Google Ads

Google Ads management aimed at calls and quote requests

Google Ads management for trades and local service businesses. Call-focused campaigns, a tight area, and reporting that talks about enquiries rather than clicks alone.

48 five-star Google reviews · Stockton-on-Tees · Simon Hogben, 25+ years in sales and marketing

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For trades that need the phone ringing

Google Ads is the part of the system you use when you want to be in front of people who are searching now. A roofer after a run of storms, a heating engineer in autumn, a plumber covering emergency call-outs: the searches are happening this week. Local SEO is still worth doing, and it takes longer. Google Ads can start bringing local enquiries within the first week when the campaign is pointed at people who are ready to hire.

LeadForge Marketing runs this for UK trades and other local service businesses, from our base in Stockton-on-Tees. We also work with local service businesses in the US, Canada and Ireland. The targeting changes. The aim is the same: pay for searches that match a job you can take, and leave the rest alone.

The campaigns stay local. The searches, the area and the page are aimed at jobs you can actually take, so the budget is pointed at calls and quote requests rather than unrelated clicks.

What management includes

An account audit if you already advertise, or a clean build if you do not. The account stays in your name.
Keyword and negative research around the jobs you want, including the searches that look related and are not.
Call-focused ads: call assets, and call-only ads where the aim really is the phone rather than a form.
Location and schedule targeting, so you are not paying for clicks from towns you do not cover, or from hours when nobody will answer.
A page to send the click to, one that can take a quote request on a phone. That is the websites and landing pages work.
Conversion and call tracking, so a click is not counted as success.
Monthly optimisation and reporting: spend, enquiries, and booked outcomes where the data is available.

Performance Max is a Google campaign type that mixes placements. We use it when it fits a local trade account.

Management fee and ad spend

These are different bills. Ad spend is paid to Google, on a card you control. The management fee is what you pay LeadForge Marketing to run the account. Every trade and area is different, so we recommend a budget from the searches and the competition in your area, on a short call.

There is no long contract. We work on simple monthly agreements. We recommend at least three months so there is enough data to see which searches are worth keeping. There is no penalty for leaving. If an old agency owns the login, sorting that out is part of the first conversation, not a surprise in month three.

Local Services Ads

Local Services Ads are not the same as a normal search campaign. You pay per lead rather than per click, and the ad sits in its own unit for eligible home services. Google checks the business before it can run. That check usually involves the Google Business Profile, insurance, and any licence the trade is supposed to hold. Google has used a verified badge on these ads. Whether your trade can apply, and what they ask to see, is Google's decision and it changes.

In the UK, the trades people ask us about most often are plumbers, electricians, heating and air conditioning, roofers, and similar home services. If your trade is on the list, verification still takes time. Plan for several weeks, not an afternoon, and expect to gather documents. If your trade is not eligible, ordinary Google Ads is the route, alongside local SEO.

We can set up and manage Local Services Ads where you are eligible. If Google declines the application, ordinary search ads are still there alongside local SEO.

The profile has to be in good order first. A suspended or unverified listing blocks this route. Google Business Profile management sits inside local SEO. Google makes the reinstatement decision, and we do not promise one.

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Tracking that shows enquiries

Clicks are easy to count and easy to waste. The reporting is there to show campaign spend, enquiries, and booked outcomes where the data is available. That means call tracking or a form that actually reaches you, and a pipeline so each enquiry can be followed up. The homepage describes that follow-up: an alert straight away, then email and text.

Cost per lead depends on your trade and your area. On the call we look at what you spend now, if you already advertise, and what the account is producing.

How this fits the other services

Ads send people to a listing or a page. If the Google Business Profile is wrong, or the site does not match the ad, the click is a poor introduction. Local SEO is the longer-term work aimed at being visible when you are not paying for every click. Use the services hub if you are still choosing where to start.

The reviews page has 48 five-star Google reviews, in the clients' own words. Read them on the reviews page to see how clients describe the work.

Call 01642 053779 or book a discovery call. We will tell you if ads are the wrong tool.

Questions we get asked

How much should I spend on Google Ads?

It depends on the trade, the area and how many competitors are bidding on the same searches. Ad spend is paid to Google, and it is separate from our management fee. On the discovery call we look at the searches that would actually lead to a job and recommend a budget from there.

How soon can Google Ads start bringing enquiries?

Google Ads can start bringing local enquiries within the first week, when the offer, the area and the page or the call ad are in decent shape. SEO takes longer. Many clients start to see movement within 60 to 90 days, but no one can guarantee Google rankings. Ads are there for businesses that want to be visible while that work is underway.

What's your management fee and is ad spend separate?

Yes, they are separate. You pay Google for the clicks or, with Local Services Ads, for the leads. You pay us to build and look after the account. Every account is different, so we explain the management fee on the discovery call, along with what it covers. There is no obligation to go ahead.

Do I own my Google Ads account?

Yes. The account should be in your name, on an email you control. We ask for access so we can manage campaigns. If an old agency built the account inside their own login, we would rather move you to an account you own than leave you stuck. Billing to Google can stay on your card.

What are Local Services Ads and is my trade eligible in the UK?

Local Services Ads are pay-per-lead ads that appear for some home-service searches, separate from ordinary search ads. Eligibility depends on the trade and on Google's checks, which often include the Google Business Profile, insurance and licences. Plumbers, electricians, heating engineers, roofers and similar trades are the usual UK examples, but Google's list changes and they make the decision. We can tell you on the call whether it is worth applying.

Do you lock me into a contract?

No. We work on simple monthly agreements. You stay because you want to, not because you are locked in. We recommend at least three months so there is time to see which searches are worth keeping. There is no penalty for leaving.

How do you stop wasted clicks?

We start with the searches that match jobs you want, then add negatives for the ones you do not: DIY, jobs outside your area, careers pages, and irrelevant trades. Location and schedule settings keep ads inside the places you cover and the hours you can answer. We read the search terms and the call outcomes in the monthly reporting, and we cut what is not turning into enquiries.