How much should a Perth plumber spend on Google Ads?

It's the first question every Perth plumber asks me on a strategy call: how much do I need to spend on Google Ads to make this worth it? Short answer, somewhere between $1,500 and $5,000 a month in ad spend, on top of management. Long answer is what this post is about.

The actual numbers in Perth

Plumbing keywords in Perth aren't cheap. Cost per click (CPC) on the search terms that book jobs sits roughly in this range:

• 'emergency plumber Perth', $24–$37 per click
• 'blocked drain Perth', $18–$28 per click
• 'hot water repair Perth', $20–$32 per click
• 'gas plumber [suburb]', $16–$26 per click
• '24 hour plumber Perth', $26–$40 per click

Those are real Perth metro numbers from 2025–2026 auctions. They move with seasonality (winter pushes blocked drains and hot water up) and with how aggressive your top three competitors are at any given moment.

What $1,500/mo actually buys

At $1,500/mo in spend (so $50/day), you're realistically looking at 40–80 clicks per month on the high-intent emergency keywords, or 60–100 if you mix in a couple of cheaper service categories. With a properly-tuned landing page converting at 18–28%, that's 8–22 phone enquiries a month.

Of those, maybe 60% are qualified jobs (the rest are price shoppers, out-of-area, or 'just looking'). Call it 5–13 booked jobs from $1,500 of spend. If your average job value is $400, that's $2,000–$5,200 in revenue, not blockbuster, but profitable from month one.

What $3,000/mo buys

Doubling spend doesn't double leads, it usually 1.7–1.9x's them, because you're now also bidding on slightly less perfect keywords and slightly cheaper auctions. At $3,000/mo you should land in the 18–35 phone enquiries per month range, or 11–20 booked jobs.

This is the sweet spot for most established Perth plumbers, enough volume to keep at least one van busy on Google leads alone, without overextending into low-quality clicks.

What $5,000/mo buys

$5,000/mo and up is for plumbers running 2+ vans who actually need the volume. At this level I'd typically split spend across emergency search, branded search, Local Service Ads (Google Guaranteed), and remarketing. You're looking at 35–60 phone enquiries a month, 20–35 booked jobs, and the cost-per-job starts dropping as the algorithm has more conversion data to optimise on.

The hidden cost most agencies don't mention

Ad spend is one number. Management is another. Most agencies in Perth charge $1,000–$2,500/mo to manage a Google Ads account on top of spend. That sits between you and the dollars going to Google. Forge West is $1,200/mo on Essentials, see the pricing page for the full breakdown.

How to pick your number

1. 01Work out your average job value and target cost per booked job (CPJ).
2. 02Multiply target CPJ by 8, that's roughly what you'll need to spend in month one to land a job that profitably (close ratios climb after the algorithm learns).
3. 03Start at the lower end. Watch the leads come in for 30–45 days. Scale spend up as the cost-per-qualified-lead drops.

Suburb matters too, running plumbing ads in Joondalup costs roughly 15–20% less than the central-Perth equivalent for the same intent. If you have flexibility on service area, start where the auction's cheapest. See my plumber playbook for the full keyword + landing-page approach I use.

The right number isn't the biggest one. It's the one your business can grow into without strain. If you want a quick second opinion on what your trade and area should be spending, book a call.