Google Ads puts your electrical business at the top of search results within hours of going live. When someone types “emergency electrician near me” at 9pm, your ad appears above every organic result — including the big directories. You pay per click, not per impression, and the intent behind those clicks is high: someone searching for an electrician usually needs one now.
This guide covers the specifics for electricians: which keywords drive profitable calls, what those clicks cost in the UK, how to structure campaigns around your actual services, and when Google’s Local Services Ads beat standard pay-per-click.
For a broader introduction to how paid search works across all trades, see our Google Ads guide for tradespeople.
Key Takeaways
- Emergency electrician keywords cost £4–£10 per click in most UK cities — high, but the jobs those clicks produce (consumer unit faults, power outages) typically run £150–£400+
- EV charger installation is the fastest-growing keyword category for electricians — cost per click is still relatively low (£2–£5) because fewer electricians are bidding on it
- EICR keywords (“electrical inspection certificate landlord”) target landlords with recurring, multi-property needs — often higher lifetime value than one-off domestic jobs
- Local Services Ads (Google’s pay-per-verified-lead product) suits emergency and domestic electrical work well — you pay £15–£40 per lead, not per click
- A daily budget of £15–£30 is enough to test campaigns before committing to larger spend
- Your landing page matters: sending ad traffic to a basic or missing website wastes your budget — visitors need to verify your credentials (NICEIC/NAPIT registration, reviews) before they’ll call
Do Google Ads Work for Electricians?
Short answer: yes, particularly for emergency call-outs and high-value specialist work. Electrical work has two qualities that make paid search perform well.
First, intent is immediate. Someone searching “fuse box sparking” or “no power upstairs electrician” isn’t browsing — they need help today. That urgency produces click-to-call rates well above most other industries.
Second, job values are high enough to justify the spend. A consumer unit replacement runs £500–£1,500. An EICR for a landlord with four properties might be £600–£800. A home EV charger install is typically £800–£1,200. One or two jobs a month from Google Ads easily covers the cost of a modest campaign.
The main risk is wasted spend on low-quality leads — people who click, see nothing credible, and call someone else. That’s a website problem as much as an ads problem.
Types of Google Ads for Electricians
Local Services Ads
Local Services Ads (LSAs) appear above standard paid ads in Google. Instead of paying per click, you pay per verified lead — a phone call or message from someone who found you through the ad.
Google vets electricians who use LSAs (background check, licence verification, insurance confirmation). In return, your listing shows a “Google Screened” badge, which increases trust significantly.
Cost: LSAs charge per lead, not per click. Electrical leads typically cost £15–£40 per lead depending on your area and the type of job. You can set a weekly budget cap and dispute leads that don’t match your services.
LSAs are often better value for domestic and emergency electrical work than standard Google Ads. You’re only paying when someone actually contacts you — not every time someone clicks your ad to check your phone number and then dials a competitor.
To sign up: ads.google.com/local-services-ads
Standard Google Search Ads
Standard Search Ads appear in the “Sponsored” section at the top and bottom of Google results. You set bids on keywords, write ad copy, and pay each time someone clicks through to your website.
This gives you more control than LSAs — you can run ads for specific services (EV charger installation, rewires), direct people to dedicated landing pages, and adjust bids by time of day or location. Emergency keywords can go into a high-bid campaign; non-emergency services like EICR and rewires can run on lower bids.
Keyword Strategy for Electricians
Electrical keyword categories split roughly into three groups, each with different costs and buyer intent.
Emergency Keywords (Highest CPC, Highest Conversion)
| Keyword | Estimated UK CPC |
|---|---|
| Emergency electrician near me | £6–£10 |
| Emergency electrician [city] | £5–£9 |
| Electrician near me | £4–£8 |
| No power in house electrician | £3–£7 |
| Fuse box tripping electrician | £3–£6 |
These keywords convert fast. Searchers typically call within minutes of clicking. The trade-off is cost: spending £8 per click means you need a reasonable conversion rate (visitor-to-call rate) to make the numbers work.
EV Charger Keywords (Lower CPC, Growing Demand)
| Keyword | Estimated UK CPC |
|---|---|
| EV charger installation home | £2–£5 |
| Home EV charging point installer | £2–£4 |
| OZEV approved electrician [city] | £1–£3 |
| Electric car charger cost | £1–£3 |
According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), over 381,000 pure electric cars were registered in the UK in 2024. EV charger installs average £800–£1,200 per job. Fewer electricians are bidding on these terms, so the cost per click is lower than emergency keywords — and you’re reaching homeowners planning a specific purchase, not just hoping someone calls.
To fit EV charger installs, you need to be registered under the OZEV (Office for Zero Emission Vehicles) approved installer scheme. Your ads should mention this explicitly — it’s a trust signal that filters for serious leads.
EICR and Commercial Keywords (Lower CPC, Higher Lifetime Value)
| Keyword | Estimated UK CPC |
|---|---|
| EICR landlord certificate | £2–£4 |
| Electrical inspection certificate | £2–£4 |
| Commercial electrician [city] | £3–£6 |
| Rewire house cost | £1–£3 |
Under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, landlords must arrange an EICR at least every five years. That’s a large, recurring market. A landlord with five properties needs an EICR for each — and if you do good work, they’ll come back every five years without shopping around.
These keywords attract more considered buyers. The click costs less, but the sales cycle is slightly longer. A separate campaign targeting landlords and letting agents performs better than mixing EICR keywords with emergency call-outs.
