If you want more leads for your plumbing business and you want them soon, a small, tightly built Google Ads account is the fastest route. This is the plan we would follow for a plumber starting from scratch.
Step 1: Choose the jobs you want
Do not advertise everything. Pick two or three services with good profit: for example emergency callouts, boiler repair and bathroom installation. Each gets its own campaign or ad group, because each has different searches and a different value.
Step 2: Set the area
Target the postcodes or towns you can reach in a sensible drive time. In location options choose people who are in your area, not people interested in it.
Step 3: Build keyword lists by intent
- Emergency: "emergency plumber", "24 hour plumber", "burst pipe repair"
- Repair: "boiler repair", "leaking tap repair", "toilet not flushing plumber"
- Install: "new boiler installation", "bathroom fitter"
Add your town to the main ones. Use phrase and exact match to start.
Step 4: Add negative keywords on day one
Block the searches that never become jobs: jobs, salary, course, training, apprenticeship, DIY, how to, free, wholesale, supplies, parts, YouTube. Then check the search terms report each week and add more.
Step 5: Write ads that answer the search
Put the service and the town in the headline. Add what makes someone call: response time if you can keep to it, Gas Safe registration, fixed callout fee if you have one. Use call extensions so people can ring from the ad.
Step 6: Send clicks to the right page
Emergency ads go to a page with a tap-to-call button at the top. Boiler install ads go to a page with a short quote form, photos and reviews. Do not send both to the homepage.
Step 7: Track calls and forms
Set up call tracking and form tracking before you spend. You need to know which keyword produced each lead. Without that, you cannot cut what is wasting money.
Step 8: Set a budget you can learn from
Published UK estimates put plumbing clicks at £2 to £8, and £8 to £25 for city emergency searches. At AdsFlair we recommend at least £500 a month in ad spend. Put most of it behind your best-paying service.
Step 9: Review weekly for the first month
Each week: add negatives, pause keywords with spend and no leads, raise bids on the ones bringing jobs, and listen to a few call recordings.
Add Local Services Ads beside it
Plumbers can also run Local Services Ads in the UK, paying per lead. Run both and compare cost per booked job.
Common questions
How soon will leads arrive? Ads can show the day they are approved. Judge the cost per lead after four to six weeks.
Should I bid on competitor names? Usually not at first. Those clicks cost money and convert poorly.
Related guides
- The Best Way to Advertise a Plumbing Business
- 15 Plumbing Marketing Ideas That Work in the UK
- Local Services Ads for Plumbers: Lead Cost and Setup
- Is Google Ads Worth It for a Small Business?
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.