|---|---|
| Website | From $3,990 for a 5-page website | A one-off build; more pages get a clear, fixed price before we start |
| SEO | From $1,200 a month, going up with the size of your goals | 3 months at a time; the starting fee is $3,600 over that period |
| Google Ads management | From $1,400 a month | A 3-month minimum, then month to month; management starts at $4,200 for the minimum term |
| Ad spend | Separate from management | Paid to Google on your own card |
Running both SEO and Google Ads with KINGTRADIE starts from $2,600 a month before ad spend. That is the combined starting fee for both services, not a recommended budget for every trade business.
Ask for the full price, the minimum term, what is included and what you keep when you leave. Allow for renewing your website address, hosting (keeping your website available online) and any ongoing website work in a website quote.
Where should you start?
- Starting from scratch
- Set up your free Google listing, use your own work photos and ask clients for honest reviews. Make sure people can contact you and see which jobs and areas you cover.
- A website for your business
- Build a website that represents your business professionally and makes it easy to enquire. Then choose how you want more people to find it.
- Enquiries from Google over time
- Consider SEO when you can pay for ongoing work and give it time to build. The aim is more consistent enquiries from people searching for the services you provide.
- Paid ads for the jobs you want
- Consider Google Ads when you can fund both the ads and any management fee. Start with the jobs and areas you want to cover, and check what the enquiries turn into.
You don't have to buy every service at once. If the budget cannot cover both ongoing services and the ad spend, agree on one clear starting point.
Our marketing for tradies page explains how we put a plan together for your business.
Measuring your marketing
Record where each call and form enquiry came from, which job it was for, whether you quoted it and whether it became paid work.
Compare those jobs with the whole marketing cost, including management fees and ad spend. Money invoiced is not all money kept: allow for the labour, materials and other costs of doing the job.
At KINGTRADIE, your monthly SEO or Google Ads report shows what we did, how many calls and form enquiries came in and where they came from. Match that with the quotes and jobs in your own records.
What to check
- How many new enquiries came in
- Which services and areas they were for
- How many became paid jobs
- What you spent to get those jobs
Our services
We help trade businesses across Australia win more work through websites, SEO and Google Ads. We sell those services, so we have a commercial interest in this decision.
The prices above are our prices. The advice about checking costs, terms and paid jobs applies whoever you hire, including if you do the work yourself.
Our service pages explain websites, SEO and Google Ads. Our Work shows our case studies and what our clients say about working with us.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get clients as a tradie?
Start with a clear way for people to find and contact your trade business: your Google listing, the free business listing with your reviews, hours and a call button, and a website showing your services and areas. At KINGTRADIE, we build websites and use SEO, getting your business found on Google, and Google Ads to bring more people to them.
What's the best digital marketing for a trade business?
The right choice depends on the work you want, when you need enquiries and what you can afford. A website represents your trade business professionally, SEO gets your business found on Google, and Google Ads shows paid ads when people search for your trade. KINGTRADIE provides those services across Australia. Judge the choice by enquiries that turn into paid jobs.
How much does digital marketing cost for a tradie?
At KINGTRADIE, websites start from $3,990 for a 5-page website. SEO, getting your trade business found on Google, starts from $1,200 a month and goes up with the size of your goals. Google Ads management starts from $1,400 a month, with ad spend separate and paid to Google on your own card.
Do tradies need social media?
No. A trade business can get enquiries through its website, Google listing and Google Ads without social media posts. Social posts can show recent work and your contact details, but check whether they bring paid jobs before paying for more. KINGTRADIE does not sell social media management.
Should a tradie start with SEO or Google Ads?
Consider Google Ads when you can fund ads for the jobs and areas you want now. Consider SEO, getting your trade business found on Google, when you can invest in ongoing work and give the results time to build. KINGTRADIE helps trade businesses choose from their goals and budget.
Is SEO cheaper than Google Ads for a trade business?
