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Google Ads for plumbers: campaigns we build, run and track to booked jobs

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The short answer

Google Ads for plumbers

We build and manage Google Ads for plumbing and heating firms: separate campaigns for emergency and planned work, landing pages that prove you're the safe choice, and call tracking that ties spend to enquiries. Setup starts from £500 + VAT per campaign, ad spend stays yours, and we check your foundations before spending anything.

If you've tried Google Ads before, on your own or with an agency, the usual problem is that nobody can say which ads produced jobs. We fix that first. We start with a 30-minute growth call and an honest look at your reviews, website and call handling, because ads only magnify what's there. Then we build separate campaigns for emergency and planned work, landing pages for each, and call tracking, so every enquiry is traced to the ad that produced it. We refine the account every week and report cost per enquiry in plain English. Expect enquiries within days and about three months before the campaign settles. For Videtta Heating, Google Ads now bring in leads at £22 each.

What do we actually do for a plumber on Google Ads?

We run the whole thing for you, in house, so you can stay on the tools or run the business. There are around 45,500 plumbing and heating businesses in the UK, and most of the ones bidding against you in your town are running one lump of "plumbing services" pointed at a homepage. That's the gap we build into.

Here's what we take off your hands:

  • Campaign build: separate campaigns for emergency work (burst pipes, no heating, leaks) and planned work (boiler installs, bathrooms, radiators), because they're bought in completely different ways.
  • Landing pages: one page per type of job, with your reviews, real photos of your team and vans, and your number impossible to miss. Most trade sites hide the till. Yours won't.
  • Call and form tracking, so we can see which searches and ads made the phone ring.
  • Search term control: negative keywords that stop you paying for DIY searches, job hunters and plumbing courses.
  • Ad scheduling and area targeting matched to when you can answer and where you'll actually drive.
  • A monthly report in plain English: what you spent, what enquiries it produced, and what we're changing.

If you want the background on what clicks cost and how pay per click compares with other advertising, it's all in our guide to Google Ads costs and budgets for plumbers. This page is about what happens when we run it for you.

How does it work, from first call to a campaign that pays?

Four steps, in this order. We don't skip the first two, because that's where most wasted budgets start.

1. A 30-minute growth call

We ask about the jobs you want more of, the area you cover, your capacity and what a booked job is worth to you. If we can't see a sensible route to profit, we'll say so on the call.

2. A foundations check

Before we build anything, we look at the things a searcher checks before they ring you: your Google reviews, your photos, your website and how quickly enquiries get answered. Anything that would waste ad spend gets fixed first, or planned in alongside the launch.

3. Build and launch

We build the campaigns, landing pages and tracking, agree a starting ad budget with you, and go live. Enquiries often start within days.

4. Refine every week

The first few weeks are about learning what converts. We cut searches that don't produce work, put more behind the ones that do, and test the ads and pages. Expect about three months before the account settles into a steady, predictable cost per enquiry. After that it's ongoing refinement, not a set-and-forget campaign.

You'll always know what's happening. Each month we show you cost per enquiry and which campaigns are winning work, not just clicks.

When will we tell you not to run Google Ads yet?

We tell plumbers not to run ads yet when the foundations aren't there. Google Ads needs three things in place before it pays: a strong ad, a landing page that proves you're trustworthy, and an easy way to get in touch. If the page a stranger lands on has a handful of reviews, stock photos and a buried phone number, the job goes to the firm next door and you've still paid for the click.

So we'll tell you to hold off if:

Sometimes ads aren't the first move at all. Horndon Services, a heating, plumbing and air conditioning firm, got to 3 to 4 quality leads a day on a rebuilt website, local SEO and a CRM, not ads. We'd rather tell you that than take a budget we know will struggle. Any agency that promises quick results without checking any of this is the one that will disappoint you.

What results has this delivered for plumbing and heating firms?

The clearest example is Videtta Heating & Plumbing. When Jordan started working with us in February 2020, he ran the business on his own, did every job himself and turned over £223k.

We built Videtta's system gradually: a website that converts, local SEO, Google Ads kept under tight control, a CRM with automated follow-up, and video. Google Ads is one part of that, and the numbers show what it does when the rest of the system is in place:

  • Google Ads leads at £22 each, against boiler jobs worth thousands.
  • A website that turns 18.7% of visitors into leads, so the clicks we pay for aren't wasted.
  • Revenue from £223k to £1.3m over five years, with multiple vans and a team.

Be clear about what that took. It's a six-year partnership, built one weak link at a time, and ads alone didn't do it. The ads worked because the website, reviews and follow-up behind them were strong. As Jordan puts it, the work has seen Videtta "massively increase our leads", which let the business take on more engineers.

