You’re pouring hard-earned cash into Google Ads, but the phone isn’t ringing. Or worse, it’s ringing, but it’s just tyre-kickers and people looking for a job.
Nothing burns a hole in a tradie’s pocket faster than a paid ad campaign that doesn’t deliver solid leads. If you’re staring at a high bill and an empty inbox, don’t scrap the campaign just yet. The problem usually hides in one of two places: the traffic you’re buying or the page they land on.
Here is a practical, no-nonsense guide to troubleshooting your low inquiries, written for Australian tradies who want results, not jargon.
Phase 1: The “Tyre Kicker” Test (Traffic Quality)
First, we need to know if you are paying for the right people to visit your site. If your ads are bringing in people who want a DIY guide or a cheap part, they will never convert into a paying job.
Check Your “Search Terms” Report
Don’t just look at the keywords you chose; look at what people actually typed into Google to find you.
- The Problem: You bid on “blocked drain,” but you paid for a click from someone searching “how to clear blocked drain DIY.”
- The Fix: Add “negative keywords” immediately. Exclude terms like DIY, how to, cheap, free, jobs, apprenticeship, salary, Bunnings, parts.
- Pro Tip: If you offer emergency services, ensure you aren’t paying for clicks from people searching for “plumbing course” or “plumber salary.”
Tighten Your Location Targeting
Australia is big. Your service radius isn’t.
- The Problem: You’re a sparkie in Parramatta, but your ads are showing up in Penrith or, worse, Perth.
- The Fix: Go to your campaign settings and check “Location Options.” Make sure you select “People in or regularly in your targeted locations,” NOT “People interested in your targeted locations.” This stops someone in Melbourne searching “electrician Sydney” (who might just be researching) from clicking your ad.
Audit Your “Ad Schedule”
- The Problem: Your ads run 24/7, but you only answer the phone from 7 AM to 5 PM.
- The Fix: If you don’t have an after-hours answering service, stop running ads at midnight. Customers who call and get voicemail move on to the next tradie in seconds. align your ads with your availability.
Phase 2: The “Leaky Bucket” Test (Landing Page)
If your ads have a high “Click-Through Rate” (CTR) (anything over 3-4% is decent for trades) but no one is calling, your website is the problem. You are filling a leaky bucket.
Speed is Critical
- The Issue: A potential client on a job site or with a burst pipe won’t wait 10 seconds for your fancy background video to load.
- The Fix: Run your page through Google’s PageSpeed Insights. If it’s red, you’re losing money. Compress images and strip out unnecessary code.
The “Grunt Test”
A visitor should be able to look at your page for 5 seconds and grunt out answers to three questions:
- What do you do?
- Where do you do it?
- How do I get hold of you?
- The Fix: Don’t hide your phone number in the footer. Put it big, bold, and clickable right at the top. Use a sticky header so the “Call Now” button follows them as they scroll down on their mobile.
Build Trust Instantly (E-E-A-T)
Google and your customers look for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
- The Problem: Your page resembles a generic template, with stock images of American construction workers.
- The Fix:
- Show, Don’t Tell: Use real photos of your branded ute, your team in uniform, and completed local jobs.
- Social Proof: Embed a widget of Google Reviews. A 5-star review from “Dave in Brisbane” is worth more than 500 words of sales copy.
- Licence Numbers: Have your QBCC, NSW Fair Trading, or relevant state licence numbers displayed clearly in the footer. Screams legitimacy.
Phase 3: The “Ghost” Inquiries (Tracking)
Sometimes, you are getting leads, but you just don’t know it.
Fix Your Conversion Tracking
- The Problem: You’re optimizing for “clicks” rather than “conversions.” A click is vanity; a lead is sanity.
- The Fix: Make sure that “Call Tracking” is turned on, so Google can count as a lead if someone calls your phone number or stays on the line for more than 60 seconds. If you are using a contact form, make sure it forwards to a “Thank You” page so you can track that particular visit as a confirmed lead.
Summary Checklist for Quick Wins
- Search Terms Review Negative keywords should be added weekly. Location settings should be reviewed: Target only the people IN your area.
- Mobile-first: Ensure your “Call Now” button works on mobile.
- Real Imagery: Replace stock photos with actual team photos.
- Speed Up: They’re gone if it loads slowly.
Troubleshooting ad performance isn’t black magic; it is about following the data and understanding human behavior.
If you’ve tightened the bolts on your campaign and patched the leaks in your website but still aren’t seeing the ROI you deserve, it might be time to bring in a specialist who speaks your language.
Ready to turn your website into a lead-generating machine? Stop guessing and start growing. Get a professional audit and a strategy that works as hard as you do. Get Your Free Strategy Session Today.
