Marketing for tradies: where the jobs come from and what each one costs
For businesses
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8 min read
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Short answer: there’s no single best channel for winning trade work. The options are referrals, a Google Business Profile, a website, paid ads, lead sites and, now, AI assistants. Judge each one by what you pay for every job you actually win, not by what a lead costs. Then ask who the customer goes back to next time: you, or the platform. Whatever channels you use, the same advertising rules apply to all of them, starting with your licence number.
Where trade work comes from
For context, at 30 June 2026 Australia had 2,814,778 actively trading businesses, and the number of construction businesses grew 3.4% in 2025–26 (ABS, released 18 August 2026).
Trade work comes through six main doors: referrals and repeat customers, your Google Business Profile, your website, Google Ads, lead sites and directories, and AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.
We haven’t found reliable public data on what share of trade work comes through each one, and your mix depends on your trade and area. The numbers that matter are your own, so this guide is about measuring them.
Channel by channel
Channel | What you pay for | Published pricing (checked 12 Oct 2026) | Who sits between you and the customer |
|---|---|---|---|
Referrals and repeat work | Your time | None | No one |
Google Business Profile | Your time | Free (Google) | Google shows the profile; the customer contacts you |
Your website | Build, hosting and your time | Varies by provider | No one |
Google Ads | Clicks on your ad | No fixed price: you set a maximum cost per click and a daily budget (Google Ads Help) | Google shows the ad; the customer contacts you |
hipages | A monthly subscription that includes credits, which you spend to accept leads | $139 to $649 + GST a month, with 155 to 850 credits. No commission on jobs (hipages) | hipages sends the lead. Once you accept it, you deal with the customer directly. Each lead goes to at most 3 businesses (hipages) |
Airtasker | A service fee on tasks you’re assigned | Free to quote. The fee is 12.5% to 20% of the task price depending on your tier, plus tax (Airtasker) | Airtasker holds the payment and releases it, minus the fee, after the job (Airtasker) |
ServiceSeeking | Not published | Says it takes no commission. We couldn’t find published business pricing on its site | You quote through the platform (ServiceSeeking) |
AI assistants | Nothing directly | None | Depends on where the assistant sends the customer |
Localdex (our product) | Nothing during the pilot | Free to list during the pilot | The customer approves each request, which goes to at most 3 businesses |
Oneflare is no longer an option. Airtasker retired it on 30 June 2026.
Referrals. No one takes a cut, but you can’t switch them on when work is quiet. Ask at the end of every job.
Google Business Profile. Google says local results are “mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity”, and “there’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google.” It recommends replying to reviews. Our SEO for tradies guide covers the profile and your website step by step.
Your website. It answers what customers ask before they call: services, areas, licence and rough prices, in text. Our house painting cost guide shows the price questions buyers have before they request a quote.
Not sure you need one? Our guide do tradies need a website? covers the minimum page and what a site costs.
Google Ads. With cost-per-click bidding, “you pay for each click on your ads”, up to a maximum bid you set. For most campaigns Google can spend up to twice your average daily budget on a given day, and up to 30.4 times it in a month. Two settings matter for a trade business:
Location. By default Google targets people in your area or who have shown interest in it, and may also show ads in nearby areas. It says “100% accuracy is not guaranteed”. Check the advanced location options.
Call tracking. Google Ads offers call conversion tracking, which counts a call when it lasts longer than a minimum length you set. Some options depend on your country, so check what your account supports. Without tracking, you can’t link spend to jobs.
Lead sites. hipages publishes four plans (Starter $139, Advanced $249, Premium $449 and Platinum $649 a month, + GST). They start on a six-month introductory term and renew on a 12-month term. It doesn’t publish how many credits a lead costs: that depends on “the trade category, job location, supply and demand, and the size of the job”, and may change daily. So you can’t work out a cost per lead from its public pages; your account history will show it. Airtasker says “if you don’t win the work, you won’t pay”. We couldn’t find ServiceSeeking’s business pricing on its site, so ask before you sign up.
