Most landscaping businesses start the same way — a few neighbours ask you to do their gardens, word spreads to their street, and suddenly you’re busy. That’s a great start. But it’s not a business strategy.
Marketing for landscapers means building reliable enquiry sources that don’t dry up when word of mouth goes quiet. This guide covers 10 practical things you can do to get more landscaping work — starting with the ones that deliver results fastest.
Key Takeaways
- Your Google Business Profile is free and is the single biggest factor in whether local customers find you when they search “landscaper near me”
- According to BrightLocal’s Local Consumer Review Survey 2024, 87% of consumers read online reviews before choosing a local business — your review count directly affects how many calls you get
- Landscaping is highly seasonal, which makes year-round marketing different from most trades — retainer agreements and seasonal upsells change the economics significantly
- Trade directories like Checkatrade and Rated People drive a meaningful share of domestic landscaping enquiries, especially for one-off jobs
- A professional website converts browsers into enquiries far better than a Facebook page, and unlike paid directories it doesn’t charge per year or per lead
- Before-and-after photos on social media work exceptionally well for landscapers because the transformation is visual — the work sells itself
1. Set Up Your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile (GBP) controls whether you appear in Google Maps and the local 3-pack when someone nearby searches for a landscaper. It’s free to claim and it’s the most impactful marketing move you can make for a local landscaping business.
Claim your profile at business.google.com. Set your primary category to Landscaper and add secondary categories like Garden Design and Lawn Care Service. List all the areas you cover. Add photos of completed projects — lawns, patios, fences, planting schemes, decking. The more detailed your profile, the more confidently Google shows it.
According to Google’s own data, businesses with complete, optimised profiles receive 7x more clicks than incomplete ones. If you haven’t claimed yours, start there.
2. Build Up Your Google Reviews
Reviews influence both your Google Maps ranking and whether people choose to call you once they find you. A landscaper with 45 reviews at 4.8 stars will get more calls than a competitor with 10 reviews, even if the competitor’s work is equally good.
The easiest way to get reviews is to ask right after finishing a job. Text or WhatsApp your customer: “Really glad you’re happy with how the garden looks — if you have 2 minutes, a Google review helps my business enormously.” Include a direct link to your review page.
Aim for 40+ reviews as a baseline, and respond to every review you receive — positive and negative. Landscapers who respond to reviews typically see better local rankings and higher conversion rates.
3. Get a Professional Website
A Facebook page tells people you exist. A proper website tells them you’re credible. When someone searches “landscaper in [your town]”, a website showing your services, project photos, and coverage area gives you a far stronger chance of getting the enquiry than a directory listing that looks identical to every competitor.
You don’t need anything complicated. A homepage, services page, gallery, about page, and contact page covers it. It needs to load fast, look clean on mobile — that’s where most of your customers will find you — and make it easy to call or message.
Managed services like Digital Tradies build landscaper websites from £49/month with no upfront cost. You get a professional site, hosting, and ongoing support, live within 3 days. If you want to see what a strong trade website needs, our guide to web design for tradespeople shows the key elements that convert visitors into enquiries.
4. Focus on Local SEO
Local SEO means ranking in Google search results — not through paid ads, but organically. For landscapers, local SEO is what matters: appearing when someone in your area searches “landscaper [town]” or “garden design [county]”.
The key inputs are your Google Business Profile (covered above), your website (service pages for each main offering — lawn care, garden design, patio installation, fencing), and your review count. Local SEO takes 3-6 months to build, but once it’s working, you get enquiries without paying per lead.
For a full walkthrough, our SEO for tradesmen guide covers keyword targeting, website structure, and how to track your rankings — the principles apply directly to landscaping businesses.
5. Post Before-and-After Photos on Social Media
Landscaping is one of the most visual trades. A garden transformation is immediately compelling in a way that an electrical rewire or a boiler replacement simply isn’t. Before-and-after photos on Instagram and Facebook consistently perform well for landscapers — and they’re free.
Take a photo before you start any significant job, and another once it’s done. Post them together on Instagram and Facebook with a brief description: what the customer wanted, what you did, your location. Tag the area. Use local hashtags.
You don’t need to post daily. Two or three strong before-and-afters per week is enough to build a following and generate enquiries. Video clips of work in progress also perform well — time-lapses of a new patio going in, or a hedge being shaped.
6. List on Trade Directories
Checkatrade, Rated People, and MyBuilder still drive a solid share of domestic landscaping enquiries — particularly for one-off jobs where homeowners want the reassurance of a vetted service. They’re worth listing on early while your website and Google presence are still building.
| Directory | Monthly Cost (approx) | Lead Model |
|---|---|---|
| Checkatrade | £80-120/month | Profile listing, customer finds you |
| Rated People | Pay per lead | Customer submits job, you quote |
| MyBuilder | Pay per lead | Same as Rated People |
| TrustATrader | £50-80/month | Profile listing |
| Bark.com | Pay per lead | Intro fee to contact each lead |
A good approach is to list on one or two directories initially, track where your enquiries are coming from, and then decide whether the cost justifies staying on. Directory leads tend to be price-sensitive — they’ve submitted the same job to three or four landscapers — so your website and reviews help you win the quote even when the lead comes from a directory.
