The short answer: NZ tradies get the most leads online by doing four things in order: a properly set-up Google Business Profile, a simple website with a page for each job they do, a routine for collecting Google reviews, and then Google Ads to fill the gaps. The first three are mostly free or one-off costs and keep working for years. Ads are the tap you turn on when you want more work this week.

Here’s how to work through it without wasting money.

1. Start with your Google Business Profile (free)

When someone searches “plumber near me” or “builder Whangarei”, the three businesses in the Google Maps box get most of the calls. Getting in there starts with your Business Profile: the right category, every service listed, your service areas set, real photos, and regular posts. It costs nothing but time, and for many tradies it brings in more calls than their website.

I’ve written a full walkthrough here: how to show up on Google Maps.

2. Get a website that does one job: get people to call

Even referrals look you up before they ring. A tradie website doesn’t need to be fancy. It needs:

A page for each type of job you want more of (decks, re-roofs, hot water, drainage).
Photos of your real work, not stock images.
Your phone number at the top of every page, with click-to-call on mobile.
A short quote form that asks only what you need.
The towns and suburbs you cover, written into the pages.

That’s what gets you found on Google and gets people to pick up the phone. More on that in our website packages.

3. Ask every happy customer for a Google review

Reviews do two jobs: they help you rank in the Maps box, and they convince the person comparing you to two other tradies. The trick is to ask at the right moment — when the job’s finished and the customer is pleased — and to send a direct link by text so it takes them 30 seconds.

Make it part of the job. If you finish five jobs a week and half of those customers leave a review, you’ll have 100+ reviews within a year.

4. Track where your calls come from

Before you spend anything on ads, make sure you can see what’s working. Set up call and form tracking on your website, and check your Business Profile insights each month. Otherwise you’re guessing.

5. Turn on Google Ads when you want more work now

Google Ads put you at the top of the search results for people who need your trade right now. You pay per click, so the key is targeting tightly: only the jobs you want, only the areas you service, and only the hours you can answer.

Done well, the numbers can be strong. For Pack My Home, an Auckland removals company, we rebuilt the site and the ads behind it, and cost per lead dropped from $42.33 to $19.08 — now over 70 leads a month. Done badly, ads just burn money on the wrong suburbs and the wrong searches.

The order matters. Run ads at a weak website and you pay for clicks that don’t turn into calls. Fix the foundation first.

6. Don’t let the leads go cold

The fastest tradie to call back usually wins the job. If you can’t answer while you’re on the tools, set up a way to catch those calls: a missed-call text back, or an AI receptionist that answers, takes details and books the job.

What about Facebook and Instagram?

Social media is good for showing your work and staying top of mind with locals, but most people who need a tradie urgently go to Google, not Facebook. Treat social as a bonus, not your main lead source.

Where to start this week

Spend an hour on your Google Business Profile.
Text your last ten happy customers a review link.
Look at your website on your phone. Can you call in one tap? Is there a page for the job you want more of?

If you’d rather have it done for you, get a free Game Plan. I’ll look at where your leads come from now and show you what I’d fix first.