Last Updated on May 21, 2026
Executive Summary
Most electricians either spend nothing on marketing and rely on word of mouth, or they throw money at Checkatrade and Google Ads without knowing whether it’s working. Neither approach is sustainable.
This page breaks down what each marketing channel actually costs for UK electricians in 2026, with budget templates by business size and clear guidance on where your money should go first.
Key Takeaways
- A sole trader can run effective marketing for £200 to £500 per month. Anything less and you’re not reaching enough people. Anything more and you should be tracking ROI carefully.
- Google Ads CPCs for electrician keywords range from £3 to £18 depending on the keyword and location. Emergency terms are the most expensive but also the most profitable.
- Your Google Business Profile is free and is often the single highest-ROI marketing asset you can build. Most electricians don’t optimise it properly.
- EV charger installation is the fastest-growing search category, up 45% year-on-year. Early movers in this space are getting cheaper clicks and less competition.
- The biggest waste of money: running Google Ads without a proper landing page, paying for every Bark lead without tracking conversions, and building an expensive website before your Google Business Profile is set up.
How to Read This Page
This is a reference page, not a blog post. Jump to the section that matters to you.
If you want to know what Google Ads costs for electricians, go to Section 3. If you’re trying to build a budget, go to Section 6. If you want to know what to avoid, skip to Section 7.
All figures are in GBP and reflect UK market data as of early 2026.
Google Ads Costs
Google Ads is the fastest way to get in front of people actively searching for an electrician. But it’s also the easiest place to waste money if your targeting, landing page, or tracking aren’t right.
Cost Per Click by Keyword
| Keyword | Average CPC | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| electrician near me | £4 – £9 | Highest volume, very competitive |
| emergency electrician [city] | £8 – £18 | Most expensive, but highest conversion rate |
| EV charger installer [city] | £5 – £12 | Growing fast, competition still building |
| electrical rewire [city] | £3 – £7 | High job value, worth the cost per click |
| EICR [city] | £3 – £6 | Compliance-driven, steady demand from landlords |
CPCs vary significantly by city and competition level. London and South East typically sit at the higher end of these ranges.
Google Ads CPC by Keyword Type (£, midpoint)
What Does a Realistic Google Ads Budget Look Like?
For a local electrician targeting one city, a starting budget of £300 to £600 per month in ad spend is realistic. That gets you 30 to 80 clicks per month depending on your keyword mix, which should translate into 5 to 15 enquiries if your landing page is decent.
On top of the ad spend, you’ll need someone to manage the campaigns. A freelancer charges £200 to £500 per month. A specialist agency charges £500 to £1,000 per month for electrician campaigns.
SEO and Website Costs
SEO is the long game. It takes 3 to 6 months to see meaningful results, but once it’s working, you get leads without paying per click. For electricians, local SEO is particularly powerful because the search terms are location-specific and high-intent.
Website Costs Breakdown
| Website Option | Cost | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| DIY (Wix, Squarespace) | £150 – £300/year | Sole traders on a tight budget |
| Freelance Web Designer | £1,000 – £2,500 | Small teams wanting a professional look |
| Agency Build (WordPress) | £2,500 – £4,000 | Growing firms needing SEO-ready sites |
| Custom Build | £4,000+ | Established companies with complex needs |
Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile is free to create and maintain. But most electricians leave it half-finished. A properly optimised profile with complete services, service areas, photos of completed work, and regular posts can be the difference between showing up in the local map pack and being invisible.
If you don’t want to do it yourself, paying a freelancer £200 to £500 to set it up and optimise it properly is one of the best investments you can make. It’s free real estate on the most visited search engine in the world.
Platform and Directory Costs
Trade platforms like Checkatrade, MyBuilder, and Bark are a significant cost for many electricians. They deliver leads, but the economics vary widely depending on the platform, your area, and the types of jobs you’re quoting on.
| Platform | Annual / Ongoing Cost | Lead Pricing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Checkatrade | £600 – £1,200/year | Included in membership (varies by category) | Membership fee plus category charges. Good for brand trust. |
| MyBuilder | Variable | £5 – £15 per lead | Pay-per-lead model. You choose which jobs to quote. |
| Bark | Variable | £5 – £20 per lead | Credit-based system. Lead quality varies significantly. |
| Rated People | Variable | £5 – £15 per lead | Similar to MyBuilder. Competitive in some areas. |
The real cost of these platforms isn’t just the membership or lead fees. It’s the time spent quoting on jobs you don’t win. If you’re paying for 20 Bark leads per month at £10 each and winning 3 of them, your actual cost per customer is £67, not £10.
Budget Templates by Business Size
These templates give you a realistic starting point based on your business size. They’re not rigid prescriptions. Adjust based on what’s working, what your competitors are doing, and what types of jobs you want to attract.
Starter Budget: Under £400/month
Best for sole traders and new businesses building their first online presence.
| Item | Monthly Cost | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile (optimisation) | £0 (one-off £200-£500 setup) | Essential |
| Checkatrade membership | £50 – £100 | Recommended |
| Simple website hosting | £15 – £30 | Essential |
| Google Ads (small test budget) | £150 – £250 | Optional at this stage |
Total: £200 – £400/month. Focus on getting found locally before spending on ads.
