SEO or ads first? A plain answer for new trade businesses
If you have just gone out on your own, here is the order we would spend the first $2,000 a month.
Tess MorettiFounder and head of strategy6 min read
The short version
- Profile first, because it is free and it compounds.
- Ads second, for calls this month.
- SEO third, once cash flow is steady.
Month one: the free stuff
Claim and complete your business profile, put your number and licence on a simple website, and ask your first ten customers for reviews. None of this costs more than your time, and it sets up everything that follows.
Months one to three: buy some calls
A small, strict search campaign on one or two services brings in work while you build a reputation. Start around $40 to $60 a day, call-only ads on mobile, in the suburbs closest to home. Track every call from day one.
Month four onwards: build the asset
Once the diary is steady, start adding service and suburb pages and earning local links. SEO is slower, but rankings do not send an invoice per click. Over a year or two it usually becomes your cheapest source of work.
What we would skip early on
- Expensive branding before you have ten reviews
- Lead-selling directories that share each enquiry with competitors
- Posting on five social platforms. Pick one and show real jobs.
- Any agency contract longer than month to month
A sample first-year budget
For a solo tradie: around $700 a month for profile management and tracking, $1,200 to $1,800 in ad spend, and a $4,900 website paid off over six months. Run your own figures through the calculator to see what that could return.
Figures in this article are sample numbers for illustration.
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