SEO vs Google Ads: which should a UK trade business invest in?

Google Ads puts you at the top of the search results as soon as a campaign goes live, and you pay for every click, while SEO earns you a place in the free results and the map pack over months and keeps working without a cost per click. If you need calls this month, Google Ads is usually the faster lever; if you want steady, lower-cost enquiries in a year’s time, SEO is the long game, and many trades run both. Unavoidable Marketing is a UK-wide, Leeds-based agency that runs Google Ads and SEO for trades across the UK, measured on booked jobs rather than clicks, and founder Andrew Heppinstall is on every strategy call.

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Last updated: 21 October 2026

How each one works

Google Ads is paid search. You choose the searches you want to appear for, such as “emergency plumber Bristol” or “fascia replacement Leicester”, set a budget, and pay Google when someone clicks your ad or calls from it. Stop paying and the ads stop. Ad spend goes straight to Google on your own card.

Behind that simple idea sit a lot of settings that decide whether the money is well spent. Match types control how closely a search has to match your keyword. Negative keywords block searches you never want to pay for, such as “plumbing apprenticeship”, “how to fix a dripping tap” or “plumber salary”. Location settings decide whether your ad shows to people actually in your area or to anyone who has shown an interest in it. Ad schedules decide whether you show at three in the morning when nobody is there to answer. Performance Max campaigns can add reach across Google, but for most trades a well-built search campaign is the core. Google Local Services Ads, with the Google Verified badge, are a separate format that sits above the normal ads for many trades.

SEO means search engine optimisation. It is the work that helps your website and Google Business Profile appear in the free results: service pages that answer what customers ask, local pages done properly, reviews that name jobs and towns, consistent business details across directories, schema markup and a site that is quick on a phone. There is no fee per click, but it takes time and steady effort.

SEO for a trade really has two halves. The first is the map pack, the block of local businesses with a map that appears for searches like “electrician near me”. That is driven mostly by your Google Business Profile: the right primary category, a complete profile, real photos, steady reviews and how close you are to the person searching. The second half is the normal results below, which are driven by your website: a clear page for each main service, useful pages for the towns you cover, a fast site and other trusted sites mentioning you.

Today SEO also covers AI search. ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews build answers from sources they can read and trust, and the same work that helps you rank in Google helps them understand who you are. Nobody can guarantee being named.

Side by side

A week on each: a plumber in Bristol

Picture the same plumbing and heating firm in Bristol at two different points.

A week running Google Ads

On Monday morning a campaign for boiler repair and emergency plumbing is live, limited to the postcodes the van can reach in good time. By Monday lunchtime the first call comes in from someone in Filton whose boiler has stopped. The call shows up in the tracking with the search that triggered it. On Tuesday a call comes from someone wanting a quote to plumb in a dishwasher, a small job the firm does not really want, so that search gets added to the negative list. On Wednesday a heavy rain warning brings in leak calls, and because the ad schedule covers early evenings, the owner picks them up on his way home. On Thursday he looks at the search terms report and notices clicks from people searching for plumbing courses, which get blocked straight away. By Friday he can see which calls booked, what the week cost in ad spend and roughly what each booked job cost. If the diary is full next week, he can lower the budget the same day.

A week running SEO

The same firm, a year into steady SEO work, has a different week. Nothing is switched on or off. On Monday a homeowner in Clifton finds the boiler servicing page in the free results, reads that the firm is Gas Safe registered and covers her area, and fills in the form. On Tuesday a call comes through the Google Business Profile from someone who saw the firm in the map pack with a run of recent reviews mentioning boiler installs in Bristol. On Wednesday the owner uploads photos of a finished bathroom and asks that customer for a review that names the job and the town. On Thursday someone asks an AI assistant for a heating engineer near Bishopston and the firm is one of the names in the answer, partly because its details match everywhere. There is no cost per click, but there is ongoing work behind it, and it took months of pages, reviews and photos to get there.

Neither week is better. The ads week gives control and speed. The SEO week gives enquiries without paying for each click, but only after the groundwork is done. That is why so many trades use ads while SEO builds.

When Google Ads is the better call

Google Ads suits trades who need work now. A new roofing firm in Cardiff with an empty diary cannot wait for SEO to build. A good campaign can put you in front of people searching for the exact jobs you want, in the exact towns you cover, within days.

It also suits high-value or urgent jobs. Boiler installs, emergency locksmith call-outs and drain unblocking are searched by people ready to book, and being at the top when they search matters.

Ads are also the quickest way to test something. If you want to know whether loft conversions in Plymouth are worth chasing, a few weeks of well-tracked ads will tell you more than months of waiting for rankings.