7. Create Annual Maintenance Packages
One of the biggest differences between a landscaper who struggles with quiet months and one who stays busy year-round is retainer income. Annual maintenance agreements change the economics of a landscaping business entirely.
A basic maintenance package might include monthly grass cutting from April to October, one hedge trim in spring and one in autumn, and a winter tidy-up. Priced at £600-900/year for a typical domestic garden, a customer on a maintenance agreement is predictable recurring revenue — and they’re far more likely to call you for larger one-off projects too.
Offer the package when you complete a new design job. Most customers who’ve just had their garden done want it kept looking good. You’re already the obvious person to ask.
8. Ask for Referrals Actively
Word of mouth works — but you can accelerate it. When a customer is clearly happy with the finished job, ask directly: “If you know anyone else who’s been thinking about their garden, I’d really appreciate a recommendation.”
Some landscapers formalise this with a referral incentive. A £25 garden centre voucher for any referral that turns into a booked job is a small cost for a new customer. It also gives satisfied customers a concrete reason to mention you rather than just meaning to.
Neighbours are your most natural referral source. When you finish a visible job — a new patio, a complete garden redesign — a few doors in each direction will have noticed. Leaving a couple of business cards in local letter boxes after a big job is a small effort with a reasonable return.
9. Run Seasonal Promotions
Landscaping has clear seasonal peaks: spring (March-May) and early summer (June) are when most design and construction jobs are booked. Winter is the challenge. Targeted promotions for the off-peak months keep revenue more consistent.
A few approaches that work:
- January/February: “Book your spring garden transformation now — March start date guaranteed.” Customers who want their garden ready for summer are thinking about it in January but often wait. A reason to book early helps.
- Autumn: “End-of-season tidy-up + winter lawn treatment.” Promotes lower-value jobs but keeps you busy and builds customer relationships.
- Off-peak discount: A 10% saving for jobs booked in November or December and starting in the new year. Reduces idle time and smooths cashflow.
Promote through your email list (even a small one), your Google Business Profile posts, and your social media channels.
10. Invest in Van Branding
Your van is a moving billboard. A professionally wrapped or sign-written van generates enquiries from people who see it parked outside jobs — neighbours, passers-by, people stuck in traffic behind you. According to the British Sign and Graphics Association, a single van wrap can generate between 30,000 and 70,000 impressions per year in a typical UK town.
The basics cost less than you’d think. A quality magnetic sign set runs £50-100. Partial van wraps start at around £300-500. A full professional wrap with your logo, services, and phone number is £1,500-3,000 for most vans — a one-time cost that works every day for years.
The minimum to put on it: your business name, trade (so it’s clear immediately what you do), phone number, and website address. Your Google and Facebook URLs if you have them.
Putting It Together
You don’t need to do all of this at once. Start with your Google Business Profile and ask your last five happy customers for a review. Those two things alone will improve how you appear in local searches before anything else.
Then build from there: a professional website, a couple of directory listings, consistent social media posts. Over 6-12 months, these compound — and you stop relying on word of mouth to keep your diary full.
If you’re building your landscaping business and want a professional online presence that actually wins work, Digital Tradies builds websites for landscapers from £49/month, no contract, live in 3 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much should a landscaper spend on marketing? Most established landscaping businesses spend 3-8% of annual turnover on marketing. If you’re starting out or trying to grow, 10-15% is reasonable until you’ve built reliable lead sources. Free activities — Google Business Profile, reviews, social media posts — should always come first before spending money on ads or directories.
Do Google Ads work for landscapers? Google Ads can work well for landscaping, particularly for high-value jobs like garden design or patio installation. Expect to pay £5-20 per click for landscaping terms in the UK. Budget £200-400/month minimum to gather enough data to know whether it’s profitable for your area. Google Local Services Ads (pay-per-lead rather than pay-per-click) are often a better starting point.
Which is better — Checkatrade or Rated People for landscapers? Checkatrade works on a monthly subscription model, so you pay whether enquiries come in or not. Rated People charges per lead, which means no fixed cost but potentially higher cost per job. For a landscaper starting out, Rated People or MyBuilder lets you control spend more tightly. Once your own website and Google profile are generating enquiries, directory dependency becomes less important.
How do I get more landscaping customers in winter? Winter is quiet for most landscapers, but it doesn’t have to be dead. Promote tree work and hedge trimming (still needed year-round), maintenance packages, and early bookings for spring projects. Some landscapers supplement with fencing, pressure washing, or garden clearances, which are less weather-dependent. A small winter promotion targeting spring bookings in January/February keeps the pipeline moving.
Does a landscaper need a website? A professional website helps in two ways: it gets you found by people searching Google in your area, and it converts people who hear about you into actual enquiries. Without a website, you’re relying entirely on directories and word of mouth — and you’re invisible to anyone searching locally who doesn’t already know your name.
