Marketing for tradies that books real jobs.
Cliqe does marketing for tradies across Australia: the website, the Google rankings, the ads and the branding, run by one small team as one plan. Built for plumbers, electricians, builders, carpenters, painters, landscapers, roofers and mechanics who want more calls from the right customers, not more reports.
one report
Be there when the job gets searched for.
Think about how a homeowner finds a tradie. The hot water system dies, or they finally decide to redo the deck. They pick up their phone and search Google. They see a few ads at the top, a map with three local businesses, and then the regular results. They tap two or three, look at the reviews and the photos, and call whoever looks most trustworthy and easiest to reach.
Digital marketing for tradies is about winning each of those moments. Showing up in the ads and the map. Having a website that loads fast on a phone and makes calling easy. Looking like a real, established business on the ute, the quote and the profile picture. Referrals and word of mouth still matter a lot in the trades, and good marketing backs them up: a referred customer still Googles your name before they ring.
The catch is that trades aren't all the same. An emergency plumber and a custom home builder have almost nothing in common in how customers find them. That's why we plan each account around the trade and the type of work you want more of, then pick the channels to match.
Where the money usually leaks.
Four channels, one plan.
Each of these can run on its own, but they work best together. Every card links to a page that goes into detail on how we do it for trades.
Websites for tradies
Your website is where every other channel sends people, so it has to do one job well: turn a visitor into a call or a quote request. We build fast, mobile-first sites with a page for each service and the areas you cover, your licence details, real job photos and a phone number that's never more than a thumb away.
SEO for tradies
SEO gets you into the free results, including the map pack for "near me" and suburb searches. For trades most of that comes down to your Google Business Profile (GBP), your reviews, service and suburb pages that are genuinely useful, and consistent business details across the web. It takes longer than ads to build, and it doesn't switch off the moment you stop paying.
Google Ads for tradies
Google Ads is the fastest way to get the phone ringing, because you appear at the top of the page as soon as a campaign is live. The skill is in spending only on the right searches: the jobs you want, in the suburbs you service, at the hours you can answer. We track every call and form back to the keyword that produced it, and watch for invalid clicks and check the credits Google applies show up on your invoice.
Content for tradies
Photos of your own finished work beat stock images every time, on the website, the Google Business Profile and the socials. We shoot on site, turn a job into posts and short videos, and write the service pages and job write-ups that give Google something to rank and customers a reason to trust you before they ring.
We also do logo design for tradies and social media, so the ute, the uniform and the feed all look like the same business.
Which channel comes first?
You don't need everything at once. The right starting point depends on where your business is right now.
"I need work next month"
Start with Google Ads, as long as your website can convert the traffic. If the site is slow or confusing, fix the landing pages first, or the ad spend leaks straight out. Build SEO alongside so you're not paying for every call forever.
"I'm busy, but it's all referrals"
Referrals can dry up without warning. Start with SEO and your Google Business Profile: collect reviews, build out service and suburb pages, and get into the map pack. It's slower to build, but it gives you a steady source of enquiries you control.
"I'm new, or going out on my own"
Get the foundations right before spending on ads: a logo that works on the ute, a simple site that makes calling easy, and a properly set-up Google Business Profile. Everything you add later performs better on top of that.
Every trade gets found differently.
What works for a plumber can waste money for a builder. Here's what changes for each trade, with a page on each that goes deeper.
Plumbers
Plumbing splits into urgent jobs (burst pipes, blocked drains, no hot water) and planned ones (hot water replacements, renovations). Urgent searches are made on a phone by someone who'll call the first plumber who looks reliable, so call-focused ads, accurate opening hours and fast mobile pages matter most.
Electricians
Electricians cover a wide spread of work: fault finding, switchboard upgrades, lighting, electric vehicle (EV) chargers, solar and commercial maintenance. Each is searched differently, so each needs its own service page and ad group. Visible licence details and reviews do a lot of the trust-building.