The catch is that Google Ads costs money every day it runs, and a poor set-up burns budget fast. Campaigns split by job type, tight negative keyword lists, sensible location settings, call tracking and landing pages that make it easy to ring are what separate a profitable account from an expensive one. Mr Reactive, a Leeds boiler installer, saw over £22,000 of revenue in the first month from £1,200 of ad spend, but results like that come from set-up and tracking, not from budget alone.

When SEO is the better call

SEO suits trades who want to build something that lasts. Once your service pages rank and your Google profile shows in the map pack for your main towns, enquiries keep coming without a fee for every click.

It suits trades with a clear local patch. A tree surgeon covering Norwich and the villages around it, or an electrician covering Newcastle and Gateshead, can build strong visibility in that area with good pages and steady reviews.

It suits trades whose customers research before they book. Someone planning a rewire, a new roof or a heat pump reads about it first. A page that explains the job honestly, shows real photos and answers the questions people ask builds trust that an ad alone struggles to match.

It also matters more each year because of AI search. When someone asks ChatGPT for a reliable plasterer in Glasgow, the answer draws on websites, reviews and mentions it can read. Ads do not feed that. SEO does.

The catch is patience. SEO takes months, results depend on your competition, and nobody can promise you a ranking. Anyone who does should be treated with caution.

How to decide: questions to ask yourself

• How full is my diary over the next couple of months? If it is empty, you need something fast, which points to ads. If it is full, you have time to invest in SEO.
• Do my customers search in a hurry or plan for weeks? Urgent jobs reward being at the top today. Planned jobs reward pages that build trust.
• Can I answer the phone when ads are running? Paying for calls you miss is the quickest way to waste money. If you cannot answer, limit the ad schedule or arrange cover.
• Do I own my website and domain? SEO builds value in the site. If someone else owns it, that value is not really yours.
• How many good reviews do I have, and do they name jobs and towns? Reviews feed the map pack and AI answers. If you have few, start there whatever else you do.
• Can I track which calls book? Without tracking you cannot judge either channel. Sort tracking before you spend on anything.
• Do I want to grow into new towns or new services? Ads let you test quickly, then SEO can build on what works.
• How long can I wait for a return? Be honest. If cash flow is tight, SEO alone is a hard wait.

Which should you choose

Common mistakes trades make with each

Google Ads mistakes

• Using broad keywords with no negative list, so you pay for DIY searches, job hunters and trade courses.
• Sending every ad to the homepage instead of a page about the job that was searched.
• Leaving location settings on the default, which can show ads to people outside your area.
• Running ads through the night or at weekends when nobody answers the phone.
• Judging the account on clicks or cost per click rather than booked jobs.
• Switching campaigns on and off every week, so nothing settles long enough to learn from.

SEO mistakes

• Building dozens of near-identical town pages with the town name swapped. These rarely help and can look like spam.
• Choosing the wrong primary category on your Google Business Profile.
• Having a different business name, address or phone number on different directories.
• Using stock photos instead of real jobs and real vans.
• Paying for cheap links or fake reviews. Fake reviews are banned under the DMCC Act and can do lasting damage.
• Giving up after a few weeks because nothing has moved yet.

Getting started with each: step by step

Starting Google Ads

• Step one. Set up call and form tracking first, so every enquiry is linked to the search that produced it.
• Step two. Pick your main jobs and build a separate campaign or ad group for each, for example boiler repair, boiler installation and leak repair.
• Step three. Write a negative keyword list for your trade before launch, not after the money has gone.
• Step four. Set locations to people in your area, and set hours that match when you can answer.
• Step five. Send each campaign to a fast page about that job with tap-to-call at the top.
• Step six. Check the search terms report every week, block what is wasteful and mark which calls booked.

Starting SEO

• Step one. Claim and complete your Google Business Profile: primary category, services, service area, hours and real photos.
• Step two. Make your business name, address and phone number identical everywhere they appear.
• Step three. Build one clear page for each main service, answering the questions customers actually ask, with your accreditations shown.
• Step four. Add pages for the towns you really cover, each with genuine local detail and real jobs from that area.
• Step five. Ask every happy customer for a Google review that names the job and the town.
• Step six. Add schema markup, keep the site fast on a phone, and keep adding job photos and pages over time.

Why most trades end up running both

The two help each other. Ads show you which searches and towns actually book jobs, and that tells you which pages to build for SEO. Strong SEO and a good Google profile mean you can spend less on ads for the searches you already rank for and focus budget on the gaps.

Both rely on the same foundations: a fast website you own, clear service pages, tap-to-call, real job photos and reviews. Get those right once and both channels work harder.

The key is to measure them the same way. Clicks, impressions and rankings are not the goal. Booked jobs are. Track every call and form to its source, mark which ones booked, and you can see which channel is earning its keep.

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