How to run google ads for plumbers

Google Ads for Plumbers: A Proven Way to Get More Plumbing Leads

When I first started running Google Ads for plumbers, I realised one thing fast: most plumbing businesses are leaving money on the table. Either they’re not showing up when someone searches “emergency plumber near me,” or they’re paying way too much per lead because their campaigns are set up poorly.

Over the last few years, I’ve worked with dozens of plumbing businesses—everyone from solo tradies to large multi-van operations. And if there’s one marketing channel that consistently delivers plumbing leads when done right, it’s Google Ads.

In this article, I’ll break down why Google Ads for plumbers works so well, what mistakes to avoid, and how to build a campaign that gets your phone ringing.

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Why Google Ads Works So Well for Plumbers

Most people don’t shop around for a plumber. They search for one when something goes wrong—burst pipe, blocked drain, no hot water. When they do, they’re likely to click on one of the first results they see.

That’s where Google Ads comes in.

With Google Ads, you can:

• Appear at the very top of Google when someone searches “plumber [your city]”
• Only pay when someone clicks your ad
• Target high-intent searches like “emergency plumber Melbourne”
• Show up instantly (unlike SEO, which can take months)

For service-based businesses like plumbing, this kind of visibility is gold. You’re getting in front of someone at the exact moment they need help. If your ad and landing page are set up correctly, that’s an easy lead.

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The Cost of Running Google Ads for Plumbers

A lot of plumbers ask me: “How much do Google Ads cost?”

The truth is, it depends on your city, your competition, and how well your account is structured. But on average, plumbing businesses might pay anywhere from $10–$40 per lead, depending on:

• Your conversion rate (how many people become leads after clicking your ad)
• Your click-through rate (CTR) (how appealing your ad is)
• Your ad quality score (how relevant Google thinks your ad is)
• Your landing page experience (how fast and convincing your website is)

With the right setup, I’ve helped clients get leads as low as $40 per call. On the other hand, I’ve seen campaigns waste thousands of dollars due to poor targeting and bad landing pages.

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How to Set Up Google Ads for Plumbers (the Right Way)

If you’re going to invest money into paid ads, it’s crucial to get the foundations right. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how I set up winning Google Ads campaigns for plumbing businesses.

1. Target the Right Keywords

Use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner to find high-intent search terms. Some great plumbing-related keywords include:

• “emergency plumber [suburb]”
• “blocked drain plumber”
• “hot water repair”
• “after hours plumber”
• “local plumber near me”

Avoid broad keywords like “pipes” or “bathroom” unless they’re part of a more specific phrase. These can burn your budget fast.

2. Use Location Targeting

If you’re a plumber in Brisbane, you don’t want to show your ad to someone in Sydney. Make sure your campaign only targets suburbs and postcodes you actually service.

Pro tip: Use radius targeting for urgent call-out services and exact suburb targeting for scheduled work.

3. Write High-Converting Ads

Your ad should make it crystal clear what you offer and why someone should click. Use phrases like:

• “Available 24/7”
• “Fast response time”
• “Licensed & insured”
• “No call out fee”

Also, include call extensions so people can tap to call you straight from the ad on mobile.

4. Send Clicks to a High-Converting Landing Page

Don’t send clicks to your homepage.

Your landing page should be designed for conversion. It needs:

• A headline like “Emergency Plumber in [City] – 24/7 Fast Service”
• A clear call to action: “Call Now” or “Book Online”
• Trust signals: licenses, insurance, reviews
• Fast load time (under 3 seconds)
• Mobile-friendly design

The goal is simple: get that visitor to call or fill out a form.

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Mistakes to Avoid When Running Google Ads for Plumbers

If you’re not getting results from Google Ads, chances are one of these common issues is the culprit:

❌ Using Broad Match Keywords Only

Broad match will trigger your ad for unrelated searches. Always use a mix of Exact Match and Phrase Match, and regularly review the Search Terms Report to block irrelevant clicks.

❌ Not Using Negative Keywords

Negative keywords prevent your ads from showing for unwanted searches. If you don’t want leads for “DIY plumbing tools,” add “DIY” as a negative keyword.

❌ Ignoring Mobile Users

Most people searching for a plumber are on their phone. If your site isn’t mobile-optimized, you’re losing leads.

❌ No Call Tracking

Without call tracking, you won’t know which keywords or ads are generating leads. Use tools like Google Tag Manager, CallRail, or Twilio to track phone calls as conversions.

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Google Ads vs SEO for Plumbers

Many plumbers ask whether they should do SEO or Google Ads.

My answer: both, but Ads give you instant results.

