To choose a marketing agency for your trade business, ask five things before you sign: who owns the Google Ads account and Business Profile, how long the contract runs, how results are reported, what is included each month, and how your ad spend is paid. The right agency gives clear, written answers to all five: the accounts are in your name, you can leave on short notice, you see cost per booked job rather than clicks, and every pound of ad spend goes straight to Google.

This guide is written for plumbers, electricians, roofers, heating engineers, builders and other UK trades. If you run a different kind of business, our broader guide to choosing a digital marketing agency covers the general questions.

Why is choosing an agency harder for a trade business?

Most trades judge an agency between jobs, often after a quiet month, when it is easiest to sign up for something that measures the wrong thing. Trade marketing also has its own quirks: emergency work is won in minutes by whoever answers first, while planned work is won over weeks by whoever looks most trustworthy. A good trades agency plans your budget around both.

Who should own your Google Ads account and Business Profile?

You should. Whoever owns the accounts owns your history, your data and, in practice, your ability to leave.

• Google Ads: Google’s help page About access levels in your Google Ads account explains that Admin is the level that can give account access and change access levels. Make sure you, not the agency, hold Admin access; Google recommends adding at least one more admin as well.
• Google Business Profile: Google’s page Manage your Business Profile owners and managers says a profile has only one primary owner, and that managers cannot add or remove users or remove the profile. You should be the primary owner. An agency can do everything it needs to as a manager.
• Website, domain and analytics: the domain should be registered to your business, and you should have your own login to the website and to Google Analytics.

Ask for this in writing before any work starts.

What contract terms are fair?

Long minimum terms protect the agency, not you. Ask what the minimum term and notice period are, whether there are exit or set-up fees, and what happens to your accounts and data on the day you leave. Short, rolling terms with no exit fees are a good sign. The fair exception is a website build paid in instalments over a few months, as long as you own the finished site.

How should an agency report results to a tradesperson?

Clicks, impressions and “reach” do not pay wages. The number that matters to a trade business is cost per booked job: what you spent on marketing, divided by the jobs that actually went in the diary.

Ask how they will track calls and form enquiries and find out which became booked work. For context, our own research in the State of UK Trade Marketing 2026 Report found well-managed Google Ads delivering roughly £60 to £110 per booked job depending on the trade, with the full breakdown on our Google Ads for UK trades page. Your own figure will depend on your trade, area and how quickly you answer the phone.

Want to know where your business shows on Google?

Before you speak to any agency, see what a customer sees. We will search for your trade in your area, show you the results and tell you the three things we would fix first. It is free, with no obligation.

Get your free Google check or call 07749 941111.

How should your ad spend be paid?

Your ad spend should be paid by you, directly to Google, on a card or account in your business’s name. The agency’s fee should be separate and stated clearly.

Be wary of packages that bundle ad spend and management into one figure: you cannot see how much reached Google or whether it was marked up. Percentage-of-spend fees also give an agency a reason to recommend spending more, whether or not it brings in more booked jobs.

Does the agency understand your trade?

A trades specialist should know your work without being told. Good signs:

• They ask which jobs you want more of (and which you would rather not do), not just how many leads you want.
• They know your seasons: heating engineers before winter, roofers after storms, landscapers in spring.
• They can explain Google Local Services Ads and the Google Verified badge, and they are honest that Google decides who passes verification. Nobody can promise you the badge.
• They ask how quickly you answer enquiries and what happens to missed calls, because that often matters as much as the ads.

For an example of what trade-specific work looks like, see our marketing agency for plumbers page.

What questions should you ask a marketing agency before you sign?

Take this list into every call and write the answers down:

1. Will the Google Ads account, Business Profile, website and domain be in my name, with me as Admin or primary owner?
2. What is the minimum term and notice period? Are there exit fees?
3. Exactly what will you do each month?
4. How will you track calls and enquiries, and will you report cost per booked job?
5. Is my ad spend paid directly to Google? Do you mark it up or take a percentage?
6. Which trades have you worked with, and can you show results you are allowed to share?
7. How long before I should expect to see enquiries from each channel?

What are the red flags?

• Guaranteed rankings or “number one on Google”. Nobody controls Google’s results.
• Promising the Google Verified badge. Google runs the checks and makes the decision.
• Accounts set up in the agency’s name. You may lose your history and data when you leave.
• Reports full of clicks and impressions but nothing about calls, enquiries or booked jobs.
• Fake or bought reviews offered as a quick fix. Google’s Maps content policy prohibits reviews that have been paid for, and they put your profile at risk.

Frequently asked questions

How long should I give an agency before judging results?

Paid search and Local Services Ads can bring enquiries soon after they go live, once any verification is complete. SEO usually takes months rather than weeks. Ask the agency to set out what you should see, and when, before you start.

Can I switch agency without losing my Google Ads history?

Yes, if the account is in your name and you hold Admin access. You simply remove the old agency’s access and invite the new one. If the agency owns the account, switching can mean starting again.

How Unavoidable Marketing answers these questions

We are a Leeds agency that helps UK trades and local service businesses win work through Google Local Services Ads, SEO and paid search. You own your website, Google Ads account and data. We charge a flat monthly fee, quoted after a free call, with no percentage of ad spend. Our monthly services run on rolling 30-day terms with no exit fees, and your ad spend is paid by you directly to Google and never marked up. We report what each pound brought in, not clicks or impressions.

If you would like to put these questions to us, get in touch or call 07749 941111.

Not sure where your business stands on Google?

We will search for your trade in your area, show you what a customer sees and tell you the three things we would fix first. It is free, with no obligation.

Get your free Google check or call 07749 941111.

Let’s make you Unavoidable.

About the author: Andrew Heppinstall is the founder of Unavoidable Marketing, a Leeds agency that helps UK trades and local service businesses win work through Google Local Services Ads, SEO and paid search. His article “What makes Google ads effective?” appeared on the Business Matters page of PHAM News in September 2026.