Marketing for tradesmen: start with where your work comes from
Before spending anything, it helps to know where your current jobs come from. For most trades it's a mix: word of mouth, repeat customers, a directory or two, some Google searches and the odd Facebook message. Each source behaves differently, and each costs something, even if it's only your time.
Once you know that, the question becomes simple: which jobs do you want more of, and which channel is most likely to bring them at a cost that makes sense?
SEO: the long game
SEO means showing up in Google for your trade and town without paying per click. It takes time to build but keeps bringing enquiries once it's working. For most trade businesses it's the best long-term source of direct work. See SEO for tradesmen for how it works.
PPC for tradesmen: fast, but needs watching
Pay-per-click ads on Google put you at the top of the results straight away, and you pay each time someone clicks. That's useful for urgent jobs like emergency plumbing or roof repairs, or for filling a quiet patch.
The risk is waste. Ads shown for the wrong searches, in the wrong area or at times you can't answer the phone burn money quickly. PPC for tradesmen needs tight location targeting, a regular check of the actual search terms people used, and call tracking so you know which clicks turned into jobs.
Social media for tradesmen: show, don't sell
Social media is good at one thing for trades: showing your work to people who live nearby. A finished patio, a rewired consumer unit neatly labelled, a new roof from the street. Posts like that build familiarity, so when someone needs your trade, your name comes to mind.
It's less good at bringing in urgent work, and it can eat evenings if you let it. We help you set up a simple routine you can stick to, focused on the platforms your customers actually use.
Directories and lead sites
Many trades pay directories or lead sites for work. They can help, especially when you're starting out, but the costs add up and you're often competing with other trades for the same job. Our guide to Checkatrade alternatives looks at the options fairly.
A website that does its job
Whatever channel brings people in, they almost always check your website before calling. If it's slow, unclear or hard to use on a phone, you lose them. That's why we offer web design for tradesmen as the foundation for everything else.