In short
Marketing for tradesmen works when a few channels run in the right order: a website people can act on, a complete Google profile, reviews, one paid channel once the page converts, and follow-up so enquiries do not go cold. The best agency is the one that can prove that with firms like yours, reports booked jobs rather than clicks, and leaves you owning the website, ad accounts and data. This guide scores any agency on seven criteria, compares the channels, and says when a freelancer or doing it yourself is the better call.
On this page
Marketing for tradesmen is a smaller question than most agency sites make it. You need to be found, trusted, and set up so an enquiry becomes a booked job. This page is how to choose who helps you do that, and what the work should include before you sign anything.
If you want the channels, the order and our own programme in one place, start with marketing for tradesmen, then come back here to score whoever you speak to.
I run We Are SMC, so we are one of the options. I have written this to be useful whoever you hire. That includes saying when a generalist, a freelancer or doing it yourself is the better call, and when we are not the right fit.
Our selection criteria
These are the seven criteria I would use to shortlist any agency, including ours. Score each one out of five on every line. If one scores a one or two on any of the first three, move on, however good the pitch.
| # | Criterion | What good looks like | How to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proof with trades businesses | Named clients in trades like yours, with real numbers | Ask for two case studies and a client you can phone |
| 2 | Reporting on booked jobs | Cost per lead and jobs won, not just clicks | Ask to see a real monthly report, anonymised |
| 3 | You own everything | Website, domain, ad accounts, data and reviews stay yours | Ask what happens to each one if you leave |
| 4 | A clear 90-day plan | You know what gets done each month, and why | Ask for the first 90 days in writing |
| 5 | Joined-up channels | Website, local SEO, ads, reviews and follow-up work together | Ask who does each part, and whether it is in house or outsourced |
| 6 | Honest about fit | They will tell you when you are not ready | Ask when they would advise you not to hire them |
| 7 | Transparent pricing | Fees, ad spend and contract length set out up front | Ask for the total monthly cost including ad spend, and the notice period |
Booked jobs sits that high because I learned it on the board at Vanarama. At that level every marketing decision had to trace back to revenue and profit. An agency spending your money should be accountable for the same thing.
What I deliberately left out: awards, team size, and how polished the pitch deck is. None of them tells you whether the phone will ring.
The four options compared
| Option | Typical monthly cost | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Specialist trades agency | Around £1,500 and up, plus ad spend | Owners with capacity who want the whole system built and run | Longer contracts, and less value if you only need one channel |
| Generalist agency | £1,000 to £3,000 | Businesses with a clear plan and someone directing it | Paying for their learning curve on how trades win work |
| Freelancer | A few hundred pounds and up | One specific job on a small budget | Gaps between skills, and no cover when they are busy |
| Doing it yourself | Your time | Very early stage or a very tight budget | Slow progress and costly trial and error |
When each option is the right choice
- A specialist trades agency when you have room for more work, can budget for around £1,500 a month plus ad spend, and want one team accountable for the whole system.
- A generalist agency when you already know what you need, and the agency is clearly strong in the channel you have chosen.
- A freelancer when you need one thing done well, such as a website rebuild or a Google Ads setup, and you are happy to manage how it fits with everything else.
- Doing it yourself when you are a sole trader or just starting out and you will give two channels proper time, rather than dabbling in six.
Channels compared
Trades owners get handed a new channel every week: a lad at the merchants, a post, a networking night. I see the same pattern over and over. They start all of them, give none of them long enough to learn anything, and conclude that marketing does not work. The useful move is to pick the two that match how your customers buy, and ignore the rest for a quarter.
| Channel | What it is for | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile and reviews | Being the name on the map when someone searches nearby | A thin or stale profile loses to a busier competitor |
| Your website | Turning that visit into a call or a form | A buried phone number wastes every other channel |
| Google Ads (PPC) | Buying demand that already exists, especially urgent work | A weak page burns the spend. See the PPC section below |
| SEO and useful pages | Visibility you own, built over months | It is slow. Quitting at week six teaches you nothing |
| Social and short video | Proof: the job, the team, the face | It rarely fills the diary on its own. Which platforms are worth it |
| Follow-up (a CRM or a disciplined habit) | Stopping quotes going cold | More leads do not help if nobody calls them back |
The order matters more than the menu. Foundations first (profile, reviews, a page that converts, follow-up), then paid, then social as proof on top. That is the same order set out in marketing for tradesmen.
PPC for tradesmen
Pay per click, for a trades business, almost always means Google search ads: you show when someone nearby searches for the job, and you pay when they click. It suits urgent and high-value local work. It is a poor way to “get your name out there” if nobody is searching yet.
There is no official UK cost per lead. Google prices each click in an auction that changes by town, by search and by how relevant your ad and page are (how the auction works). A boiler search and a tap washer search do not cost the same, and neither matches a number you saw in a Facebook group. For a plumbing worked example, read Google Ads for plumbers.
PPC is worth turning on when three things are true:
- You have capacity for more of the right work.
- Your margin can carry a few weeks of testing.
- Your reviews, photos and website already give a stranger a reason to call.
If any of those are missing, the ads magnify the gap and you pay for it. Our published management fee is £500 per channel per month, with setup from £500 per campaign, and ad spend paid to the platform on top. Most businesses we work with start with £1,000 or more in ad spend to test a channel. Both figures are on our paid ads page. Inside the Booked Solid System the management is included in the £1,500 + VAT monthly fee, and the spend is still separate.
