29 September 2026 · 7 min read · Oscar Markham
Where a plumber's Google Ads budget actually goes
Plumbing has genuinely high-intent searches and genuinely expensive clicks, which is a combination that punishes a sloppy campaign hard. On most plumbing accounts we review, a large share of spend is going to searches that could not become a job, and the emergency terms that could are running at hours nobody can attend.
DIY is the biggest single category
'How to bleed a radiator', 'how to fix a dripping tap', 'why is my boiler losing pressure' — enormous volume, and these people are explicitly trying not to hire anyone.
Some of them give up and ring a plumber. Not enough to justify the click cost on a normal budget, and they crowd out people who have already decided to pay somebody.
- how to, diy, yourself, fix my own, tutorial, video, youtube
- what does it mean, why is my, troubleshooting, reset, error code
Parts and merchant searches
'Boiler parts', 'radiator valves', 'copper pipe price', 'immersion element screwfix' — somebody is buying materials, not labour.
There is also a steady stream of appliance searches that drift in — washing machines and dishwashers especially — which are a different trade entirely unless you do them.
- parts, spares, valve, element, screwfix, heatmerchants, wholesale, price per
- washing machine, dishwasher, appliance, fridge
Jobs, courses and registration
Plumbing is a trade people are actively trying to enter. 'Plumbing jobs', 'plumbing apprenticeship', 'RGII registration', 'plumbing course'.
Straightforward to block and frequently a meaningful share of a neglected account.
- jobs, vacancy, apprentice, apprenticeship, hiring, wage, salary, day rate
- course, training, qualification, city and guilds, registration, how to become
The wrong fuel and the wrong county
If you do not do oil, block oil. If you only work gas areas, do not pay for clicks from counties with no network.
Set locations to presence rather than presence-or-interest, and add the counties you genuinely will not travel to. This is the most common source of silent waste in trade accounts.
Run emergency terms only when you can attend
Emergency clicks are the dearest in the trade. Buying them at hours when you cannot get there until Thursday is paying top rate to lose the job to whoever could come.
Use ad scheduling honestly. If you genuinely take night calls, bid then and say so — it is much less contested. If you do not, stop paying for it.
What is worth real money
Terms with a place and an intention: 'emergency plumber [town]', 'boiler replacement [town]', 'oil boiler service [county]', 'bathroom fitter [town]', 'power flush [town]'.
Then read the search terms report weekly for the first month. Your own report is the real list; everything above is only a starting point.
Written by Oscar Markham, founder of Dublin Growth Digital. We run lead generation for Irish estate agents and trades, reported every Friday in enquiries and booked work.