Not always. SEO, getting your trade business found on Google, has no charge per click, but the ongoing work costs money. Google Ads charges for clicks, with management separate if you hire an agency. Compare the whole cost with the paid jobs each brings in. At KINGTRADIE, SEO starts from $1,200 a month and Google Ads management from $1,400 a month, plus ad spend.
How long does digital marketing take to work for a tradie?
SEO, getting your trade business found on Google, can show movement within about 2 months when the plan is carried out properly, then it keeps building. Google Ads can show once the ads are approved and running. Showing an ad is different from winning a job. KINGTRADIE measures calls and form enquiries so you can check what the work brought in.
What trade businesses do you work with?
At KINGTRADIE, we work with trade businesses across Australia, including plumbers, electricians, painters, builders and renovators, carpenters, roofers, landscapers, locksmiths, and air conditioning and pest control businesses. We're based on the Gold Coast and work with our clients by phone, video call and email, wherever they're located.
Sources
- KINGTRADIE service prices and terms, confirmed 7 October 2026
- Google Business Profile, the free business listing, checked 12 October 2026
- Google guidance on local business results, checked 12 October 2026
- Google review guidance, checked 12 October 2026
- Google Ads pricing and pausing ads, checked 12 October 2026
- Google on advertising and unpaid search results, checked 12 October 2026
- Published social-post package and terms, checked 12 October 2026
- hipages membership pricing, checked 12 October 2026
- hipages current Business contract, checked for the hipages guide 10 October 2026
Prices and platform terms can change. Check the linked sources and the written quote before committing.
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I contacted Kingtradie to review my website and online presence. They built a fantastic new website and improved my Google SEO. Since engaging Kingtradie two months ago my website traffic has doubled and most importantly my phone enquiries have doubled. Lachy was easy going and great to deal with. Highly recommend Kingtradie for SEO and website!
Nic
- Google review
Highly recommend Lachie from King Tradie! He built a new website for my construction business and made the entire process simple and stress-free. I was able to hand over the reins and trust him to take control of the design and development, while still keeping everything clearly explained throughout the process. The finished website looks professional, the quality is excellent, and I'm extremely happy with the outcome. Most importantly, Lachie allowed me to stay focused on running my business instead of spending valuable time trying to build a website myself. Great service from start to finish!
Ryan
- Google review
Lachlan from King Tradie is the top G of tradie website design, development, and management. I've worked with many website agencies and individuals, and no one comes close to Lachlan's attention to detail and high-end quality. He doesn't waste your time asking the same questions; in fact, he did his own research and made the onboarding and entire website development process easy. I normally get myself too involved in projects, but I literally only had to show up for the photography session. Lachlan handled the rest. If you want to skip the time and money wasters, go with King Tradie.
Shaun
- Google review
I engaged Kingtradie to create a new website for us at Quick Micks Plumbing. Lachlan was very good at his job & I felt supported throughout to entire process. He has some great ideas & communication was excellent. He was always available for help & answering any questions I had. I would recommend Lachlan to anyone wanting to have a professional & original website content. Thanks very much Kingtradie
Michael
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Lachy from King Tradie has been absolutely great to work with from the very beginning. He built my website and I couldn't be more happier. He's always checking in with me and has bright ideas for the future. He actually cares for my business and wants the best outcome for me. If you are looking for someone to design a website. Definitely reach out to Lachy.
Ben
- Google review
I had the best experience with KingTradie. Lachlan is extremely passionate about what he does, and he did an amazing job on our MrLoo.au website. I truly wish him all the best.
Ludo
- Google review
Lachlan from kingtradie is the man! Easy to deal with, great work and super friendly bloke! Couldn't recommend him enough and will be pushing everyone to him!
Jake
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Lachlan has done great work on my new website. He was fast, helpful and listened to my ideas. I would be happy to recommend him to other tradies for their website design.
Luke
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