Google AdsSydney
Google Ads for small businesses and tradies that pays for the right searches and blocks the rest. Tight keywords for each service, landing pages that match the ad, and tracking that tells you what every call and quote request costs.
01Google Ads management, Sydney
The most common problem we see in small business accounts is one campaign, one ad and a long list of loosely related keywords. Every search gets the same generic ad and lands on the homepage.
Licensed plumbers clearing drains across Penrith and the Blue Mountains. Call now.
/blocked-drains/Drain photos, what a clear costs, call button at the top.
Old fuse box? Replace it with a safe, modern switchboard. Free quote this week.
/switchboard-upgrades/Before and after boards, price range, a short quote form.
Clean, repair and recoat. Real jobs, real reviews, written warranty.
/roof-restoration/Restoration steps, finished roofs, reviews that mention it.
Example. Three ad groups, each with its own keywords, its own ad and its own page.
Search campaigns first. For most local businesses, Google Search ads are where the buyers are. Someone typing "blocked drain plumber Penrith" has a problem today. We split your services into tight themes, so each search sees an ad that repeats what they typed and lands on a page about exactly that job.
Controlled match types. We usually start with phrase and exact match on the services that make you money, then widen only when the search terms report shows it's safe. Broad match and automated bidding can work well once there's enough conversion data. Before that, they tend to spend on searches you'd never pick.
02Negative keywords and location targeting
Negative keywords stop wasted clicks. Jobs, salaries, courses, DIY, free, cheap, second-hand, suppliers, brand names you don't stock. We add a starting list before launch, then read the search terms report weekly and keep adding. It's unglamorous work, and it's where a lot of small budgets leak.
Location targeting that matches where you work. Set a radius around your base, or list the suburbs and postcodes you actually service, and exclude the ones you don't. Then check the setting most people miss: Google's default can show your ads to people merely interested in your area, not only people in it. For a local trade, "Presence: people in or regularly in your targeted locations" is usually the right choice.
Your own name, protected. A small brand campaign makes sure people searching for your business by name find you, not a competitor bidding on it.
03Ad scheduling
A missed call from a paid click is the most expensive phone call you'll never have. If you're on the tools and can't pick up, that lead often rings the next ad down.
We set your ad schedule around the hours someone can actually answer the phone or reply to a form, and lean harder on the hours that bring the best leads. If you offer after-hours work, we run calls-only ads for those hours. If you don't, the ads stop.
The same thinking applies to call assets, which we only show when the phone is staffed, and to your Google Business Profile hours, which should match.
Example. A trade that answers from 7am on weekdays and Saturday mornings. Your schedule is built from your own calls.
04Conversion tracking and landing pages
Clicks and impressions look busy in a report. What matters is how many calls and quote requests came in, and what each one cost. If an account can't tell you that, it's being run blind.
Call assets with call reporting, so a tap on your number in the ad counts as a lead when the call runs long enough to be real.
A forwarding number on your landing pages, so calls from people who clicked the ad and then rang are counted too.
Only a completed quote request counts, tracked through Google Ads and Analytics. Not page views, not button hovers.
A landing page for every service. If the ad says "switchboard upgrades", the page should too: the same words in the heading, photos of that work, a price guide if you're comfortable, reviews that mention it, and a call button and short form at the top. Sending every ad to your homepage makes people hunt, and many won't.
Landing page quality also feeds into Google's view of your ads, so a relevant page helps on cost as well as conversions. We build these pages as part of our website design work, or improve the ones you have.
Reporting you can read in a minute. Each month: leads by service, cost per lead, the search terms we blocked, and what we're changing next. If you can, tell us which leads turned into jobs. That's how budget moves to the services that actually pay.
Paying for traffic that doesn't convert? AAA Mould Removal was getting steady visitors from its ads, but few enquiries. We fixed the website, not the ads, and enquiries rose 40% within two weeks with no extra ad spend.
05Local Services Ads
Above the normal search ads, many home service searches now show Local Services Ads, with a verification badge and a pay per lead model. They're worth knowing about, and they work best alongside search ads, not instead of them.
Full control over keywords, ads, landing pages, locations and hours. You can target the exact services you want more of, and send people to a page built for that job.
Shown with a Google badge (historically Google Guaranteed or Google Screened, depending on the category) after licence, insurance and background checks. Less control, but you're charged for leads, not clicks. Reviews matter a lot here.
