Both Facebook ads and SEO can generate trade enquiries. They just do it in very different ways, with very different economics. Understanding the difference helps you decide which one is right for where your business is right now.
How Facebook Ads Work for Trades
Facebook shows your ad to people who match a targeting profile: homeowners in a certain area, certain age range, certain interests. You're interrupting their scroll and hoping the timing is right.
For some jobs this works well. A before-and-after photo of a bathroom renovation, shown to homeowners in Brighton aged 35–65, can prompt an enquiry. They're not actively searching, but the visual is compelling enough.
For reactive work (emergency callouts, boiler breakdowns, burst pipes) it works much less well. Those customers are searching Google with intent. They're not discovering you on Facebook.
| Facebook Ads | SEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Time to first leads | Days | 3–6 months |
| Cost per month | £300–500+ ongoing | £0 once ranked |
| Lead exclusivity | Exclusive | Exclusive |
| Lead intent | Low–medium (interruption) | High (they searched) |
| Stops when spend stops | Yes | No |
| Builds long-term asset | No | Yes |
How SEO Works for Trades
SEO means your website appears when someone searches "electrician Horsham" or "roofer near me" in Google. These people are actively looking for what you do, right now, which is why search-intent leads convert at a much higher rate than social media leads.
The trade-off is time. A new website in a competitive area can take 4–6 months before it starts generating consistent organic traffic. During that period you're building something real, but it's not paying out yet.
Once you rank, those leads cost you nothing per enquiry. A website ranking for 20 local trade searches might generate 15–30 enquiries a month without any ongoing ad spend.
Not sure where you stand? Run a free website audit and I'll tell you exactly what to fix.
The Verdict
If you need leads fast and have budget, Facebook ads can bridge the gap while your SEO builds. They're not a long-term strategy: they're an accelerant.
If you're thinking about which to invest in for the next three years, SEO wins on economics every time. Ads require ongoing spend that scales with your ambition. A well-ranked website keeps generating leads whether or not you're spending anything that month.
The smartest approach I see with established Sussex tradespeople: build the SEO foundation first, use ads selectively for specific campaigns (a seasonal push, a new service launch) and let organic traffic carry the baseline. You end up paying for ads when you choose to, not because you have to.
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