Last Updated on August 12, 2026
Roofing marketing has a timing problem that no other trade has to think about this hard.
Demand does not arrive evenly. It arrives in the 48 hours after a storm, and then it goes quiet again. Most roofers spend the same amount every month regardless, which means they are overpaying in July and invisible in November.
Here is what the numbers actually look like in 2026, from our UK roofer marketing cost research.
What roofers actually spend
| Business size | Monthly budget | What it realistically covers |
|---|---|---|
| Sole trader | £200-600 | Google Business Profile, basic site, self-managed ads |
| Small team (2-4) | £600-1,500 | Managed paid search, Checkatrade, local ads |
| Growing company (5-10) | £1,500-4,000 | Paid, SEO and content working together |
| Established company (10+) | £4,000+ | Full multi-channel with proper tracking |
Those are annual averages. The point of this guide is that you should not spend them as monthly averages.
What each channel actually costs
| Channel | DIY cost | Outsourced cost | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | £0 | £150-400 one-off | Do first |
| Before and after photos | £0 on a phone | £200-500 per session | Do first |
| Review collection | £0 | £0-50/mo | Do first |
| Website | £150-300/yr | £1,500-5,000 build | Do first |
| Google Ads | £200-400/mo | £400-800/mo managed | Build phase |
| Checkatrade | n/a | £600-1,200/yr plus lead fees | Build phase |
| MyBuilder leads | n/a | £10-30 per lead | Build phase |
| Facebook local ads | n/a | £200-600/mo | Build phase |
| Local SEO | £0 | £500-1,800/mo | Build phase |
| Van signage | n/a | £500-2,000 one-off | Build phase |
| Drone video | n/a | £200-500 per video | Scale phase |
On websites, the research is blunt. The sweet spot is £2,000-3,000. Spending more than that does not win more roofs. A £5,000 website with 3 reviews will lose to a £1,500 website with 60 reviews, every single time.
What a job actually costs to win
| Search term | Cost per click |
|---|---|
| Emergency roof repair [city] | £10-20 |
| Flat roof replacement [city] | £6-14 |
| Roofer near me | £5-12 |
| Roof repair [city] | £4-10 |
| New roof cost [city] | £3-8 |
Emergency terms are the most expensive and also the most valuable. Someone searching for emergency roof repair has water coming in. They are not comparing three quotes next week.
This is where the timing point earns its keep. Search demand for roofing peaks in the 24 to 48 hours after a storm. Shifting the same annual budget into those windows, rather than spreading it flat, produced roughly five times the lead volume in our research. Same money. Different weeks.
Set your accounts up so you can raise budgets fast. Watch the forecast the way you watch the diary.
Where to start if you have nothing to spend
The £0 starting plan
- Complete your Google Business Profile properly. Every service, every area you cover.
- Photograph every job on your phone. Before, during, after. Post them weekly.
- Ask for a Google review the day the scaffold comes down.
- List free on Bing Places, Apple Maps, Yell and FreeIndex.
- Reply to every review in your own words, including the difficult ones.
None of that costs money. All of it moves you up the map pack, which is where roofing jobs are actually won.
What to stop paying for
- A flat monthly ad budget. Roofing demand is not flat. Your spend should not be either.
- An expensive website before you have reviews. Social proof outranks design. Get to 30 reviews first.
- Lead platforms you have never audited. Work out your cost per won job. If you cannot, stop buying until you can.
- SEO retainers expecting fast results. Roofing SEO takes 6 to 12 months. If someone promises quicker, they are selling you something else.
- Leaflets with no landing page. £400 of leaflets pointing at a phone number you cannot track is £400 you will never learn from.
The bottom line
Free channels first. Reviews before web design. Then hold budget back so you can spend it hard in the days after weather, when the searches are worth the most.
Roofing is not a business where the biggest spender wins. It is one where the fastest responder does.
Not sure where your money is going?
Run a free check on your business and get specific budget recommendations.
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