What digital marketing should include
For most trades businesses, digital marketing should include five things, in this order:
- A website that makes the next step obvious. Phone number, the jobs you want, real photos, reviews. If the site hides the till, nothing else pays you back.
- A complete Google Business Profile, with recent reviews and the services you actually want.
- A review habit, so the profile and the site stay current. See how trades businesses get more 5-star reviews.
- One demand channel you control, usually Google Ads, once the page can convert.
- Follow-up, so an enquiry that arrives at 6pm still becomes a conversation tomorrow.
Social, video and a longer content plan come after those five, not instead of them. A written plan for the year is in the 2026 marketing plan for UK trades businesses. The commercial version, with what we do and what it costs, is marketing for tradesmen.
Red flags before you sign
- Guaranteed rankings or lead numbers. Nobody controls Google.
- Vague reporting full of impressions and clicks, with no view of booked jobs.
- No trade-sector proof. If they cannot show results with businesses like yours, you are the experiment.
- Unclear outputs. You should know exactly what gets done each month.
- Ownership issues. If the website, ad account or data would not be yours when you left, walk away.
- A long contract with nothing built early. A 12-month term can be fair when the agency invests up front, for example by building your website or a film into the price. It is harder to justify when month one looks the same as month twelve.
We go through the patterns in why tradesmen get burned by marketing agencies.
Questions to ask before signing
- Can you show me results with a trades business like mine, and can I speak to that client?
- What exactly will you do in the first 90 days?
- What will my monthly report show? Will I see cost per lead and booked jobs?
- Do I own the website, domain, ad accounts and data?
- What is the total monthly cost, including ad spend, and what is the notice period?
- When would you tell a business like mine not to hire you?
What agencies for tradesmen cost
The fee is only part of the cost. Ad spend sits on top and is paid to Google or Meta, not marked up by us.
- Under £1,000 a month usually buys one channel or a freelancer’s time. Fine for a single job.
- £1,000 to £2,000 a month is the band where a website plus one or two lead channels can be managed and reported. Our Booked Solid System is £1,500 + VAT a month, on a 12-month minimum term with a six month break clause tied to specific deliverables.
- £2,000 a month and up is broader work, or larger firms. Our Preferred Contractor Programme for civils and construction is £2,500 + VAT a month.
To set your own number before you speak to anyone, see how much a tradesman should spend on marketing.
When not to hire an agency yet
An agency amplifies what is already there. Hold off if:
- Your pricing leaves no room to reinvest.
- The enquiries you already get are not followed up quickly.
- You do not have capacity for more work in the next few months.
Fix those first and any agency will have something to build on.
Where We Are SMC fits, and where it does not
Judge us by the same seven criteria.
We are likely to be a good fit if:
- You run a trades business with room for more work.
- You want the website, local SEO, Google Ads, reviews and follow-up built as one system.
- You can commit to a 12-month minimum term (with a six month break clause tied to specific deliverables) at £1,500 + VAT a month, plus ad spend.
We are probably not the right fit if:
- You only want one channel looked after and are happy to manage the rest. A focused freelancer may cost you less.
- You want a month-to-month arrangement.
- Your pricing, capacity or follow-up needs fixing first.
For proof, the Videtta Heating case study shows what we did as the business grew from £223k to £1.3m in revenue over five years. It was gradual. There was no month where a single tactic did the whole job.
Frequently asked questions
What does marketing for tradesmen include?
A website that makes calling easy, a complete Google Business Profile, a habit of asking for reviews, one way to buy demand (usually Google Ads) once that page can convert, and a follow-up system so quotes do not go cold. Social and video build trust on top. Doing all of it at once is how budgets get wasted.
How do I find the best marketing agency for tradesmen in the UK?
Shortlist three and score each on the same criteria: proof with trades businesses like yours, reporting on booked jobs, ownership of your website and accounts, a written 90-day plan, joined-up channels, honesty about fit and transparent pricing. Ask for a client you can phone.
How much does a marketing agency for tradesmen cost in the UK?
A freelancer might charge a few hundred pounds a month for one channel. A generalist retainer often runs from around £1,000 to £3,000 a month. A specialist trades partnership usually starts around £1,500 a month, plus ad spend. Our Booked Solid System is £1,500 + VAT a month. The better question is what a booked job is worth.
Should I use a specialist trades agency or a generalist one?
A specialist already understands local search, seasonality, lead quality and how trades businesses win work, so there is less to explain. A generalist can be the better choice if you already have a clear plan and need one channel done well. Judge either on proof and reporting, not on the label.
Is PPC worth it for tradesmen?
It is worth it when you have capacity, the margin to test for a few weeks, and a website and review profile that already turn visits into calls. It is a poor first spend if the phone goes unanswered or the site gives people no reason to trust you. Google prices every click in an auction, so a national 'average cost per lead' is not a quote for your town.
Should a marketing agency guarantee leads or rankings?
No. Nobody controls Google's rankings or how many people search in your area in a given month. A good agency will give you a clear plan, realistic expectations and honest reporting. A guarantee usually means the agency is selling hard, or that the leads will be cheap and poor quality.
What should a good trades marketing agency report on?
Booked jobs and cost per lead, not just clicks and impressions. Good reporting ties spend to enquiries and enquiries to work won. If a report is all vanity metrics and no view of real jobs, that is a red flag.