Local Services Ads are available for many home service categories in Australia, but categories, badge names and verification steps vary and Google changes them from time to time. We check what's available for your trade and area before recommending it.
06Google Ads for small business
Ads are a tap. Turn them on and the phone can ring this week. Turn them off and it stops. SEO is slower to start, but what you build keeps working.
How much should you spend? Enough to get a meaningful number of clicks on your main services in your area each month, and no more than you're comfortable testing for a few months. In a competitive Sydney trade, a tiny budget spread across ten services teaches you nothing. We'd rather start with your two or three best earners and do them properly.
We look at what your best jobs are worth, how many you can take on, and what clicks cost in your area before suggesting a budget. You set the limit. We'll tell you honestly if it's too thin to work.
Using both. Ads fill the calendar while local SEO builds your Google Maps ranking and website. The search terms that convert in ads show which pages to build for SEO. As organic rankings grow, ad spend can shift to the services and suburbs you don't rank for yet.
Either way, the Google Ads account should be yours, under your own login, so the history and data stay with your business whoever manages it.
Every dollar should either bring a lead this week or teach you something about the next one.
07Google Ads for tradies
Every trade has its own searches, its own wasted clicks and its own busy hours. These pages go into the detail for each one.
Emergency call-outs, switchboards, solar and EV chargers, and keeping apprentice and course searches out.
Electrician adsBlocked drains, hot water and leaks, with after-hours scheduling for the jobs that can't wait.
Plumber adsFewer, bigger leads: renovations, extensions and new homes, with landing pages that qualify before they call.
Builder adsLeak repairs after storms, restorations and replacements, with budgets that flex with the weather.
Roofer adsRunning ads already? We'll review the account. Not yet? We'll sketch a starter plan.
08Free Google Ads review
Running ads? We'll record a free 3-minute video going through your account and what to fix first. Not running ads yet? You'll get a short starter plan for your business instead.
A limited number of Google Ads reviews each week.
Your Google Ads review lands in your inbox within 48 hours. Check the junk folder too, just in case.
FAQ
What business owners ask us before handing over an ad account.
Keyword research and tight ad groups for each service, ad copy, negative keywords, location and schedule settings, call and form conversion tracking, landing page advice, weekly search terms reviews and bid changes, and a monthly report showing leads and cost per lead.
It depends on your trade, your area and what a job is worth to you. The budget needs to be big enough to get a useful number of clicks on your main services each month. We'd rather start with two or three of your best services and do them properly than spread a small budget thin. We'll give you an honest view in the free review.
It's worth it if the account is set up and watched properly: tight keywords, negatives, the right locations and hours, real conversion tracking and landing pages that match the ad. Many tradie accounts waste a big share of spend on irrelevant searches. The free Google Ads review shows whether yours is.
PPC means pay per click. PPC management is the ongoing work of running paid search ads, mostly Google Ads in Australia: choosing keywords, writing ads, blocking wasted searches, adjusting bids, tracking leads and reporting what each lead costs.
Often both. Google Ads can bring calls this week, but stop when you stop paying. SEO takes longer but keeps working. Many local businesses use ads to fill the calendar while SEO builds up, then shift ad spend to the services and suburbs they don't rank for yet.
Local Services Ads appear at the top of some home service searches with a Google verification badge. You pay per lead instead of per click, after Google's licence, insurance and background checks. They're available for many home service categories in Australia, but not every trade or area, and Google changes the details from time to time.
Calls made straight from the ad are tracked with call assets and call reporting. Calls from people who clicked through to your website are tracked with a forwarding number on the page. Quote form submissions are tracked as conversions too. Together they give a real cost per lead.
Usually one of four things: the ads are showing for the wrong searches, the targeting reaches people outside your area, the ads run when nobody can answer, or the landing page doesn't match the ad and doesn't make calling easy. The free review checks all four.
You need a page that matches the ad. Sending every ad to your homepage makes people hunt for the service they searched for. A page per service, with the same words as the ad, photos, reviews and a call button at the top, usually converts better.
You should. We set up or work in an account under your own login, so the history and data stay with your business if you ever leave. Be wary of any agency that won't give you admin access to your own account.
If you're running ads, a 3-minute video going through your account: wasted searches, targeting, tracking and landing pages, and the first fixes. If you're not, a short starter plan for your trade and area. Free, and nobody will chase you with a sales pitch.
Barely anything. You just do what you do best: Turn phone calls into customers.
See what your ads are really paying for, or get a starter plan if you are not running them yet.