The full story, with the website we built, is in the Videtta Heating case study.

Looking to grow your plumbing business with Google Ads?

The free call is with a trades and construction marketing specialist. Ask your questions and get a clear understanding of how Google Ads works for plumbing businesses like yours, and how it helps you grow.

Book a 30-minute growth call

What do we fix first when we take over a plumber's account?

Most plumbers who bring us an existing account are spending money in the same few places it leaks out. In the first weeks we typically:

  • Split the campaigns: emergency and planned searches get their own campaigns, budgets and landing pages, instead of one campaign pointed at the homepage.
  • Clean the search terms: we go through what people actually typed before clicking and block the searches that never become jobs.
  • Switch on call tracking, so we stop guessing which ads produce work.
  • Match the schedule to your phones: emergency ads only run when someone can pick up, or when missed calls get followed up fast.
  • Tighten the area to the postcodes you'll actually drive to.
  • Fix the Google Business Profile where it's undermining the ads next to it. Our guide to SEO for plumbers covers why it matters so much.

None of that is clever. It's the unglamorous groundwork a lot of accounts are missing, and it has to be right before bids and budgets are worth adjusting. For the full list of wasted-spend mistakes, if you'd rather fix them yourself, see the plumbers' guide to Google Ads costs.

What does it cost to have us run your Google Ads?

Our prices are published, and ad spend is always separate: you pay it straight to Google, and we never mark it up.

  • Campaign setup: from £500 + VAT per campaign.
  • Management: £500 + VAT per channel per month, whether that's Google, Meta or LinkedIn.
  • Ad spend: agreed with you before launch, based on your area and the jobs you want. Most businesses start with £1,000 or more to test properly.

The full breakdown sits on our paid ads service page.

If you want more than ads, Google Ads management is included in the Booked Solid System, our programme for trades, at £1,500 + VAT a month on a 12-month minimum term with a six month break clause tied to specific deliverables. That also covers a high-converting website, local SEO, a CRM with missed-call text-back and automated review generation, so the whole system behind the ads gets built together.

Either way, the budget should be one you can hold steady for three months while the campaign learns. The economics should be built around your highest-value work, like boiler installs, with the smaller jobs as a bonus.

How do you get started?

Book a 30-minute growth call. It's a conversation, not a contract.

On the call we'll talk through:

  • The jobs you want more of, and what one is worth to you.
  • Your area and who you're up against.
  • Whether your reviews, website and phones are ready for ads, or what should come first.
  • A sensible starting budget, if ads make sense now.

You'll get a straight answer either way, in plain English. If Google Ads isn't the right move yet, we'll tell you what is, and you're free to take that advice and do it yourself. If it is the right move, we'll show you exactly what we'd build, what it costs and how you'll see the results.

For the wider picture of how ads fit alongside SEO, a website, video and a CRM, read our full guide to marketing for plumbers.

Book a 30-minute growth call

Want the whole system built and run for you? See our marketing for trades programme, the Booked Solid System.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What's included when you manage Google Ads for a plumber?

Campaign builds split by emergency and planned work, landing pages for each type of job, call and form tracking, negative keyword control, ad scheduling matched to when you can answer, weekly refinement and a plain-English monthly report on cost per enquiry. Ad spend is separate and paid straight to Google. We also check your reviews, website and call handling before launch.

How much does it cost to have you run our Google Ads?

Campaign setup starts from £500 + VAT per campaign and management is £500 + VAT per channel per month. Ad spend is on top, paid straight to Google and never marked up. Most businesses start with £1,000 or more in ad spend to test properly. Google Ads management is also included in the Booked Solid System at £1,500 + VAT a month.

How long before a campaign pays its way?

Enquiries often start within days of launch. A steady, predictable cost per enquiry usually takes about three months, because the campaign needs real data before the wasted searches can be cut out and the budget moved to what works. If anyone promises a flood of profitable jobs in week one, they're telling you what you want to hear.

Will you tell me if Google Ads isn't right for my business?

Yes. If your reviews are thin, your website hides the phone number or nobody can answer during the day, ads will waste your money. We'll tell you on the first call and point you at what should come first, whether that's reviews, a better website or a system for following up missed calls.

Do Google Ads work for small plumbing firms, or just the big ones?

They work at any size, as long as the foundations are right. A one-van firm with 80 genuine reviews will often beat a ten-van firm with 12 reviews on the very same search, because the searcher is choosing on trust, not fleet size. Ads put you in the running; your reviews, photos and answered phone win the job.

Next step

See what intelligent growth looks like for your business.

Book a 30-minute growth call