Do Facebook Ads Actually Work for Local Businesses?

Yes, no, and it depends. That's the truthful answer, and I'd be wary of anyone who gives you a cleaner one. Facebook ads work brilliantly for some trades and some jobs, and they're a waste of money for others. The trick is knowing which one you are before you spend anything, and it really does come down to a single idea.

Google catches demand. Facebook has to make it.

When somebody searches "emergency electrician Nottingham", they already know they need a sparky. Google's whole job is to put you in front of them at that moment. Easy.

Nobody opens Facebook wanting an electrician. They're looking at their mate's holiday photos and a video of a dog on a skateboard. Your ad has to barge in and plant an idea they weren't having thirty seconds ago. That's a much harder trick, and it suits completely different work.

When I'd genuinely push you towards Meta

Facebook and Instagram earn their keep when the work is something people didn't know they wanted until they saw it. Garden rooms, resin driveways, log burners, kitchen resprays, landscaping — nobody searches for these until a photo puts the idea in their head. Which is the other thing: it has to photograph well. Honestly, a good before-and-after shot is the best-performing thing we run for trades, full stop. If your work looks dramatic in a picture, Meta's worth a go.

It also suits the slower, bigger decisions. Nobody books an extension on a whim, and Meta lets you keep quietly showing up over the weeks somebody spends mulling it over. And if you only cover three towns, you can target a handful of postcodes for very little, which is perfect for filling a quiet fortnight that's coming up in the diary.

When Google wins and it's not close

Emergencies, every time. Nobody with a burst pipe is scrolling Instagram — they search and they ring. Same with the boring-but-necessary stuff: gas safety certs, EICRs, servicing. People buy those when they need them, not because they saw a nice photo. Anything with a deadline attached, landlord certificates and the like, is Google's all day long.

If most of your work is on that list, put your money into Google and treat Facebook as a maybe. I go through picking the right Google searches in which keywords are actually worth bidding on.

Why most trades' Facebook ads flop

It's nearly always one of three things, and I see them constantly.

First, the photo's rubbish. A stock image of a grinning bloke in a hard hat gets scrolled straight past. A real photo of a job you finished last week does not. Use your own pictures, even the ones off your phone — especially the ones off your phone.

Second, the ad asks for too much too soon. "Call now for a quote" is a big leap for somebody who wasn't thinking about you a moment ago. "Send us a photo and we'll give you a rough price" is a much smaller step, and you'll get ten times the replies.

Third, nobody follows up. Facebook leads are colder than Google ones by their very nature — that's the deal. They need a reply within the hour and often a second nudge a day later. A lead sat in an inbox until Friday afternoon was money you threw away.

Expect a different kind of lead entirely

This is the bit that trips people up. A Google lead usually knows what they want and they're ready. A Facebook lead is often at the "ooh, I've been meaning to sort that" stage. So you'll get more of them, each one costs less, but a smaller share turn into actual jobs. That's not the ads failing, that's just the trade-off. What matters is the cost per booked job, not per enquiry — which is exactly the trap I bang on about in why cheap leads are usually expensive.

So what should you do

If money's tight and your work's urgent or compliance-driven, start with Google and forget Facebook for now. If your work's visual and worth a few grand a job, give Meta a proper test — not fifty quid and a sulk, a real go. And if you can afford both, they actually play nicely together: Google mops up the people ready today, Facebook keeps you in mind for everyone still thinking about it.

Not sure which camp you're in? Book a free chat and I'll tell you honestly — including if the answer's that you shouldn't be advertising yet at all.