Both put you in front of people searching for your trade right now. They just work on different timelines and different budgets.
Google Ads: fast, rented traffic
You can be at the top of the results this afternoon. You pay for every click, whether it turns into a job or not.
Click costs for trades in Australian metro areas usually sit between 4 and 20 dollars depending on the trade and how urgent the search is. Emergency plumbing is dear. General handyman work is cheaper.
The moment you stop paying, the phone stops.
SEO: slow, owned traffic
SEO builds your position in the map pack and the organic results. It takes three to six months to get moving and keeps compounding after that.
It costs the same each month whether you get 10 leads or 60, so your cost per lead drops over time.
Which one first
If you need work in the next fortnight, start with Ads. If you have steady work and want to stop paying for every lead in two years time, start with SEO.
- ✓Brand new business, no reviews, needs jobs now: Google Ads
- ✓Established, decent reviews, wants to reduce lead costs: SEO
- ✓Growing crew and wants both volume and stability: run both
Why running both works best
Ads cover you while SEO builds. Once organic starts pulling its weight you can dial the ad spend back to the highest value jobs instead of switching it off completely.
Want a hand with this?
We build websites, run local SEO and manage Google Ads for Australian trades businesses. No lock-in contracts and no jargon.
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