A good cost per lead for a tradie is whatever leaves you a healthy profit once you account for your close rate and job value — not a fixed dollar figure. As a rough guide (illustrative), many trades see A$20–A$80 per lead work out profitably. Work backwards from your average job value rather than chasing a number you read online.
Ask five agencies "what is a good cost per lead" and you will get five different numbers, because the honest answer is: it depends on what a lead is worth to you. A A$40 lead is expensive for a A$150 callout and cheap for a A$8,000 bathroom reno.
Work backwards from your job value
- Take your average job value and profit margin — say a A$3,000 job at 35% margin is A$1,050 profit.
- Decide what share of that profit you are happy to spend winning the job. Many tradies land around 10–20%, so roughly A$105–A$210 per booked job.
- Factor in your close rate. If you close 1 in 3 leads, a A$150 target cost per booked job means you can afford roughly A$50 per lead.
- That A$50 is your target cost per lead — not a number from a blog post, one built from your own numbers.
Cost per lead only means something next to your close rate and job value. A A$70 lead that closes 1 in 2 can beat a A$25 lead that closes 1 in 10.
Illustrative ranges by job size
These are illustrative, not a promise — your suburbs, trade and competition move the numbers. But they show why "good" changes with what you sell.
- Small callouts (A$150–A$400 jobs) — a sustainable cost per lead is often A$15–A$30 (illustrative), because the profit pool per job is thin.
- Mid-size jobs (A$1,000–A$4,000) — A$30–A$80 per lead (illustrative) is commonly workable, with more room for a lower close rate.
- Large projects (A$8,000+) — A$100–A$300+ per lead (illustrative) can still be profitable, since one won job covers many unsuccessful leads.
Why chasing "the cheapest lead" backfires
The lowest cost per lead usually comes from the loosest targeting — casting a wide net that pulls in tyre-kickers, out-of-area enquiries and price shoppers. Those leads look cheap on a report and close terribly. A slightly higher cost per lead from tighter targeting almost always produces a lower cost per booked job, which is the number that actually pays the bills.
What actually moves your cost per lead
- Suburb and keyword targeting — the tighter the fit to your service area and trade, the less you pay for irrelevant clicks.
- Landing page conversion rate — doubling it roughly halves your cost per lead without spending an extra dollar on ads.
- Negative keywords — blocking DIY searches and job-seekers keeps the lead pool relevant.
- Speed to lead and follow-up — this does not change cost per lead, but it changes close rate, which is the number that decides whether a given cost per lead was actually good.
If you want a target specific to your trade, suburbs and job value rather than an illustrative range, the fastest way is a free audit — we will map your numbers and send back a written cost-per-lead target.