The 25 Google searches that bring painters work in Australia.

This list comes straight from Google Keyword Planner: the searches Australians type when they want a painter, how often they type them, and what other businesses pay to appear at the top for each one. We kept only searches from people looking to hire, and dropped supplier names, products, DIY questions and job hunting.

Monthly searches are Google’s average for Australia over the past 12 months. The bid range is Keyword Planner’s low (about the 20th percentile) and high (about the 80th percentile) of what advertisers have historically paid to show at the top of the page.

What the list tells a painter

Painting is a smaller, cheaper search market than plumbing or electrical. The 25 searches here total about 34,750 a month, and the highest top-of-page bid on the list is about A$40 (“commercial painters”). Every other search on the list has a high bid of about A$30 or less, so a modest budget buys a meaningful number of clicks.

“Painter” on its own is a weak search to pay for. It gets about 9,900 searches a month, but its bid range is only about A$1–A$14 because many of those people want something else, such as art or software. “Painters near me” (6,600, A$5–A$21) and “painting companies near me” (4,400, A$6–A$24) are the searches with clear hiring intent.

Roof painting is its own market. “Roof painting”, “roof painting near me”, “roof painters near me” and “roof painting contractors” add up to about 4,650 a month. If you do roofs, they deserve a dedicated page and ad group.

Price searches show people early in the decision. “House painting cost”, “interior painting cost” and “roof painting cost” total about 2,030 a month with low bids, while “painting quote” and “house painting quotes” have higher bids (A$6–A$25 and A$7–A$30) because those people are ready to book. A plain-English pricing page catches the first group; ads and a quote form catch the second.

The searches grouped by job type

• Near me and general (9 searches, about 23,860 a month): “painter”, “painters near me”, “painting companies near me”, “house painting”, “house painters”, “painting services near me”, “local painters near me”, “painting contractors”, “cheap painters near me”. Win these with your Google Business Profile, reviews and job photos.
• Specific jobs (9 searches, about 7,800 a month): “roof painting”, “interior painting”, “exterior house painting”, “roof painting near me”, “roof painters near me”, “interior house painters”, “roof painting contractors”, “interior painters near me”, “exterior painters near me”. Interior, exterior and roof work each deserve their own page.
• Quotes and prices (5 searches, about 2,630 a month): “house painting cost”, “interior painting cost”, “roof painting cost”, “painting quote”, “house painting quotes”. Answer the price question on your site, then ask for the quote.
• Commercial (2 searches, about 460 a month): “commercial painters”, “commercial painting companies”. Small volumes, but bigger jobs and repeat clients.

How to use the list

1. Google Ads: skip the bare word “painter” and bid on the near-me, job and quote searches instead. Separate ad groups for interior, exterior and roof painting let each ad show the right photos and the right offer.
2. Your website: build a page each for interior painting, exterior house painting and roof painting, plus a pricing page that explains what drives the cost of a job. Price searches are cheap to win with content.
3. Google Business Profile: add each type of painting as a service, and post before-and-after photos of real jobs. Painting is visual, and photos are what a customer compares.
4. Negative keywords: add paint brands, colours, “DIY” and software terms so you only pay for people hiring a painter, not people buying paint.

How we built the list

We pulled keyword ideas from Google Keyword Planner on 30 October 2026, for Australia, English, Google Search only, starting from common painter searches. From about 1,000 ideas we kept searches from people looking to hire, removed supplier and brand names, products, DIY questions, jobs and place names, and kept one search where Google grouped near-identical variants under the same figures. The 25 that remain total about 34,750 searches a month. Keyword Planner rounds volumes and its bid ranges are historical, so treat the figures as a guide, not a quote.

Sources

• Use Keyword Planner, Google Ads Help.
• About Keyword Planner forecasts, Google Ads Help (defines the top-of-page bid ranges).
• Manage your services on your Business Profile, Google Business Profile Help.