Guide
More local leads, no ad spend
Seven channels that cost nothing but time — and the one improvement that beats all of them.
The free channels that actually produce work
In rough order of return for the effort involved.
- Google Business Profile: complete every field, add real job photos monthly, list your service area
- Reviews: ask every happy customer the day you finish, with a link ready to send
- Referrals: tell existing customers you have capacity and what work you are looking for
- Van and workwear: your number, your trade, your area, readable at 30mph
- Local Facebook groups: answer questions helpfully rather than posting adverts
- Trade partners: builders, letting agents and estate agents pass on work constantly
- Old customers: a text every spring to past clients costs nothing and fills gaps
Response speed is a marketing channel
Most trades think of leads as something you go and find. For local work, the bigger lever is what happens in the ten minutes after someone finds you.
A customer searching for an emergency plumber will call three numbers off the map. The first one to answer is generally the one who gets the job — the other two are quoting against a decision that has already been made.
So before spending anything on ads, make sure every call is answered and every enquiry gets a same-day reply. It is the cheapest conversion improvement available to a trade business.
Make your Google profile work harder
Fill in every category and service you offer, set an accurate service area, and add photos of finished work each month — profiles that are updated regularly perform better than ones left alone.
Answer questions on your profile yourself, and reply to every review, including the awkward ones. A calm reply to a bad review reassures the next customer more than a wall of five stars.
Make sure the number on your profile is one that always gets answered. A profile that generates calls you cannot take is just an expensive way to disappoint people.
Questions
What is the best free way to get trade leads?
A complete Google Business Profile with real photos and a steady flow of reviews. It is the first thing local customers see when they search, it costs nothing, and it sends enquiries straight to your phone.
How many reviews do I need?
Aim for a steady trickle rather than a target. A profile with thirty reviews spread over two years looks far more trustworthy than sixty that all arrived in one week.
Do I need a website?
A simple one helps, but it matters less than your Google profile and your response speed. A single page with your trade, your area, photos of finished work and a phone number does the job.