AI assistants. An assistant can only repeat what’s written somewhere it can read: your website, profiles and listings. The SEO guide explains how each one finds businesses.
Cost per lead vs cost per won job
A cheap lead isn’t a cheap job. Leads that go nowhere still cost the time to call back, visit and quote. Measure each channel over the same period (a quarter works):
Cost per won job = (what you paid the channel + the cost of your quoting time) ÷ jobs won from that channel
Then compare the answer with the gross profit on a typical job of yours. If the cost per won job is higher, the channel is losing you money, however cheap its leads look.
Worked example. The figures below are made up to show the maths. They aren’t data about any platform or trade.
Over three months | Channel A | Channel B |
|---|---|---|
Paid to the channel | $1,500 | $1,500 |
Leads | 60 | 15 |
Cost per lead | $25 | $100 |
Jobs quoted (1 hour each) | 30 | 12 |
Quoting time at $80 an hour | $2,400 | $960 |
Jobs won | 3 | 6 |
Cost per won job | ($1,500 + $2,400) ÷ 3 = $1,300 | ($1,500 + $960) ÷ 6 = $410 |
Channel A looks four times cheaper per lead. Per won job, it costs more than three times as much.
To run it on your own numbers, log every enquiry: source, quoted, won, job value. Asking “how did you hear about us?” on every call is enough to start.
Who owns the customer
Next time this customer needs a tradie, do they ring you, or go back to a platform for fresh quotes? hipages sends each lead to at most three businesses, and Airtasker holds the payment until the job’s done. A referral or a Google search leaves nobody in between.
What you keep from any channel is the customer’s details and, if they agree, permission to contact them again. The simplest way to get that is a tick box on your quote or invoice form, with a record of who ticked it and when (see the Spam Act rules below).
Advertising rules that apply to every channel
Queensland (QBCC). Your advertising must “contain the name under which the licensee is licensed” and “state you are licensed under the QBCC Act, and your licensee number”. A trading name alone “will most likely be non-compliant”. The QBCC’s list of advertising includes websites, social media pages, vehicle signage and “online service directories (e.g. Gumtree, Hipages, serviceseeking)”. The details must be “easily legible and reasonably prominent”, and you can’t use the QBCC logo. The maximum penalty for a licensee is 35 penalty units, which the QBCC puts at $6,044 for individuals and $30,222 for companies. If you’re unlicensed, your ads for building work must state the value of work you can do, for example “Cannot perform building work valued in excess of $3,300”.
New South Wales (NSW Fair Trading). “The licensee’s name and licence number must be shown in all advertising.” Ads must include the licensee’s name, the “licence number with correct category of work” and a business phone number. On prices: “You cannot state a price that is only a part of the cost unless the single price is also clearly stated.”
SMS and email (ACMA, Spam Act 2003). You need consent before you send marketing messages, even if someone else sends them for you. Express consent (a form or a ticked box) is best practice; keep a record of it. Inferred consent is narrower: the ACMA says it “does not cover sending messages after someone has just bought something from your business.” You can’t send a message asking for consent, because that is itself a marketing message. Every message must identify you, give your contact details and include an unsubscribe option. It must work for at least 30 days, be honoured within 5 working days, charge no fee and not make people log in.
Reviews and claims (ACCC). It’s against the law for a business to “create fake or misleading reviews” or to “arrange for others” to create them. If you offer an incentive for reviews, it must be “applied regardless of whether the reviewer leaves a positive or negative review” and “clearly disclosed”. Suppressing, editing or removing genuine negative reviews can mislead. More broadly, any claim about your prices or work must be “accurate, truthful and based on reasonable grounds”, including in a quote.
A 90-day plan
Weeks | Do this | Why |
|---|---|---|
1–2 | Put your licence name and number on your website, vehicle, Google profile, social pages and every directory listing | QBCC and NSW Fair Trading rules |
1–2 | Start an enquiry log: source, quoted, won, job value | You need it for cost per won job |
3–4 | Verify your Google Business Profile, reply to recent reviews and ask every finished customer for one | Free, and Google recommends replying |
3–6 | Make sure your website states your services, areas, licence and price guidance in text | Customers and AI assistants can only use what’s written |
5–8 | Add a marketing consent tick box to your quote or invoice form, and keep the records | Spam Act consent |
9–12 | Give any paid channel a fixed budget, then work out cost per won job for every channel | Keep what pays, cut what doesn’t |
Where Localdex fits
Localdex is our product, so weigh this section with that in mind. It’s a directory built for AI assistants as well as people.
