Meta ads agencies vs Google Ads agencies for trades
The first decision is not which agency but which channel. Google catches a homeowner who already wants a plumber; Meta interrupts someone who did not know they wanted a new driveway until the video played. Most trades agencies lean one way. Here are six, sorted by where they put their weight.
Intent versus interruption
Google Ads and Local Services Ads serve people typing 'emergency electrician Leeds' at 9pm. The lead is hot but the click is expensive and the pool is finite. Meta ads reach people scrolling, so the pool is enormous and the clicks are cheap, but the lead needs qualifying and the sale takes longer.
Emergency and repair trades tend to do better on Google. Visual, discretionary, high-ticket work such as driveways, extensions and glazing tends to do better on Meta. Many firms need both, and the agency's bias shows in how it reports: rankings and calls for Google shops, cost per lead and appointments for Meta shops.
We grouped the six agencies below as Google-led, Meta-led or blended, then noted the trades each says it serves. For a fuller view of the Meta-only field see Facebook ad agencies for trades compared.
1. Local Leads Accelerator
Best for: Electricians wanting map-pack visibility plus Local Services Ads
Local Leads Accelerator is Google-led. Its services are local SEO and map pack work, Google Local Services Ads, conversion-focused websites, missed-call text-back with automated follow-up and lead tracking, delivered as a 12-week programme. Electricians are the primary trade, with joinery, cleaning, waste removal and exterior services alongside.
Its line is 'clicks don't pay the bills, jobs do', and it measures cost per booked job. Case studies show before-and-after rankings for a cleaning firm and a carpentry business in Manchester and Kent. Pricing is not published.
There is no Meta offer at all, which is consistent with the electrician focus: a tripped fuse board is a search query, not a scroll.
2. Roofing SEO Services (SEO Consultancy Ltd)
Best for: Roofers wanting one SEO specialist with published prices and town exclusivity
Roofing SEO Services, run by Dr M Mansoor Siddique from East Ham, is organic Google only: Google Business Profile and map pack, local SEO with postcode town pages, citations, UK link building, technical SEO, review management and call and form tracking. Roofing website design is sold separately.
Packages run from £499 to £2,599 a month depending on local competition, with no setup fee, rolling monthly on 30 days' notice and the client keeping all assets. One roofer per town is written into the agreement, and the firm reports on booked jobs rather than traffic. It has operated since 2012.
No paid ads on either platform. For a roofer who wants Meta as well, this would be the SEO half of a two-agency setup. We profile the firm in who is Roofing SEO Services.
3. Home Improvements Digital Marketing
Best for: Established renovation and extension builders in Scotland
Ben Laing's Home Improvements Digital Marketing is blended but Google-weighted. Services include SEO, Google Ads, authority video content, multiple conversion-focused websites, social media marketing, reputation management, lead filtering and monthly strategy and reporting.
It works with extension and renovation builders, kitchen and bathroom fitters, multi-trade firms, loft and garage conversion companies and asbestos removal, and explicitly rejects high volumes of random leads in favour of quality enquiries. Case studies in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Fife show revenue-growth style results.
Packages are tiered and named but unpriced. Paid social sits inside a broader system rather than being the headline. More in who is Home Improvements Digital Marketing.
4. JDR Group
Best for: Larger home improvement companies wanting HubSpot-driven inbound
Derby-based JDR Group is the broadest of the six: inbound and content marketing, SEO, Google Ads, paid social, email automation, HubSpot CRM implementation, web design, CRO and sales training. It grew out of business coaching and calls itself the UK's leading inbound agency for home improvement businesses and a top HubSpot partner.
Trades served include kitchen and bathroom designers, window and door specialists, garden room providers, landscapers, hot tub companies, renewable energy installers and builders. It publishes traffic and revenue results for a B2C home improvement company. Pricing is behind a consultation.
Both channels are available, but the emphasis is on the inbound machine around them: content, CRM and sales process. That suits showroom businesses more than a sole trader.
5. One Base Media
Best for: Trades wanting a full-service benchmark across site, SEO and PPC
One Base Media in Leigh-on-Sea has been running since 2012 and lists web design, SEO, Google Ads and PPC, exclusive job lead generation and branding, plus free educational content on YouTube, a podcast and a blog. Its trade list is the longest here, from roofers and landscapers to solar installers, double glazing and tree surgeons.
It says leads are exclusive, claims to have helped over 1,000 local trades businesses, and highlights awards and Google Partner status. Pricing is one monthly payment with no contracts, with figures on a separate pricing page. The case study library is large.
Google is clearly the paid channel; Meta does not feature in the services list. Our profile is at who is One Base Media.
6. ServiceLeads
Best for: Kitchen fitters and high-ticket trades wanting a Meta-only specialist
ServiceLeads, from Cornwall, is the one Meta-led agency in the set. It offers Meta ads management, offer and lead-form qualification design, funnel planning, weekly creative testing, tracking with lead-quality feedback and white-label fulfilment for other agencies.
The fee is a flat £750 a month plus ad spend paid direct to Meta, with a 30-day guarantee of a set number of qualified homeowner enquiries or no management fee. The client owns the ad account. Anonymised results with cost-per-lead figures are published. Kitchen fitters are the headline trade, with roof repair and windows alongside.
No Google Ads, no SEO. It is the mirror image of Local Leads Accelerator.
Channel fit by agency
The table records what each agency's own site says it does. 'Both' means both channels are listed, not that they are weighted equally.
| Agency | Primary channel | Meta ads | Google Ads / LSAs | Organic SEO | Fee published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Leads Accelerator | No | LSAs | Yes | No | |
| Roofing SEO Services | Organic Google | No | No | Yes | Yes, £499 to £2,599 |
| Home Improvements Digital Marketing | Blended | Social media | Yes | Yes | No |
| JDR Group | Blended | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| One Base Media | No | Yes | Yes | Separate page | |
| ServiceLeads | Meta | Yes | No | No | Yes, £750 |
Which channel, and therefore which agency
If your phone rings mostly for emergencies, boiler breakdowns, lockouts or leaks, choose a Google-led agency. Local Leads Accelerator for electricians, One Base Media for broad coverage, Roofing SEO Services if you are a roofer who wants organic only.
If your work is discretionary and visual, resin, glazing, kitchens, garden rooms, a Meta-led agency such as ServiceLeads will usually find cheaper leads, provided you can qualify them. Our piece on lead quality against lead volume covers that trade-off.
If you are an established company with a sales team, a blended agency such as JDR or Home Improvements Digital Marketing stops you having to coordinate two suppliers. Whatever you pick, make sure the report shows jobs, not clicks: see what a good monthly report looks like.
Frequently asked questions
Can one agency run both Meta and Google well?
Some can. JDR Group and Home Improvements Digital Marketing list both. Specialists such as ServiceLeads and Local Leads Accelerator deliberately do one channel, which can mean deeper skill but a second supplier if you need both.
Is Google Ads more expensive than Meta for trades?
Per click, usually yes, because you are bidding on explicit intent. Per booked job the gap narrows or reverses for emergency trades. Treat any figure as a worked example until you have your own data.
Should a roofer be on Meta or Google?
Both have a case. Roof repairs are search-led; re-roofs and new flat roofs respond well to Meta video. Roofing SEO Services covers the organic side, ServiceLeads lists roof repair for Meta.
Does organic SEO replace paid ads?
It reduces dependence on them over time but is slow to start. Roofing SEO Services and One Base Media sell SEO alongside or instead of ads for that reason.