Google Ads18 min read
Google Ads for Tradespeople
Google Ads and Local Services Ads explained for plumbers, electricians, builders, and roofers. Keyword strategy, UK CPC benchmarks, budget guidance, and how to track what's working.
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Google Local Services Ads let UK tradespeople pay per genuine lead rather than per click. This guide covers eligibility, the Google Guaranteed verification process, how the pay-per-lead model works, budget guidance, and when LSAs outperform standard Search campaigns.
Google Local Services Ads (LSAs) appear at the very top of Google search results, above standard Pay-Per-Click ads and organic listings. They show your business name, rating, years in business, and a "Google Guaranteed" badge. When someone clicks, they call you directly or send a message request through the interface.
The key difference from standard Google Ads: you pay per lead, not per click. A "lead" in LSA terms is a call or message from a potential customer, not just someone viewing your listing. If Google determines the contact was not a genuine lead (a wrong number, a call about a service you do not offer, a duplicate), you can dispute it and receive a credit.
LSAs were introduced in the UK for home services businesses and have expanded steadily to cover a broad range of trades. For a plumber, electrician, or gas engineer who wants to generate local enquiries without managing keyword lists and bidding strategies, they offer a simpler entry point to Google advertising than a full Search campaign.
Google has expanded LSA eligibility in the UK substantially since the programme launched. As of 2025, eligible categories include:
Home and building trades:
Cleaning and maintenance:
Other service categories:
Google adds categories periodically. If your trade is not currently listed, it is worth checking the Google Local Services Ads setup page directly, as eligibility expands without major announcements.
What affects whether you can run LSAs in your area: Google's coverage for LSAs is not uniform across all UK postcodes. Some rural areas have limited or no LSA inventory for certain trades. The setup process will confirm whether your service area is eligible before you complete verification.
The "Google Guaranteed" badge is what distinguishes LSA listings from standard ads. It signals to customers that Google has verified the business. Getting it requires completing Google's background check process.
What verification involves:
Business licence check. You submit proof of any trade licences or certifications relevant to your work. For gas engineers, this means providing Gas Safe registration details. For electricians, NICEIC, NAPIT, or equivalent registration. For other trades, relevant qualifications or certifications if applicable.
Insurance verification. You must provide evidence of valid public liability insurance. Google checks that the policy is current and covers the type of work you do.
Identity check. Business owner identity is verified. This typically involves submitting identification documents.
Review of your existing Google Business Profile. Your GBP must be active and accurate. If you have a suspended or unverified GBP, that needs to be resolved first.
The process takes one to four weeks in practice, and Google sometimes requests additional documentation. Once verified, the Google Guaranteed badge appears on your LSA listing.
The Google Guarantee itself: Google offers a money-back guarantee to customers who book through LSAs, up to a cap (currently £1,500 in the UK). This is Google's guarantee to the customer, not a payment to you. The intent is to reduce customer hesitation when booking a tradesperson they have not used before.
What happens if a complaint is made against your business: Google can investigate complaints from customers who used the Guarantee. Sustained complaints risk suspension of your LSA listing. This is a strong incentive to maintain service quality.
Once your LSA account is live, Google shows your listing to searchers in your service area looking for your trade. When they make contact, you receive a notification in the LSA app (available on iOS and Android) and can respond.
Lead types:
Responding to leads matters for your ranking. Google tracks your response rate and response speed. Businesses that answer calls promptly and reply to messages quickly rank higher in the LSA feed. Missing calls or leaving messages unanswered reduces your visibility.
Booking confirmation. In some categories, Google asks you to confirm whether you booked the job after the initial contact. This data feeds into Google's assessment of your lead quality and can influence how much you pay per lead over time.
Pausing and unpausing. You can pause your LSAs at any time through the app. This is useful when you are fully booked or taking time off. Unlike a Search campaign where pausing and restarting can affect Quality Score, LSAs handle pausing without significant penalty to your standing.
The economic model is the most important distinction between LSAs and standard Google Search ads.
