Google Ads is better when you need calls now, and SEO is better for lowering your cost per lead over time. Most trades who can afford it run both: ads for urgent, high-value searches while SEO builds, then shift budget as organic enquiries grow.
Ads can put you at the top of Google within days, and you can pause them when the diary is full. The trade-off is that every click costs money, and the leads stop the day the budget does.
SEO is slow to start but compounds. An area page that ranks in month four can keep bringing enquiries for years without a per-click fee.
Scalepoint runs Google Ads from £495 a month plus ad spend and SEO from £550 a month, both month to month with no lock-in.
Useful pages
This is one part of a bigger picture. SEO for tradesmen: the full guide covers costs, timelines, Google Maps, websites, agencies and AI search in one place.