Most plumbers who say Google Ads for plumbers "doesn't work" are looking at the wrong number. They see £6 clicks, a lot of calls that go nowhere, and a monthly bill. What they rarely see is the one figure that tells you whether ads make money: cost per booked job.
This guide shows you how to work it out from your own numbers, where it usually goes wrong, and what a sensible target looks like for different kinds of plumbing work.
The four numbers you need
- Spend: what you paid Google in the month.
- Real leads: calls and forms from people who wanted plumbing work you do, in an area you cover. Not suppliers, not job seekers, not spam.
- Booked jobs: real leads that turned into a visit or a confirmed quote.
- Average job value: the invoice, or better, the gross profit after materials.
Then:
- Cost per lead = spend ÷ real leads
- Booking rate = booked jobs ÷ real leads
- Cost per booked job = spend ÷ booked jobs
A worked example
A two-van plumbing firm spends £1,500 in a month. Google Ads reports 95 conversions. When they go through the call log:
- 14 calls were under 20 seconds (wrong number or hung up)
- 9 were suppliers, recruiters or sales calls
- 12 were outside the area or for work they do not do
- 60 were real leads
Of those 60, they booked 33. That is a 55% booking rate and a cost per booked job of about £45. Their average job is £240, so each £1 of ad spend is bringing back over £5 in invoices before repeat work.
Google said they paid £15.79 per conversion. The real figure was £25 per lead and £45 per job. Both are useful; only one tells you whether to keep spending.
Where the cost per booked job goes wrong
Counting every call as a conversion
If Google Ads counts a 5-second call as a conversion, the algorithm learns to find more 5-second calls. Set call conversions to count only calls over 60 seconds, and import booked jobs if you can (see below).
Missed calls
You pay for the click whether you answer or not. A plumber working alone, with their hands in a cupboard half the day, misses more calls than they think. Every one of those is ad spend with no chance of a job. Call tracking will show you the number; a call answering service or a fast text-back routine will cut it.
Mixing emergency and planned work
Published UK estimates put emergency plumber clicks at £8 to £25 in cities and bathroom plumbing at £3 to £7 (Whito, 2026). If those sit in one campaign, you cannot tell which is profitable. Separate them, and give each its own cost per booked job target.
Paying for searches you cannot serve
"Plumber jobs", "plumbing course", "how to fix a dripping tap", and brands of boiler you do not touch. A weekly look at the search terms report and a growing negative keyword list will save more money than any bid strategy.
Put the jobs back into Google Ads with your CRM
If you use a job management tool or CRM (Tradify, ServiceM8, Jobber, or even a well-kept spreadsheet), you can send booked jobs back to Google Ads as offline conversions. Google then optimises towards searches that turn into jobs instead of searches that turn into calls. It is the single biggest improvement for most plumbing accounts once they have enough volume. We explain the setup in offline conversion tracking.
What is a good cost per booked job for plumbers?
There is no single answer, because it depends on what the job is worth to you. A rough way to set a target:
| Work type | Typical first invoice | Sensible max cost per booked job |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency leak or blockage | £120 to £300 | 20 to 30% of the invoice |
| Boiler repair | £90 to £250 | Higher if repairs lead to servicing contracts |
| Bathroom or boiler installation | £2,000+ | Measured per quote won, not per enquiry |
Use your own invoices, not these ranges, once you have three months of data. The point is to decide the target before you spend, so you know when a campaign is working.
A simple monthly routine
- Export your calls and forms for the month.
- Mark each one: real lead, booked, not suitable, missed.
- Work out cost per lead, booking rate and cost per booked job by campaign.
- Add new negative keywords from the search terms report.
- Move budget towards the campaign with the lowest cost per booked job.
It takes about an hour a month and it changes how you see your ad spend. If you would rather hand it over, our plumbing Google Ads service can take the reporting off your hands, and how to get more plumbing leads covers the sources beyond Google Ads.
Frequently asked questions
How do plumbers calculate cost per booked job from Google Ads?
Divide monthly ad spend by the number of booked jobs that came from ads. To find where it goes wrong, also track cost per real lead and the booking rate (booked jobs divided by real leads).
How much do Google Ads cost for plumbers in the UK?
Published 2026 estimates range from about £3 to £8 per click for "plumber [city]" up to £8 to £25 for emergency plumber searches in cities, higher in London and the South East.
Why does Google Ads show more conversions than I get jobs?
Usually because every call is counted, including very short calls, suppliers and out-of-area enquiries. Count only calls over 60 seconds and import booked jobs from your CRM where possible.
Related guides
- How to Get More Plumbing Leads: 7 Sources That Work
- More Leads for My Plumbing Business: Google Ads Plan
- Best Way to Advertise a Plumbing Business in the UK
- Offline Conversion Tracking for Google and Meta Ads
Next step
AdsFlair runs Google Ads for UK trades and local service businesses. Ask for a free Google Ads audit and we will show you where your budget is going and what to fix first. There is no cost and no obligation. See our page on Google Ads for plumbers and gas engineers for how we work. Prefer to talk first? Book a 30-minute call.