The question every tradesperson asks
When you decide to invest in your online presence, the first question is usually: should I pay for Google Ads or invest in SEO? Both put you in front of people searching for your trade. But they work very differently, and the right choice depends on your situation.
How Google Ads work
Google Ads (formerly Adwords) lets you pay to appear at the top of search results for specific keywords. You bid on terms like "emergency plumber London" and pay each time someone clicks your ad.
The pros:
- ›You can appear at the top of results immediately
- ›You only pay when someone clicks
- ›You can set an exact budget
The cons:
- ›Clicks for trade keywords are expensive — typically £5–25 per click
- ›The moment you stop paying, you disappear completely
- ›Many users skip past ads and click organic results instead
- ›You are competing against large companies with big budgets
A typical trade business spending £500/month on Google Ads might get 30–50 clicks. If 10% convert to paying jobs, that is 3–5 customers for £500 — or £100–170 per customer acquisition. For a one-off job that might be fine. For a business trying to grow sustainably, it is expensive.
How SEO works
SEO is the process of making your website rank organically — in the non-paid results — for the keywords your customers search. It involves optimising your website, building local citations, and creating content that Google rewards with higher rankings.
The pros:
- ›Traffic is free once you rank — you do not pay per click
- ›Results compound over time — rankings tend to improve and hold
- ›Organic results get significantly more trust and clicks than ads
- ›A well-ranked page can bring in leads for years
The cons:
- ›It takes time — typically 3–6 months to see significant results
- ›It requires ongoing work to maintain and improve rankings
- ›You cannot switch it on instantly like ads
The real-world comparison
For a trade business, the long-term maths almost always favours SEO. A business that ranks on page one for "electrician Leeds" might get 200–500 visits a month from that keyword alone — completely free. At a 5% conversion rate, that is 10–25 enquiries per month, indefinitely.
Compare that to spending £500/month on ads for the same keyword. With SEO investment of £115/month, after 6 months of building rankings, the ongoing cost per lead drops dramatically compared to ads.
The smartest approach
For most trade businesses starting out, the ideal strategy is:
1. Start with SEO as the core long-term investment (Climbwise handles this for £115/month)
2. Use Google Ads sparingly for high-value emergency keywords while your SEO builds
3. Reduce ad spend over time as organic rankings kick in
By month 6–12, most businesses find their SEO is generating enough leads that they no longer need to run ads at all — saving hundreds of pounds a month while their rankings continue to grow.
The businesses that rely entirely on ads are always one budget change away from losing all their leads overnight. The businesses that have invested in SEO own their position in Google — and it is very hard for competitors to take it from them.