Builders
Building is a long, considered decision with a lot of money on the line. People research for weeks, look hard at past projects and want to understand your process. Fewer people search, so every enquiry counts, and the marketing has to filter for the project types, budgets and areas you actually take on.
Carpenters
Carpenters often juggle subcontract work for builders with direct jobs like decks, pergolas and fit-outs. Marketing usually aims to grow the direct, better-margin side. That work is visual, so a strong gallery of finished jobs and pages for each job type do most of the selling.
Painters
Painting customers almost always get several quotes, so you're compared side by side. Reviews, before and after photos, and a clear explanation of your prep work help you win on quality instead of racing to the lowest price. Strata and commercial work need a different message from residential repaints.
Landscapers
Landscaping demand moves with the seasons, and design-and-construct projects attract very different customers from ongoing garden maintenance. Marketing should lean into the busy months, show finished projects well, and keep your service area tight so you're not driving across the city for small jobs.
Roofers
Roofing enquiries spike after storms, and homeowners are wary of door-knockers and cheap operators. Being ready to switch ads on when the weather turns, and backing it up with reviews, licence and insurance details and real job photos, is what separates you from the storm chasers.
Mechanics
A mechanic's best customer comes back every service. So the marketing is as much about retention as new customers: reviews, a strong map listing for "mechanic near me", easy online booking, and staying in touch so the next service comes back to you.
Two electrical businesses, real numbers.
The top row is an anonymous electrical contractor. The bottom row is an off-grid solar electrical business. Read both in full on our case studies page.
Questions to ask any agency.
Whether you hire us or someone else, these are the questions that sort a good trade marketing agency from an expensive one. Here's how we answer them.
Who actually does the work?
Plenty of agencies sell with a senior person and hand the account to a junior. Cliqe is run by its two founders: Adrian Fowler on paid ads, strategy and social, and Lochie Burgdorf on SEO, websites and content. The people you talk to are the people doing the work.
What gets reported?
If the monthly report leads with impressions and reach, ask where the calls are. We report on calls, form enquiries and cost per lead, tracked back to the campaign and keyword that produced them.
Who owns the accounts?
Your ad account, analytics and Google Business Profile should belong to your business. If you leave, you keep your accounts, your history and your data.
What's the contract?
Long lock-ins protect the agency, not you. We work month-to-month, with 30 days notice and no minimum term.
Do the channels work together?
Search terms that convert in your ads should shape your SEO pages. Job photos from social should end up on your website. One team running everything means those lessons get used instead of sitting in separate inboxes.
Do they know your trade?
Ask how they'd treat emergency searches versus planned work, or how they'd filter out jobs too small to be worth the drive. A generalist agency will struggle with that. It's the first thing we cover in a marketing review.
Marketing for tradies FAQs.
How much should a tradie spend on marketing?
How long until marketing brings in work?
What's the difference between digital marketing and advertising for tradies?
Do I need a website if I have a Google Business Profile and a Facebook page?
Do you work with my trade?
Will I be locked into a contract?
I already have an agency or run my own ads. Can you help?
Start with something free.
Run one of these and you'll know where you stand in a couple of minutes.
Check your website
Speed, mobile and the basics Google looks for, scored on screen while you wait.
Run the checker →Free · about a minuteMap your site
Up to 30 of your pages and how they link, plus the structural gaps holding your traffic back.
Build my site map →Pricing guideSee what it costs
Our packages, what sits inside each one, and how we'd shape it around your business.
See packages →Ready for marketing that books work?
Tell us your trade and where you work. We'll look at your website, your Google presence and your competitors, and tell you what to fix first.
★★★★★ 5.0 on Google · 30+ Australian businesses trust Cliqe · Month-to-month, 30 days notice, no minimum term.
Prefer to look around first? Run a free check on your site or read our trade case studies.
Written by Lochie Burgdorf, Co-Founder, CLIQE. Last updated 20 September 2026.