Growth Budget: £400 – £1,500/month
Best for small teams (2-4 people) actively trying to grow their customer base.
| Item | Monthly Cost | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Google Ads (targeted campaigns) | £300 – £600 | Essential |
| Google Ads management | £200 – £500 | Recommended |
| SEO retainer | £400 – £800 | High priority |
| Checkatrade / platform fees | £50 – £100 | Ongoing |
| Website maintenance | £30 – £50 | Essential |
Total: £400 – £1,500/month. At this level you should be tracking every lead source and measuring ROI monthly.
Scale Budget: £1,500+/month
Best for growing firms (5-10 people) and established companies expanding into new areas or services.
| Item | Monthly Cost | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Google Ads (multi-campaign) | £600 – £2,000 | Essential |
| Google Ads management (agency) | £500 – £1,000 | Essential |
| SEO retainer (advanced) | £800 – £1,500 | Essential |
| Content and social media | £200 – £500 | Recommended |
| Platform fees | £100 – £200 | Ongoing |
| Website and CRM | £50 – £150 | Essential |
Total: £1,500 – £3,000+/month. At this level you should have proper conversion tracking, a CRM, and monthly reporting.
Monthly Marketing Budget by Business Size (£)
Budget Priority Order
- First: Google Business Profile. Free to set up, highest ROI for local electricians. Do this before anything else.
- Second: A simple, mobile-friendly website with your services, areas, and reviews. £1,000 to £2,500 is enough.
- Third: Checkatrade or one trade platform as a secondary lead source. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
- Fourth: Google Ads targeting emergency and high-value keywords in your area. Start small and scale what works.
- Fifth: SEO retainer for long-term organic growth. This pays for itself over 6 to 12 months.
Red Flags and Wasted Spend
These are the most common ways UK electricians waste their marketing budget. If any of these apply to you, fixing them will save you more money than any new campaign.
- Paying for every Bark lead without tracking. If you don’t know which leads turn into paying jobs, you can’t measure your cost per customer. Most electricians who track properly find that 60% or more of their Bark credits are wasted on leads that never convert.
- Running Google Ads without a landing page. Sending paid traffic to your homepage is like paying for customers to walk into a building with no signs. Every Google Ads campaign should point to a dedicated landing page with a clear call to action, your phone number, and trust signals like reviews and accreditations.
- No emergency keyword targeting. Emergency searches convert at the highest rate and command the highest job values, but most electricians don’t target them because the CPC looks expensive. A £15 click that turns into a £250 callout is a 16x return. That’s not expensive.
- Building an expensive website before Google Business Profile. A £4,000 website without a Google Business Profile is like having a beautiful shop on a street with no footfall. The profile drives map visibility and local search results. Build that foundation first.
- Paying an agency without seeing reports. If your marketing agency can’t show you exactly how many leads came from each channel and what they cost, you’re paying for a black box. Insist on monthly reports with lead source, cost per lead, and cost per customer.
- Ignoring EV charger keywords. EV charger installation searches are up 45% year-on-year and competition is still relatively low. Electricians who establish themselves in this space now will have a significant advantage as demand continues to grow.
Offline Marketing Costs
Digital marketing gets most of the attention, but offline assets still matter for electricians. Your van is a moving billboard. Your uniform builds trust. These are one-off costs that keep working for years.
| Item | Cost | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Van Signage (partial wrap) | £300 – £800 | One-off | Good value. Visible daily across your service area. |
| Van Signage (full wrap) | £800 – £1,500 | One-off | More professional look. Lasts 3 to 5 years. |
| Branded Uniform | £200 – £500 | One-off | Polo shirts, fleeces, hi-vis. Builds customer confidence. |
| Business Cards | £30 – £80 | One-off | Leave-behinds for customers. Include Google review link. |
| Leaflet Drop (per 1,000) | £80 – £200 | Per campaign | Works in targeted areas. Response rates are typically low. |
The smartest offline move is making sure your van signage includes your phone number, website, and a mention of your key services. A van parked on a residential street while you’re working is free advertising to every neighbour who walks past.
Methodology
This page is based on a combination of publicly available UK market data, platform pricing, Google Ads benchmarking data, and agency fee research.
Sources include:
- Google Ads Keyword Planner data for UK electrician search terms (2025-2026)
- Published pricing from Checkatrade, MyBuilder, Bark, and Rated People
- Publicly listed pricing from UK web design agencies and SEO providers
- Google Ads benchmarking data for the home services vertical in the UK
- Trade supplier pricing for van signage, uniforms, and print materials
- Community-sourced cost data from UK electrician forums and professional networks
CPC figures represent typical ranges for UK-targeted Google Search Ads campaigns. Actual costs will vary by location, competition, quality score, and time of day. London and South East campaigns typically fall at the higher end of the ranges shown.
Budget templates are guidelines, not prescriptions. Your optimal budget depends on your location, competition, target job types, and business goals.
This page is updated periodically. If you spot something outdated, let us know.
About Whito
Whito helps UK businesses figure out what’s working and what’s not in their marketing. We’re not an agency and we don’t manage marketing campaigns for electricians.
We publish independent research, tools, and audits designed to give business owners the information they need to make better decisions about where to spend their marketing budget.
We built this page because too many electricians waste money on marketing they don’t understand and can’t measure. Whether you’re a sole trader spending £200 a month or a growing firm investing £3,000, you deserve to know what’s reasonable, what’s a rip-off, and what’s actually likely to work.
Learn more at whito.co.uk