SEO takes time. It’s powerful in the long term, but if you need leads this week, Ads are the fastest way to get them.

Over time, you should build up your organic rankings for key terms like:

• “plumber [suburb]”
• “hot water system installation”
• “gas fitting services”

But don’t wait for SEO to kick in before you start getting jobs.

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Real Results from Google Ads for Plumbers

One of our clients—a local plumber based in Melbourne—was paying $120–$150 per lead with another agency. After we rebuilt their campaign, we cut that in half within 30 days.

• ✅ Lead cost dropped to $80
• ✅ Ad spend cut by 30%
• ✅ Phone calls doubled
• ✅ Quality of leads improved (no more tire kickers)

We did this by tightening the keywords, writing better ads, and building a mobile landing page that made it easy to call.

Another plumber we worked with in Melbourne was struggling with weekend leads. We set up a separate campaign with ad scheduling and “after hours” ad copy. Result? A 35% increase in weekend callouts.

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Is Google Ads Right for Your Plumbing Business?

If you rely on your phone ringing every day to keep your team busy, then yes—Google Ads is absolutely worth it.

It works especially well for:

• Emergency services
• Blocked drains
• Hot water repairs
• Leak detection
• New home plumbing

Even if you’ve tried Ads before and it didn’t work, don’t write it off. Most of the time it just needs a better setup and more strategic targeting.

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Need Help Running Google Ads for Your Plumbing Business?

If you’re a plumber and you’re tired of relying on word-of-mouth or slow SEO, we can help.

We specialize in Google Ads for plumbers, and we’ve helped dozens of plumbing businesses around Australia grow their lead volume, cut their cost per lead, and finally get predictable jobs coming in. Most plumbers feel they don’t really have a chance to compete against those bigger companies. And that’s actually just not true, guys. You can, and will, compete against those bigger companies even with a small budget. So yes, google ads works extremely well for plumbers.

So you can see that they’re probably spending about $800 a month-ish. We can see here what keywords they’re going for.

Up here we can see their average metrics. They have 525 clicks just since the start of this month.

7.92K impressions, an average cost per click of $1.49, and a total cost of $700.81. For this client, I’ve set up call tracking because I found that the conversion tracking wasn’t working as well as we’d hoped.

This is what call tracking looks like. We’ve got the company and the tracking number.

Each of these phone numbers is set up for a different ad, so you’ve got Campaign 1, Campaign 2, Campaign 3, each with a different phone number.

As you can see, each number redirects to the main phone number, which I’ve blurred out.

This setup means I know exactly who’s calling and where they’re calling from each month.

Last week, this is what I wanted to point out. They had three real leads, but it’s actually more than that.

There were five calls in just the last week. This gives us that transparency we’re looking for.

And it also gives you the opportunity to call these people back. You might get missed calls and wonder, is this a telemarketer? Is it a call from my website? A call from my GMB listing? You have no idea without tracking.

This part that I’ve blurred out is actually their name. When I give you this log and say, “Hey, this person clicked on this ad,” you can see exactly what they clicked on. Then you know they’re interested in that specific offer, and you can call them back to chat.

With clients we’ve started doing this with, on average, out of every ten people you call back after missed calls, about two will convert, which is really good.

The third opportunity here is re-engaging these people with marketing. We’re going to do an SMS blast every month with a new offer.

For example, if you’re a plumber, think about mass-marketable offers that appeal to many people.

It can’t be an emergency service like blocked drains. I’d recommend something like heat pump hot water systems or water filtration systems.

These are popular, mass-market offers you can re-engage people with.

So, the point of Google Ads is this: maybe you’ve already run Google Ads, or maybe you have an agency managing them, but you’re just not 100% sure where the calls are coming from.

When people ask that question, they’re really questioning the value. They’re saying, “I’m paying for this service—not just the cost to Google, but the service itself.”

They want to know if it’s worth the investment. Are these ads really working?

At the end of the day, you should know who’s calling from your ads versus who’s calling from your website.

That’s valuable information to have. Re-engaging these leads immediately gives us another 20% in conversions, pushing our ads even harder for that extra reach.

This is how I run Google Ads for trades.

I’ve achieved great results with plumbing, heating and cooling, electrical, pest control—different categories.

If you’re interested in Google Ads, you’ve clicked on my page and found my offer. Congratulations.

I’d love to chat with you about how we can provide the service you’re seeking.

So please click the contact form below, and let’s talk.

Alpha Omega Digital  is a marketing agency based in Melbourne, Australia but also services clients from Sydney, Brisbane, Newcastle, Perth, Adelaide, Darwin and Hobart. Have a project in mind? Contact me here.