Hiring a marketing agency for your trade business? Read this first.
What a trades marketing agency should cost in Australia, exactly what should be in the scope, the contract clauses that trap tradies, and the questions that separate a real partner from an expensive monthly report.
- Solo / 1 van$1,000 – $3,000/mo
- 2 – 5 vans$3,000 – $8,000/mo
- 6+ vans$8,000 – $15,000/mo
- Franchise network$15,000+/mo
Plus ad spend. Setup fees of $1,500–$5,000 are common.
What a trades marketing agency should actually deliver.
If these six things aren't in the proposal, you're buying activity rather than booked jobs.
Google Business Profile management
Weekly posts, service and area optimisation, review responses. This is where the local leads live.
Google Ads managed to cost per job
Keyword and negative management, call tracking, and reporting on booked jobs rather than clicks.
Conversion-tuned website
Pricing visible, sticky phone number, short forms, plus service and suburb pages that can rank.
Review generation system
Automated review requests triggered off job completion — not a monthly reminder to ask.
Lead-response automation
Missed-call text-back, AI call answering and quote follow-up sequences. This is where most revenue hides.
Reporting you can act on
Leads, answered calls, booked jobs and cost per job. Not impressions, reach or 'engagement'.
Warning signs before you sign anything.
12-month lock-in contracts with no performance break clause
The agency owns your website, domain, Google Ads account or phone numbers
Reporting built on impressions, reach and clicks instead of booked jobs
Guaranteed #1 rankings — nobody can promise Google placement
No trades clients they'll let you speak to
Ad spend bundled into the retainer so you can't see the real media cost
Do you need an agency, or do you need the leaks fixed?
Hire an agency when…
- You already answer and follow up every lead
- You have the volume to justify $2k+/month
- You need ongoing Google Ads and SEO management
- You want creative, brand and campaign strategy
Fix the leaks first when…
- Calls go to voicemail while you're on the tools
- Quotes get sent and never followed up
- You have fewer than 30 Google reviews
- You don't know your cost per booked job
Buzzlink Connect does this part: AI call answering, missed-call text-back, review automation and quote follow-up — no lock-in, 14-day free trial.
Related guides.
Digital Marketing for Tradies
Costs, channels and the 90-day plan you can run yourself.
Read the Digital Marketing for Tradies guideTradie Advertising
Every advertising channel compared on cost, speed and ROI.
Read the Tradie Advertising guideSEO for Tradies
What good SEO looks like so you can hold an agency to it.
Read the SEO for Tradies guideGoogle Ads for Tradies
Understand the ad account you're paying someone to manage.
Read the Google Ads for Tradies guideMarketing agencies for tradies — your questions.
What does a marketing agency for tradies actually do?
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A trades marketing agency should manage your Google Business Profile and reviews, run and optimise Google Ads, build and maintain a conversion-tuned website with suburb and service pages, and set up lead-response automation like missed-call text-back and quote follow-up. If an agency only offers social posts and a monthly report, it isn't built for trades.
How much does a marketing agency cost for a trade business in Australia?
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Typical Australian retainers run $1,000–$3,000 per month for a single-van or small operation, $3,000–$8,000 for multi-van businesses, and $8,000+ for franchise networks — plus your ad spend on top. Watch for setup fees ($1,500–$5,000), lock-in contracts of 6–12 months, and who owns the website and ad account when you leave.
Should a tradie hire a marketing agency or use a platform?
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Hire an agency when you have the job volume to justify a retainer and genuinely need strategy, creative and ad management. Use a platform when your main problem is leaks — missed calls, no reviews, no follow-up — because software fixes those cheaper and faster than a retainer does. Many trades run both: a platform for capture and follow-up, an agency or specialist for ads and SEO.
What questions should I ask a marketing agency before signing?
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Ask: Do you work with other Australian trades and can I speak to two of them? Who owns the website, domain, Google Ads account and phone numbers if I leave? What's the contract term and notice period? What's my target cost per booked job? How do you track calls, not just clicks? Vague answers on ownership and tracking are the biggest red flags.
How long should I give a marketing agency before judging results?
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Google Ads should produce calls in the first week and be near target cost per job within 60 days. Google Business Profile improvements show in 4–8 weeks. SEO needs 3–6 months minimum. Judge ads on 60 days, the profile on 90, and SEO on 6 months — but insist on lead volume and cost per booked job in the reporting from month one.
Are trades-specific agencies better than general marketing agencies?
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Usually yes. Trades have a distinct sales cycle: urgent intent, phone-heavy enquiry, tight service areas and quoting. A generalist agency will often optimise for traffic and impressions rather than answered calls and booked jobs. Look for a provider who talks about cost per booked job and lead response time in the first meeting.
Get a straight answer, not a pitch.
Book a free discovery call and we'll tell you honestly whether you need an agency, a platform, or just to answer the phone.