How Much to Budget
Starting budget for a sole trader electrician running Google Ads:
| Phase | Daily Budget | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Testing (weeks 1–4) | £15–£30/day | Gather data on which keywords convert |
| Active (months 2–6) | £25–£50/day | Scale what’s working, cut what isn’t |
| Established | £50+/day | Increase volume on proven campaigns |
These are starting points, not rules. If you operate in a competitive city (London, Manchester, Birmingham), expect to spend more before you see consistent results. A smaller town with less competition often delivers leads at lower cost.
According to Google, businesses make an average of £2 in revenue for every £1 spent on Google Ads — but this varies enormously by industry and how well the campaigns are set up. Electrical work, because of high job values, tends to perform above the average when campaigns are properly targeted.
Setting Up Your First Campaign
1. Choose your goal
In Google Ads, select “Leads” as your campaign goal. This tells Google to optimise towards phone calls and form submissions rather than clicks alone.
2. Set your geography
Electricians cover a radius, not a postcode. Set a radius from your base — 10–20 miles is typical for domestic work; commercial electricians might cover a wider area. Don’t target areas you won’t travel to: wasted clicks add up.
3. Build tightly themed ad groups
Keep each ad group focused on one service type:
- Ad Group 1: Emergency call-outs (emergency electrician, no power, fuse box fault)
- Ad Group 2: EV charger installation
- Ad Group 3: EICR / landlord certificates
- Ad Group 4: Consumer unit / rewire
Mixing all services into one ad group produces generic ads that convert poorly.
4. Write ads that mention your credentials
NICEIC, NAPIT, or ELECSA registration is a trust signal worth including in your ad copy. “NICEIC Registered · Same-Day Call-Out · Free Quote” gives a reader a reason to choose you over the next ad.
5. Send traffic to the right page
Don’t send every click to your homepage. Build (or request) landing pages specific to each service:
/ev-charger-installationfor EV keywords/eicr-landlordfor EICR keywords- The homepage for emergency call-outs (where speed of response is the main message)
A professional website that clearly displays your accreditations, service area, and customer reviews converts significantly better than a generic contact page. Managed website services like Digital Tradies start from £49/month with no upfront cost — you get a professional site, hosting, and ongoing support included, which means your ad spend lands on a page that actually converts.
Negative Keywords: Cut Wasted Spend
Negative keywords stop your ads showing for irrelevant searches. Without them, an electrician campaign can bleed budget on searches like “electrician jobs near me” (people looking for employment) or “how to become an electrician” (not a customer).
Add these negative keywords from day one:
- jobs, vacancy, vacancies, apprenticeship, training, course, how to become, salary, qualification, DIY, “do it yourself”, free
Review your Search Terms report weekly for the first month. Every irrelevant search that triggered your ad is money you won’t get back — but you can prevent it repeating.
When Google Ads Makes Sense (and When It Doesn’t)
Google Ads works best for electricians when:
- You need leads quickly (new to an area, quiet patch, seasonal push)
- You offer a high-value specialist service (EV charger installs, EICR contracts, commercial rewires)
- You’re targeting emergency call-outs where intent is immediate
It makes less sense when:
- You’re already fully booked on referrals
- Your website isn’t set up to convert visitors (no accreditation badges, no reviews, no clear call-to-action)
- You don’t have a system to answer calls promptly — slow response rates on ad traffic are expensive
For longer-term lead generation with lower ongoing costs, SEO tends to deliver better return over 6–12 months. You can run both: paid ads for immediate leads while SEO builds in the background.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Google Ads work for electricians? Yes, particularly for emergency call-outs and specialist services like EV charger installation and EICR work. The key is targeting high-intent keywords and sending traffic to a website that clearly shows your credentials. Without a professional site to back up your ads, expect a lot of wasted clicks.
How much do Google Ads cost for electricians in the UK? Emergency electrician keywords typically cost £4–£10 per click. Specialist keywords like EV charger installation and EICR run £1–£5. A sensible starting budget is £15–£30 per day during the testing phase, scaling up once you know which keywords produce actual calls.
What are Local Services Ads and are they better than standard Google Ads? Local Services Ads are Google’s pay-per-lead product — you pay £15–£40 when a verified lead contacts you, not per click. They often deliver better cost per acquisition for emergency and domestic electrical work. Standard Google Ads give you more control and work well for specialist services with dedicated landing pages.
What keywords should electricians target on Google Ads? Start with emergency call-out keywords (“emergency electrician [your city]”, “no power electrician near me”), then add specialist services that match what you actually offer — EV charger installation, EICR for landlords, consumer unit upgrades. Keep each service in a separate ad group for better ad relevance and lower cost per click.
How long does it take for Google Ads to work for an electrician? Ads go live within hours of approval. The first two to four weeks are a testing phase — you’re gathering data on which keywords and ads produce actual calls. Most electricians see a consistent lead flow by the end of the first month, assuming the campaign is set up correctly and the budget is sufficient.
If you’re running Google Ads as an electrician, you need a website that can back up those ads — showing your NICEIC or NAPIT registration, your service area, and real customer reviews. Without that, a lot of clicks won’t convert to calls. Digital Tradies builds professional websites for electricians from £49/month with no upfront cost, live in 3 days. See how it works.
See also: Marketing for Electricians: 10 Ways to Get More Electrical Jobs | SEO for Electricians | Google Business Profile for Electricians
