The 20 Google searches that bring UK painters and decorators work, ranked
The biggest decorating search in the UK is "painters and decorators near me", at about 18,100 Google searches a month, followed by "painter decorator" at 8,100. Clicks are cheaper than in most trades: the top-of-page bid range for "painters and decorators near me" is £1.64 to £5.79. "commercial painters" is the exception, at £5.95 to £27.25.
Which searches actually bring a painter and decorator work? We pulled the UK numbers from Google Keyword Planner and stripped out everything that would not turn into a job. For decorating that meant most of the list: wallpaper and paint products far outnumber people looking to hire. What is left is 20 searches made by people who want a decorator, ranked by how often they happen and with the bids advertisers place on them.
The 20 searches, ranked by monthly volume
| Search | Monthly searches | Top-of-page bid | Job type |
|---|---|---|---|
| painters and decorators near me | 18,100 | £1.64 to £5.79 | General and near me |
| painter decorator | 8,100 | £2.17 to £7.04 | General and near me |
| house painters near me | 5,400 | £1.97 to £7.41 | General and near me |
| painters and decorators | 5,400 | £2.23 to £7.05 | General and near me |
| painter decorator near me | 4,400 | £1.99 to £7.39 | General and near me |
| painting companies near me | 3,600 | £2.77 to £8.45 | General and near me |
| exterior house painting | 2,400 | £0.42 to £4.58 | Interior and exterior |
| local painter and decorator | 1,600 | £1.53 to £5.63 | General and near me |
| exterior painters near me | 1,300 | £1.59 to £5.57 | Interior and exterior |
| cost to paint a room | 720 | £0.78 to £3.13 | Prices |
| local painters and decorators near me | 720 | £1.39 to £4.85 | General and near me |
| painting contractors | 720 | £2.60 to £8.00 | Commercial |
| wallpaper installer | 720 | £1.90 to £6.57 | Wallpapering |
| wallpaper installation near me | 590 | £2.16 to £6.61 | Wallpapering |
| local decorators | 480 | £1.53 to £5.77 | General and near me |
| local painters near me | 480 | £1.71 to £6.89 | General and near me |
| exterior painting companies near me | 390 | £2.16 to £7.67 | Interior and exterior |
| house painting cost | 390 | £1.26 to £3.86 | Prices |
| interior painters near me | 260 | £1.30 to £4.81 | Interior and exterior |
| commercial painters | 110 | £5.95 to £27.25 | Commercial |
Monthly searches are Google’s 12-month UK averages, rounded the way Keyword Planner reports them. The bid range runs from the low end to the high end of what advertisers have historically bid to show at the top of the page. It tells you how hard a search is fought over, not what you will pay per click. Lower bids mean a decorating budget goes further than it would for an emergency plumber or electrician, but the volumes are smaller too.
What the numbers tell a painter and decorator
- General and near me searches are most of the demand. Ten general searches add up to 48,280 a month, led by "painters and decorators near me" (18,100) and "painter decorator" (8,100).
- Exterior work gets searched more than interior. "exterior house painting" (2,400) and "exterior painters near me" (1,300) both beat "interior painters near me" (260), which suggests outside jobs are worth a page and an ad group of their own.
- Bids are low, except for commercial work. Apart from commercial work, no search on the list has a top bid above £8.45. "commercial painters" runs £5.95 to £27.25, which reflects the size of commercial contracts.
- Wallpapering is a small, specific niche. "wallpaper installer" (720) and "wallpaper installation near me" (590) add 1,310 searches a month from people who want a specialist.
- Price research comes before the call. "cost to paint a room" (720) and "house painting cost" (390) add 1,110 searches a month. A page with real price guidance can catch these people before they pick a decorator.
How to use this list
- Build ad groups by job type. General decorating, exterior painting, wallpapering and commercial work each need their own ads and landing page, so someone searching "exterior painters near me" sees exterior work, not a generic home page.
- Give each job type its own service page. Pages for exterior painting, interior decorating, wallpaper hanging and commercial work can each rank on their own. Add a price guide page for the people who research costs first.
- List the same services on your Google Business Profile. Add each job type as a service, with photos of finished work. Our guide to ranking in the Google map pack covers the other fields.
- Make your negative keyword list long. Decorating searches are crowded with product shoppers. Exclude wallpaper and paint product terms and retailer names before you spend a penny.
- Use the low bids to test. Cheaper clicks mean a modest budget can show within a few weeks which job types bring enquiries in your area.
Searches we left out, and why
Keyword Planner returned 1,000 ideas for our decorating seed terms. More than 600 of them were searches for wallpaper itself (colours, patterns, retailers and brands such as B&Q and Laura Ashley), and dozens more were for paint products. We removed all of those, plus DIY searches such as "painting over wallpaper", and broad terms like "exterior painting" and "interior painting" whose low bids suggest product or DIY research rather than hiring.
We also merged wordings that Google reports with identical figures. "home painters near me" has the same volume and bids as "house painters near me", so the table keeps one. Volumes for wordings Google groups together are not added twice.
Method and source
We pulled the data from Google Keyword Planner through the Google Ads API (keyword ideas), using Scalepoint’s own Google Ads account, on 30 October 2026. Settings: location United Kingdom, language English, Google Search only. Seed terms: painter and decorator, painters and decorators near me, house painters, interior painting, exterior house painting, commercial painters, wallpapering and decorating quote. Keyword Planner returned 1,000 ideas; the table keeps only the searches where the person wants to hire someone, and ranks them by monthly searches.
Want these searches working for your business? Scalepoint runs Google Ads for UK trades at £495 a month, with ad spend paid to Google at cost, month to month and no lock-in.
In summary
The UK’s biggest decorating searches are "painters and decorators near me" (about 18,100 a month) and "painter decorator" (8,100). Bids are lower than in most trades, except commercial work, and wallpaper and paint product searches crowd the list. Build ads and pages by job type and keep a long negative keyword list.
Want more guides like this in your Google Top Stories? Add Scalepoint as a preferred source.