Standard Search ads: you pay per click. Every person who clicks your ad is charged to your budget, whether they become a lead or not. If someone clicks your ad, visits your landing page, and leaves, you pay for that click. The cost per lead depends entirely on how well your landing page converts visitors into enquiries.
LSAs: you pay per lead contact. You are charged when someone calls or messages you through the LSA interface. A click that does not result in contact costs you nothing.
UK cost per lead benchmarks for LSAs (2025 estimates):
The cost per lead varies by trade, competition level, and location. These are representative ranges for UK markets:
| Trade | Indicative cost per lead |
|---|---|
| Plumber | £15 to £35 |
| Electrician | £15 to £35 |
| Gas engineer (boiler work) | £20 to £45 |
| Locksmith | £10 to £25 |
| Roofer | £20 to £50 |
| Builder / general contractor | £25 to £55 |
| Cleaner (domestic) | £10 to £20 |
| Removal company | £20 to £40 |
London and other major cities typically sit at the higher end of these ranges. Specialist work (gas boiler installation, electrical rewiring) generates leads with higher potential job values, so higher cost per lead is more justifiable.
The dispute process. If you receive a lead that was not a genuine enquiry, you can dispute it in the LSA app within 30 days. Valid dispute reasons include: the call was for a service you do not offer, it was a wrong number, the call was too short to be a genuine enquiry, or the lead was a duplicate. Google reviews disputes and issues credits for valid ones. The process takes a few days.
When LSAs are economically better than Search: If your landing page converts at 3%, a 200-click Search campaign at £2 per click (£400 total) generates 6 leads at roughly £67 per lead. An LSA campaign that delivers 6 leads at £25 per lead costs £150. The LSA advantage depends on your trade's cost per lead and what conversion rate you can achieve with a landing page. For trades where landing page optimisation is not realistic, LSAs often provide better cost per lead.
LSAs use a weekly budget model rather than a daily budget. You set a target number of leads per week, and Google calculates a weekly budget based on current cost-per-lead rates in your area.
Practical starting points:
For most UK trades, a starting weekly budget of £100 to £200 is enough to gather meaningful data. This typically generates 4 to 10 leads per week depending on your trade and location, sufficient to see whether the leads are converting to booked jobs.
A tradesperson generating 5 leads per week at £25 per lead (£125/week) who converts 3 of those to jobs at an average value of £300 is generating £900 in revenue from £125 in spend. Even with call-out costs and materials factored in, the economics are typically positive for established tradespeople.
What affects how many leads you receive at a given budget:
Managing your budget around demand: Increase your weekly target during peak seasons. Pause or reduce during periods when you are already fully booked. Unlike Search campaigns, you are not paying for clicks you cannot convert; but if you are consistently too busy to respond to leads, pausing is better than missing them.
LSAs work best when:
LSAs work less well when:
LSAs alongside Search campaigns. The two do not need to be either/or. Many UK tradespeople run both: LSAs for high-intent local leads at the top of the results page, and a focused Search campaign targeting specific service keywords on the same page. Google generally does not show both your LSA and your Search ad simultaneously to the same searcher, so there is limited overlap.
The setup process runs through Google's Local Services Ads homepage (ads.google.com/local-services-ads). You will need:
The verification step is the main bottleneck. Having your documentation ready before you start reduces the time between application and going live.
Once verified, the LSA app is where you manage day-to-day: responding to leads, reviewing your budget, disputing invalid leads, and tracking your performance.
For tradespeople who want immediate local visibility without the complexity of keyword management, LSAs are the most direct route to appearing at the top of Google for local searches. The trade-off is less control over targeting compared to a Search campaign, and a cost-per-lead model that requires consistent response habits to justify.
Google Ads and Local Services Ads explained for plumbers, electricians, builders, and roofers. Keyword strategy, UK CPC benchmarks, budget guidance, and how to track what's working.
Read the guide →From Google Business Profile to your website, reviews, SEO, and Google Ads: everything a UK tradesperson needs to get more quote requests and jobs online.
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