Its free website check scores how much an AI assistant can learn from your site, out of 35.
A free profile can earn up to 65 more as you add structured details.
Customers, or their assistants, send quote requests. The customer approves each request before it goes out, to at most three businesses.
It’s free to list during the pilot.
It covers South East Queensland and Northern Rivers NSW.
We can’t promise leads, rankings or AI recommendations. Treat Localdex like any other channel: log what it brings in and work out your cost per won job. And put your licence number on your profile, as you would on any directory listing.
Check your website free · How Localdex works for businesses
FAQ
Is hipages worth it? It depends on your win rate and margin. hipages publishes its plan prices ($139 to $649 + GST a month) but not the credits per lead. Take a quarter from your account: add the subscription, any credit top-ups and your quoting time, then divide by jobs won. If that’s below your gross profit per job, it’s paying its way.
Do I need my licence number on my Facebook page and hipages profile? In Queensland, yes. The QBCC lists social media pages and online service directories, naming hipages, as advertising. In NSW, Fair Trading says the licence number must be shown in all advertising.
Can I text past customers about a special? Only with consent. The ACMA says inferred consent “does not cover sending messages after someone has just bought something from your business”, and you can’t send a message to ask for consent. Get express consent, keep a record, identify yourself and include an unsubscribe option.
Should I pay for Google Ads? Test it with a fixed budget. You pay for each click, not each job, so set up call tracking and check the location settings. After three months, work out the cost per won job and compare it with your other channels.
Sources
QBCC, advertising (last published 30 June 2025; checked 12 October 2026): https://www.qbcc.qld.gov.au/node/331
NSW Government, building trade advertisements (undated; checked 12 October 2026): https://www.nsw.gov.au/business-and-economy/running-a-business/advertising-laws-and-your-business/building-trade-advertisements
ACMA, avoid sending spam (last updated 29 November 2024): https://www.acma.gov.au/avoid-sending-spam
ACCC, online reviews for product and services (undated; checked 12 October 2026): https://www.accc.gov.au/business/advertising-and-promotions/online-reviews-for-product-and-services
ACCC, false or misleading claims (undated; checked 12 October 2026): https://www.accc.gov.au/business/advertising-and-promotions/false-or-misleading-claims
Google Business Profile Help, tips to improve your local ranking on Google (checked 12 October 2026): https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091
Google, Business Profile for Australia and New Zealand (checked 12 October 2026): https://business.google.com/aunz/business-profile/
Google Ads Help, cost-per-click (CPC) definition (checked 12 October 2026): https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/116495
Google Ads Help, about average daily budgets (checked 12 October 2026): https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6385083
Google Ads Help, about targeting geographic locations (checked 12 October 2026): https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2453995
Google Ads Help, set up tracking calls to a phone number on a website (checked 12 October 2026): https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6095883
hipages, membership costs (checked 12 October 2026): https://hipages.com.au/membership-costs
hipages, job leads and credits policy (checked 12 October 2026): https://hipages.com.au/business/lead-credits-policy
Airtasker Support Centre, what is the service fee? (updated 28 June 2026): https://support.airtasker.com/hc/en-au/articles/200294499
Airtasker Support Centre, Oneflare has retired (30 June 2026): https://support.airtasker.com/hc/en-au/articles/59288012746777
ServiceSeeking, how it works for businesses (checked 12 October 2026): https://www.serviceseeking.com.au/how-it-works/business
ABS, Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, July 2022 to June 2026 (released 18 August 2026): https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/business-indicators/counts-australian-businesses-including-entries-and-exits/latest-release
Current as of 12 October 2026.
Written by Localdex