Most marketing advice for tradies starts with percentage rules, spend 5% of revenue, follow the 70/20/10 split, allocate 60% to awareness. None of it was written for a plumber in Papakura trying to fill a quiet fortnight.
This guide skips the theory. Here is what tradie marketing on a budget actually looks like in New Zealand, broken down by what you can realistically spend and where it will have the most impact.
How much should a tradie spend on marketing?
A commonly cited starting point is 5 to 10 percent of annual revenue. For a tradie turning over $150,000 a year, that is $7,500 to $15,000, or $625 to $1,250 per month.
That figure is useful as a rough benchmark, but it tells you nothing about where to spend it. And for most NZ tradies operating below that turnover, or just starting out, 5 to 10 percent can feel unrealistic.
The more practical question is: what is the minimum viable marketing spend that actually generates leads? That depends on how established you are, how competitive your trade is in your area, and which channels you use.
Here is a breakdown by monthly budget.
Under $300 per month: free tools done properly
At this level, you are not buying paid advertising. You are building the foundations that make paid advertising work later, and that keep delivering leads for free.
Google Business Profile (free)
A verified, complete GBP listing with recent reviews and regular posts is the single most valuable asset a local tradie can have. It drives calls directly from Google Search and Google Maps without spending a dollar on ads. Most tradies set it up once and forget it. The ones who update it weekly and actively ask for reviews consistently appear at the top of the local pack.
If you do nothing else, do this.
A fast, mobile friendly website ($0 to $150/mo)
Your website is where every other channel sends people. A slow, hard to navigate site kills leads that your GBP and ads have already paid for. You do not need a complex website, you need one that loads fast, shows your services clearly, and makes it easy to call or send an enquiry.
A basic Webflow or WordPress site on a $20/mo hosting plan is enough to start.
What you will get: Steady trickle of enquiries from Google Maps and direct search for your business name. No paid leads, but a solid base to build from.
$300 to $700 per month: add Google Ads for high-intent work
This is where paid advertising starts to make sense. At $300 to $700 per month, Google Ads is the most reliable way to get in front of people actively searching for what you do right now.
Why Google Ads before anything else
Someone searching "emergency electrician Tauranga" or "blocked drain plumber Hamilton" is ready to book. They are not browsing. They are not on social media looking for inspiration. They have a problem and they want it fixed today. Google Ads puts you in front of that intent at the exact moment it exists.
What a $500/mo Google Ads budget looks like in NZ
Those numbers vary significantly by trade. Emergency trades (electricians, plumbers, locksmiths) tend to convert faster and at a lower cost per lead. Longer-consideration services (renovations, landscaping, solar) typically have a higher cost per lead but also a higher job value.
The catch: Google Ads only works if your website converts. Sending paid traffic to a slow page with no clear call to action wastes every dollar.
What you will get: A consistent pipeline of booked enquiries for your highest-intent services. This is the channel that most reliably pays for itself from week one when set up correctly.
$700 to $1,500 per month: add SEO content for long-term ranking
Once your ads are running and converting, the next investment is organic search — ranking in Google without paying per click.
SEO takes longer to show results than Google Ads (typically 3 to 6 months for new content to rank), but the leads it generates do not stop when you pause spending. A well-written service page or suburb landing page that reaches the top 3 positions can deliver leads every week indefinitely.
Where to focus SEO spend
What $300 to $500/mo of SEO spend covers
At this level you are typically getting one piece of optimised content per month plus ongoing GBP and schema management. It is not fast, but it compounds. The tradies who started investing in SEO 12 months ago are now getting organic leads their competitors are paying for.
What you will get: Gradual improvement in Google rankings for non-branded searches. After 6 months, organic traffic begins to supplement (and eventually reduce reliance on) paid ads.
$1,500 to $2,500 per month: add Meta Ads for visual trades
For trades where the work is visible, landscaping, building, bathroom renovations, painting, solar installation, Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram) can work well at this budget level.
Meta Ads work differently from Google Ads. You are not catching people at the moment they search. You are interrupting their scroll with something visually compelling. The intent is lower, which means the conversion cycle is longer, but the volume of people you can reach is much higher.
When Meta Ads make sense for tradies
When they do not
What $500/mo on Meta Ads looks like
What you will get: Top-of-funnel brand awareness and a secondary lead source for considered-purchase services. Not a replacement for Google Ads, a complement to it.
The order of operations matters
The most common mistake tradies make with their marketing budget is spending in the wrong order. They pay for social media management before they have a GBP. They run Meta Ads before their website converts. They buy SEO content before they have any paid traffic to learn from.
The order that works:
This is not a rule that applies to every trade in every market. A landscaper in a visually rich category might start Meta Ads earlier. An emergency plumber might skip Meta Ads entirely. But the sequence above is a reliable starting point for most NZ tradies.
What does Jelly Digital charge?
We offer three retainer tiers for NZ trades businesses:
Ad spend is separate from management fees. We manage the campaigns, you fund the ad account directly.
If you are not sure where to start, get in touch and we will tell you exactly what we would prioritise for your trade, your location, and your budget.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a tradie spend on marketing in NZ?
A common starting point is 5 to 10 percent of annual revenue. For a tradie turning over $150,000 a year, that is roughly $600 to $1,250 per month. At lower turnovers or tighter margins, starting with $300 to $500 per month on Google Ads alongside a free, optimised GBP listing is a more practical entry point.
What is the most cost-effective marketing for tradies?
Google Business Profile is free and delivers leads directly from Google Search and Maps, it is the highest-return marketing activity most tradies are not doing properly. After that, Google Ads for high-intent searches is the most reliable paid channel for most trades in NZ.
Should tradies use Facebook ads?
Facebook and Instagram ads work best for trades where the work is visual, landscaping, building, bathroom renovations, painting. They work poorly for emergency or same-day services where the customer needs someone immediately and won't wait to see an ad. The minimum effective budget for Meta Ads is around $30 per day.
Is SEO worth it for tradies?
Yes, but it takes time. SEO typically takes 3 to 6 months before ranking improvements become visible. The advantage over paid ads is that organic rankings do not stop delivering when you pause spending. For tradies planning to stay in business for several years, SEO is one of the best long-term investments available.
How do I know if my marketing is working?
The simplest check: ask every new customer how they found you. If the answer is consistently "Google" but you do not know whether that means your GBP, organic search, or ads, you need conversion tracking set up. Without it, you are guessing at which channels to invest in.
Ready to work out where your marketing budget should go? Talk to Jelly Digital, we work exclusively with NZ trades businesses.
