Google Ads for trades

Google Ads for painters & decorators

Decorating is one of the cheapest trades to advertise on Google, because most competitors have never bothered. A well-set-up account with a clear price guide and a few photos can win steady work for less than the cost of one lead-site lead a day.

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What people search for when they need a decorator

Customers in the UK search in English, usually with their town or “near me”. These are the searches a campaign for this trade is built around ([town] stands for each town you cover):

  • painter and decorator near me
  • decorators [town]
  • exterior painting [town]
  • wallpaper hanging [town]
  • painting and decorating cost
  • commercial painters [town]

What a click costs. Our rough guide for decorators in UK towns: £1.50–£4. Cities cost more, and it changes by season. The free plan gives the figure for your actual area.

When. Exterior March to September; interior all year with a rush before Christmas.

What we set up for decorators

  • A focused Search campaign Your ad shows when someone types what you do. For a small local budget, a Search campaign puts every pound on people looking for your service, and you can see each search you paid for.
  • People in your area Locations set to the towns you cover, for people who are actually there, so your budget goes on customers you can reach.
  • Calls and quote requests tracked The Google tag on your site records every call and enquiry, so Google’s bidding can learn which clicks turn into customers.
  • Only relevant searches Each week we read the search terms and exclude ones that don’t fit, like “jobs”, “course” or “DIY”, so more of the budget reaches buyers.
  • The right page for each service Each service gets its own ad and its own page, with a call button and a short quote form.

Specific to this trade. Run exterior work in spring and summer and interior in autumn and winter, and say so in the ad: “Booking exterior painting for May” gets better clicks than a generic headline.

Searches we exclude from day one, so the budget goes on customers: “jobs”, “course”, “paint for sale”, “dulux”, “b&q”, “diy”, “how to”, “salary”, “artist”, “face painting”.

Google or Facebook for decorators?

Facebook does well: decorating is visual and seasonal. Google catches the people ready to book this month. Both channels are in the published prices.

SEO for decorators: the free visits

Ads bring calls this week; SEO brings them for free next year. For decorators it starts with a complete Google Business Profile (category: Painter, your towns, photos of real jobs, a review link you text to customers), then a page for each service and each town you cover, connected to Google Search Console. How our SEO service works →

Prices

Google Ads £129 a month, Facebook & Instagram £99, SEO £99, or everything together for £249. Setup is free when you stay 3 months, there is no long contract and no percentage of your ad spend. You own the accounts and pay Google directly.

Get a free check or plan for your business

Questions from decorators

What budget does a decorator need for Google Ads?

Most start at £5–£15 a day. With clicks for decorators at roughly £1.50–£4, that is a few relevant clicks a day, enough to learn which searches turn into calls within the first month. Below about £3 a day there isn't enough data to improve anything, and we'll say so.

How quickly will I get calls?

Ads can show the day the campaign is approved, usually within one working day. The first two weeks are about learning which searches and towns bring calls; by week four the account is usually settled and the cost per enquiry is clear.

Do I need a website?

A page, not a whole site. One fast page for decorators with photos, your towns, a call button and a short quote form is enough to start. We build it for £129 if you don't have one, and your Google Business Profile gets you onto Maps either way.

Why not Checkatrade or MyBuilder instead?

Use them if they work for you. The difference with your own ads is that the enquiry comes to you alone, the reviews and the page are yours, and you can turn the budget up or down by the week. Many trades run both and move budget to whichever brings the cheaper job.

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