A lot of tradespeople didn't get into the game to spend half the day on the phone quoting. You got into it because you're bloody good at your trade — not because you love digital advertising.
The reality is: doing quality work won't fill your schedule on its own anymore. Mates recommending you is still gold, but it comes in waves - especially when things get quiet.
How do the blokes who are always booked solid pull it off? Here are some practical strategies that get results - without thousands of dollars.
Get Your Digital Presence
If a homeowner Googles "plumber near me" - do you show up? Too many tradies haven't set up any real web presence.
You don't need anything over the top. A straightforward website that displays what you actually do, mentions the suburbs you operate in, and doesn't make people hunt for your number - that's the baseline.
A basic landing page showing your work and how to reach you already beats the blokes relying on Facebook alone.
Google Business Profile - Free and Underrated
If you're not on your GBP, you're invisible to local searchers. It costs nothing.
The map listings that pops up before everything else when someone searches for a trade - those spots get the most calls. Showing up there comes down to filling out your listing properly.
- read more here Put up photos of your work - real before-and-afters from site
- Build up your review count with genuine feedback - people read these before they call
- Respond to reviews, good and bad - it makes a real
difference
- Update your info when anything changes
These small things compounds over time. Blokes who put 20 minutes a month into this end up above the competition that ignores it.
Social Media - Keep It Simple
Nobody's asking you to be an influencer. The tradies who get results from social media aren't doing anything fancy.
Grab a shot of a completed project. Before and afters are absolute gold. A fresh switchboard - that's content.
Post it with a short caption and that's it, done. Even once or twice a week is plenty. All of it shows potential customers you're the real deal.
Homeowners respond to what they can see with their own eyes. A genuine job photo does more for your business than any amount of fancy marketing - because it's real.
Paid Ads - Worth It If Done Right
Spending money on online ads can absolutely work for tradies - but it's not a set-and-forget situation. The tradies who get burnt is running ads with no clear target.
Before putting budget behind anything: make sure your website actually converts. There's no point driving traffic to a site that doesn't load properly.
Don't go all-in on day one. Pay attention to what generates real enquiries. Put more behind what works and pull the plug on anything that's just burning cash.
Reviews and Reputation - What People Check Before They Call
Here's something worth paying attention to: the majority of homeowners will read your reviews before they pick up the phone. Someone with a stack of real feedback beats the competition over someone with zero social proof - every single time.
Get into the routine to follow up with a review request. Most customers are happy to help - you just have to ask. Text them the Google review link and most will do it on the spot.
Respond to negative reviews professionally - how you handle criticism tells potential customers as much about you as the good reviews do.
Wrapping It Up
Getting more work as a tradie shouldn't be a second full-time job. The busy ones aren't doing anything magical - they got the fundamentals right and stuck with it.
Sort out your web presence. Post your work. Ask happy customers to back you up online. When you put money into advertising, make sure the numbers add up before you scale.
You're already great at what you do - getting found online doesn't take as much as you'd expect once you get the ball rolling.