How to get plumbing leads without paying per lead

The plumbing work that doesn’t cost you per lead comes from things you own. Your Google Business Profile. Your reviews. Your Gas Safe number on show. A page for each job. The catch is timing. Boiler and emergency searches peak in October, so it all needs to be in place by late summer.

Here’s each one in the order we’d do them for a plumbing and heating firm.

Do this today

1. Search “emergency plumber” and your town on your phone. Note who shows up on the map.
2. Check your Google profile’s main category. Plumber, or Gas engineer if boilers are most of your work.
3. If you do gas work, put your Gas Safe registration number at the top of your website.
4. Text your last five customers your Google review link.
5. Check the opening hours on your profile match when you actually pick up.

Why paying per lead costs more than it looks

On most lead sites you pay to get in front of a customer, not for a job you’ve won. Each site charges in its own way. Here’s how Checkatrade, MyBuilder, Bark and TrustATrader compare on cost, contracts and refunds.

Paid clicks aren’t cheap either. Google’s Keyword Planner shows advertisers bidding between £5.34 and £39.64 for a top-of-page click on “leads for plumbers”.

A lead site can help in a quiet summer week. It shouldn’t be how you get through October.

1. Get your Google Business Profile right

When someone searches for a plumber nearby, Google often shows a map with a few local firms. Those come from Google Business Profiles. It’s free, and it’s yours.

The parts that matter most for a plumber or heating engineer:

• Main category. Google says to use categories that are “as specific as possible, but representative of your main business”. On Google Maps, plumbing and heating firms show as Plumber, Gas engineer or Central heating service. Pick the one that describes most of your work. Add the others only if they’re a real part of the business.
• Services. List each job in your customers’ words. Boiler service, boiler repair, new boiler, leaks, blocked drains, bathrooms, landlord gas safety certificates.
• Hours. Google asks for your “regular customer-facing hours of operation”. If you take call outs in the evening, say so. If you don’t answer at 2am, don’t list 24 hours. If you list hours you don’t answer, the missed calls are work you’ve lost.
• Service areas. If you go to the customer, Google says to remove your address and list the towns you cover. Up to 20 areas. No radius.
• Photos. Your own boilers, cylinders and bathrooms. Not stock photos.

If you haven’t got a profile yet, here’s how to set up your Google Business Profile.

2. Build a steady flow of Google reviews

Someone with water coming through the ceiling picks fast. Reviews from people nearby help them pick you.

Reviews help on Google too. Google says “more reviews and positive ratings can help your business’s local ranking”.

Make it routine. Ask every customer the same way once the boiler’s running or the leak’s fixed. Send your review link by text. Don’t offer anything in return and don’t tell them what to write. Both are against Google’s rules. Here’s how to get Google reviews step by step.

3. Put your Gas Safe number where people decide

With gas work, the law sets the trust signal for you. The Health and Safety Executive says anyone employed to work on gas appliances in people’s homes “must be a Gas Safe registered engineer and competent in that area of gas work”.

HSE says the work you’re qualified for is shown on the back of your Gas Safe Register ID card. Customers can check you on the Gas Safe Register website using the licence number on that card.

So make it easy for them:

• On your website, show your registration number near the top of the page and on every boiler and heating page.
• On your Google profile, add it to your description.
• On your quotes and van, use the same number.

If you’re not registered, don’t take on gas work or suggest you can. Advertise the plumbing you can legally do.

Landlords are a steady source of gas work. GOV.UK says a landlord must have a registered engineer do an annual gas safety check on each appliance and flue. That’s the same job, for the same customer, every year.

More on what a plumbing website needs, including where your Gas Safe number goes.

4. Give each type of job its own page

Your Google profile can only say so much. A page for boiler servicing, one for emergencies and one for landlord gas safety certificates each gives Google something to match and gives the customer the answer they came for. In our view each page is another way to be found without buying a lead.

How emergency and planned customers search differently, and the full list of plumbing searches, are on our page about SEO for plumbers and heating engineers.

5. Be ready before October

Plumbing and heating searches aren’t flat through the year. Google’s Keyword Planner shows “boiler service” at 27,100 UK searches in October 2025 against 8,100 in May.

Boiler searches start building in August. So your profile, reviews and boiler pages need to be in place by late summer, not during the rush. See the trade search data by month for the full year.

6. Turn this year’s boiler service into next year’s

Boiler work comes round every year. HSE “strongly advises” that gas appliances are serviced at least once a year by a Gas Safe registered engineer. That gives you a reason to stay in touch.

• Keep a list of each customer’s service date.
• Ask if they’d like a reminder next year. Only contact the ones who say yes.
• Send your review link the same day as the job.
• Take a photo of the finished install with one line about the job and the town. Add it to your profile and your website.
• Make sure your van, invoice and profile all show the same name and number, so a neighbour can find you later.

When paying for leads still makes sense

Owning your enquiries doesn’t mean never paying for any. There are times it’s worth it:

• Google Ads. You pay per click, but you choose the searches, the towns and the budget. You can turn it up before October and down when the diary’s full. Here’s how we run Google Ads for plumbers and heating engineers.
• Local Services Ads. Google lists “Plumbers” and “HVAC (heating or air conditioning)” for these ads in the UK. You pay per lead, such as a call or a message. Google says missed calls “may negatively affect your responsiveness”, so only run them if someone answers. More on Google Local Services Ads in the UK.
• Lead sites. Useful when you’re new and nobody’s searching for your name yet, or to fill a quiet summer week.

Whichever you use, it’s spend you can switch off. Your profile, reviews and Gas Safe details stay put when you do.

For every other way trades get work, and which to start with, here’s how to get more work as a tradesman.

Questions plumbers ask about getting leads

How much do plumbing leads cost?

There’s no single price. It depends on the platform. On Local Services Ads Google says lead prices vary with your location, the job, the type of lead and how you bid. Lead sites each set their own fees.

What’s the best way to get plumbing leads for free?

Your Google Business Profile is free to set up. Google says you can add or claim your business “at no charge”. Fill it in properly, including the hours you actually answer. Reviews cost you nothing but the ask. Start with those two.

Can I take on boiler work if I’m not Gas Safe registered?

Not gas boiler work. HSE says anyone employed to work on gas appliances in people’s homes must be Gas Safe registered. You can still advertise the plumbing work you’re able to do.

Can a heating engineer use Local Services Ads?

Possibly. “HVAC (heating or air conditioning)” is on Google’s UK list. “Gas engineer” isn’t a named category. Being on the list doesn’t mean the ads run in your area, so check eligibility on Google’s sign-up page first.

How long before my own leads start coming in?

Nobody can honestly give you a date. It depends on how many plumbers are chasing the same work in your towns and what you’ve already got in place. That’s why it’s worth starting in the summer, before boiler season.

Plumbing work you own, not rent

For a plumber the order matters. Profile and reviews first. Your Gas Safe number on show. Pages for boilers, emergencies and landlord certificates. All of it in place by August, so you’re not catching up in October.

Want to see how many people search for plumbing work in your towns, and which firms show up for those searches now? Our free local forecast shows you.