Most plumbing owners can tell you what they spend on marketing, but not what it returns. We fix that first by measuring every channel on cost per booked job, then move money toward what earns it. The work can be run by the Trades.Agency team under your plan, or we can oversee the provider you already have.
What it is and who it is for
Marketing strategy and oversight is about decisions, not activity: which channels, how much, measured how. It suits owners who:
- Pay for ads, a website and perhaps a lead service, and can't say which one paid off.
- Get reports full of impressions and clicks, but no booked jobs.
- Rely on word of mouth and want a second source of work that they control.
- Are adding a service line, such as drain cleaning, water heaters or backflow testing, and need demand for it.
The channels that usually matter for plumbers
Plumbing demand splits into urgent work (a burst pipe, no hot water, a blocked drain) and planned work (a bathroom rough-in, a repipe, a water heater upgrade). Each channel suits one more than the other.
| Channel | Best for | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | Urgent local searches | Calls from the profile, review count and recency |
| Local Services Ads | Urgent jobs in a set area | Cost per booked job, disputed leads |
| Search ads | Urgent and high-value planned work | Search terms, call quality, after-hours coverage |
| Website and service pages | Both, and every other channel | Calls and texts per visit, page speed on phones |
| Reviews | Winning the comparison | Steady flow, replies, mentions of specific jobs |
| Past-customer follow-up | Maintenance and repeat work | Consent records, response rate |
For past-customer messages by email or text, Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation requires consent, sender identification and a working way to opt out. Read the CRTC's own guidance; this is a summary, not legal advice.
Measuring cost per booked job
The single most useful number is cost per booked job by channel. We set up call tracking with a separate number per channel, tag every booked job with its source, and compare.
An illustrative example: a channel costing $3,000 a month that produces 60 calls, of which 30 are booked, costs $100 per booked job. If your average gross profit per job is $350, that channel works. A second channel at $2,000 with 12 booked jobs costs about $167 per job, still workable. A third producing 4 booked jobs for $1,500 costs $375 per job and loses money. Without tracking, all three look like "marketing".
Strategy that fits a plumbing company
The plan follows the business, not the other way round:
- Capacity first. No point buying 50 more calls a month if your plumbers are booked three weeks out. Hiring may come before ads.
- Job mix. Push the work with the healthiest margin, often water heaters, drain work and planned replacements, rather than every small repair.
- Geography. Target the areas your vans can reach quickly; a long drive turns a profitable job into a marginal one.
- Season. Freeze-ups, spring thaws and basement flooding change demand by region. Our province and territory pages describe the climate patterns.
What is included, and the timeline
- Weeks 1–3: audit of website, Google Business Profile, ad accounts, reviews and tracking; ownership of every account confirmed.
- Weeks 3–6: call tracking and job-source tagging in place; baseline cost per booked job.
- Weeks 6–12: budget moved between channels; underperformers fixed or cut.
- Ongoing: monthly report on cost per booked job, gross profit by channel and recommended changes.
How results are measured
We report booked jobs, cost per booked job, gross profit per job by channel and answer rate, side by side. In results from our HVAC work, CanroHeat.ca saw 250% lead growth and BCWide.ca tripled leads in 90 days; those are heating-trade results, and the results page explains what transfers to plumbing.
Mistakes to avoid
- Judging channels on leads instead of booked jobs. Cheap leads that never book are expensive.
- Accounts in the agency's name. You lose your history when you leave.
- Running ads when the phone isn't answered. Fix call handling first.
- One giant "plumbing" campaign. Separate urgent and planned work; they behave differently.
To review your own marketing numbers, call, text or email.
Frequently asked questions
We already have a marketing agency. Can you still help?
Yes. Oversight is often the most useful thing we do: we set up tracking, read the reports with you, and tell you plainly whether the money is earning its keep. Your agency keeps doing the work if it is performing.
What should a plumbing company spend on marketing?
Start from what you can afford to pay for a booked job, based on your gross profit per job and your close rate, then multiply by the jobs you want. A percentage of revenue is a sanity check, not a starting point.
Can you promise a number of leads?
No. Nobody honest can. We show you what similar work produced in our HVAC results, explain the maths behind the plan, and report what actually happens every month.
Who owns the ad accounts and website?
You should. We set accounts up in your company's name, or move them there, so you keep the data and history whoever you work with.
Sources
- CRTC: Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation FAQ (2026-10-22)