“How much should I spend on Google Ads?” is the first thing every tradie asks me. The honest answer is that there are two costs, and people usually only think about one.
The two costs
- Ad spend. The money you pay Google or Meta for clicks and leads.
- Management. What you pay someone to build, run and optimise the campaigns.
Always ask about both. A cheap management fee on top of a badly run campaign is expensive. A fair management fee on top of a well-run campaign is the best money you’ll spend.
Typical monthly ad spend by trade
These are rough starting points I see work for local Australian businesses. Your city, competition and season change things.
| Trade | Starting ad spend per month | Typical job value |
|---|---|---|
| Plumber | $1,500 to $3,000 | $300 to $4,000 |
| Electrician | $1,500 to $3,500 | $200 to $8,000 |
| Air conditioning | $2,000 to $4,000+ (seasonal) | $2,000 to $15,000 |
| Landscaper | $1,000 to $2,500 | $5,000 to $50,000 |
| Roofer | $1,500 to $3,500 | $3,000 to $25,000 |
| Handyman | $750 to $1,500 | $100 to $1,500 |
What does a click cost?
Click prices vary a lot. Emergency and high-value searches in big cities are the most expensive, and quieter suburbs and smaller jobs are cheaper. As a rough guide, many trade searches land anywhere from a few dollars to $15 or more per click.
The click price on its own doesn’t matter much. What matters is how much each booked job costs.
The numbers that actually matter
Forget clicks. Track these three:
- Cost per lead. How much did each call or enquiry cost?
- Cost per booked job. How many of those leads turned into paying work?
- Return on ad spend. Revenue from ad-driven jobs divided by what you spent.
For example, if you spend $2,000 and it produces 25 calls, 10 booked jobs and $12,000 in revenue, your cost per job is $200 and your return is 6 to 1. That’s a very healthy campaign, even though each click cost real money.
One of my long-term clients runs Google Ads at about $26 per conversion against jobs averaging $1,000, which works out to roughly 38 times return on ad spend. That doesn’t happen by accident. It comes from tight targeting, proper tracking and constant improvement.
What about Facebook and Instagram ads?
Meta ads are usually cheaper per lead but the leads tend to be less urgent. They work best for visual, big-ticket trades like landscapers and for staying in front of locals. If you’re weighing the two, my Google vs Meta comparison breaks down when to use each.
Management fees: what’s fair?
Management typically ranges from a flat monthly fee to a percentage of ad spend. Watch out for:
- Lock-in contracts of 6 to 12 months
- Agencies that hold your ad account hostage so you can’t leave
- Fees with no reporting you can actually understand
I charge a simple monthly fee (from $750 a month plus ad spend), there’s no lock-in, and you own your accounts and data from day one.
How to know if it’s working
After 4 to 8 weeks you should be able to answer these without guessing:
- How many calls and forms came from ads?
- What did each one cost?
- How many turned into jobs?
If whoever runs your ads can’t tell you, that’s a red flag. I cover how to spot the others in my guide to choosing someone to run your ads.
Get a realistic budget for your trade
The right number depends on your area and goals. Book a free strategy call and I’ll give you an honest recommendation, including whether ads make sense for you right now. You can see how I approach it on my Google Ads page.