Short answer: most trade businesses can tell whether their marketing is working by answering seven simple questions, about where their work comes from, what each job costs to win, and how they look on Google. If you cannot answer most of them, you are not alone, and you are probably spending money you do not need to.

Marketing for tradesmen does not need to be complicated. The firms that stay busy are rarely the ones spending the most. They are the ones who know which two or three things bring in their work and do those well. Here are the questions we go through with trade business owners, and what the answers tell you.

1. Where did your last 20 jobs come from?

Write them down: word of mouth, Google, a directory, Facebook, the van, repeat customers. Most owners are surprised. Many think their work comes from referrals, then find Google is quietly bringing in a third of it, or the other way round.

If you do not know, start asking every new customer “how did you find us?” and note it on the job sheet. A CRM makes this easy, but a notebook works.

2. What does it cost you to win one job?

Not the cost per click or per lead, the cost per booked job. Add up what you spent on a channel last month (ads, directory fees, leads you paid for) and divide it by the jobs it actually won. A channel that brings lots of enquiries but few bookings can cost far more than it looks.

3. What does a customer see when they search for you on Google?

Search for your trade and your town on your phone, the way a customer would. Are you in the map with three local businesses? How many reviews do you have against the firms above you? Is your phone number right?

In our UK Trades Google Gap 2026 study of 777 Google Maps listings for roofers, plumbers and electricians, 62.3% had fewer than 10 Google reviews and 23.3% did not appear to have been claimed by the owner. The bar is low, which means a few fixes can move you ahead quickly. Our guide to where trades show up on Google explains each part of the page.

4. Do you have a website that does its job?

Almost a third (31.7%) of the trade listings in our study showed no website. A trade website does not need to be big. It needs your phone number at the top, a page for each main service, the areas you cover, your accreditations and real photos of your work. We cover this in do trades still need a website?

5. What happens when you miss a call?

Every trade misses calls: up a ladder, under a floor, driving between jobs. The question is what happens next. If the customer gets voicemail and nothing else, many will ring the next firm on the list. A quick text back saying you have seen their call, or a system that answers for you, can win back jobs you never knew you were losing.

6. Are you asking every customer for a review?

Reviews are the clearest trust signal on Google, and the firms with the most of them are rarely doing anything clever. They ask every customer, on the day the job is finished, and send the link by text. Our post on how many Google reviews a tradesperson needs has a simple 30-day plan.

7. If you stopped paying for something tomorrow, would you notice?

This is the question that saves the most money. Directory subscriptions, lead sites, a social media package, ads nobody checks. If you cannot point to jobs it brought in, it is worth testing what happens without it, or fixing how it is set up.

What to do with your answers

Pick the two or three things that bring in your best work and make them better. For most trades that means a well-run Google Business Profile, a steady flow of reviews, a simple website, and not losing enquiries you have already paid for. Then stop, or fix, whatever is not earning its keep.

If you would rather go through this with someone, we run free 1-to-1 marketing sessions for trades. There is no sales pitch: we look at your answers together and you leave with a short plan you can act on yourself. Trade guides: plumbers, electricians and roofers.

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.