Tender-intent keywords only. No wasted budget on tyre-kickers. Enquiries within 48 hours of launch.
Fastest route to enquiries
Google Ads generates leads while SEO builds long-term visibility.
We bid on the searches procurement teams actually use — and apply negative keywords to filter out DIY enquiries, job-seekers, and small domestic works before a penny is spent on them.
Tight ad groups, landing pages designed for RFQ submissions, and qualification forms that separate serious procurement contacts from time-wasters before they reach your estimating team.
Daily monitoring, bid adjustments, and monthly reports showing cost-per-lead and tender opportunities generated — not impressions and click-through rates.
Google Ads for construction is paid search advertising targeting the specific keywords procurement teams, main contractors, and developers use when actively searching for specialist subcontractors. Unlike generic Google Ads, construction campaigns are built around tender-intent keywords, aggressive negative keyword lists to filter out domestic enquiries and job seekers, and landing pages designed for RFQ submissions — not consumer-style contact forms.
Three common failures: broad match targeting that wastes budget on irrelevant searches, optimising for click volume rather than qualified lead cost, and using generic service keywords that attract domestic jobs instead of commercial procurement. Most construction firms who "tried Google Ads and it didn't work" were running campaigns built for consumer businesses. Construction procurement requires a completely different approach to keyword selection, match types, and landing page design.
Tender-intent combinations work best: trade plus location ("groundworks contractor hire Manchester"), project-type searches ("NEC3 civil engineering subcontractor"), capability searches ("ISO 9001 structural steel fabricator"), and framework-specific terms ("Constructionline registered M&E contractor"). Equally important are negative keywords — excluding domestic, residential, DIY, job, salary, and small-scale terms to protect every penny of budget from irrelevant clicks.
Enquiries typically arrive within 48 hours of campaign launch. Our TopVolt pilot generated 10 qualified leads from £250 in one month at £25 per lead — against an estimated £600+ profit per job. Google Ads is the fastest route to pipeline activity while SEO builds long-term visibility, making it particularly valuable for firms entering a new geography or sector where organic rankings haven't yet developed.
For firms targeting £50k+ contracts, a cost per qualified lead of £25–£150 represents strong commercial performance. The benchmark varies by trade, competition level, and geography. A £100 cost-per-lead converting to a £250k contract is exceptional ROI. We report exclusively on cost-per-qualified-lead, not cost-per-click or impressions, so you always see what the spend is actually returning.
Search campaigns with exact and phrase match targeting give construction firms the precision needed to hit procurement intent accurately. Performance Max campaigns are harder to control and routinely waste budget on Display, YouTube, and irrelevant search placements. We run Search campaigns with tightly structured ad groups per trade and location as the default, moving to supplementary Performance Max only when there's sufficient conversion data to guide Google's automation effectively.
We recommend a minimum monthly ad spend proportional to your average project value. For firms targeting £50k–£250k contracts, £300–£800 per month in ad spend is a sensible starting point. Our management fee is separate and covers campaign setup, ongoing optimisation, bid management, and monthly reporting. One contract win typically pays back months of total investment. Book your audit and we'll recommend a specific budget based on your trade, target geography, and competition level.
They complement each other directly and run most effectively in parallel. Google Ads provides immediate pipeline activity — enquiries within days of launch — while SEO builds compounding organic visibility over 6–12 months. Many clients run both: Ads fill the pipeline now, SEO reduces cost-per-enquiry over time as rankings improve. Importantly, converting keyword data from Ads campaigns directly informs which SEO content to prioritise — eliminating guesswork from the content strategy.
Book your free Google Ads audit. We'll analyse your current campaigns and show you how to stop wasting budget on the wrong searches.
Book a 15-minute audit