Good electrician marketing brings calls from three places: a Google listing that shows the suburbs it covers, a website that says which jobs it takes, and people who already know a licensed electrician they can ring. Ads help when they are narrow. The rest of the work is answering fast and knowing which calls are worth a visit.
This page covers marketing your own electrical business: how the work is found, what the licence rules mean for your ads, and how to handle the call itself.
The kinds of electrical work and how each is found
Electrical work is not one market. Each type is searched for differently and needs a different answer on the phone.
- Fault and emergency calls. Power out, a tripping safety switch, a burning smell from a switchboard. The searcher types “electrician near me” and rings the first listing that looks local and open.
- Small booked jobs. Power points, lights, fans, smoke alarms. Homeowners compare two or three businesses and book the one that replies first.
- Upgrades. Switchboards, rewires, EV charger installs, and additional circuits. These are researched. The homeowner reads reviews, looks at your website and wants a written quote.
- Builder and trade work. New homes and renovations come from builders and other trades who already know your work. No ad reaches them as well as a quick reply and a clean job.
Write one page on your website for each type you want more of. A page called “Switchboard upgrades” that lists what you check, what the homeowner needs to have ready and how you quote will be found by the people searching for exactly that. See websites for trades for what a service page needs.
Local listing and reviews
For emergency searches the map results are often where the homeowner chooses, so the Google Business Profile can matter more than the website for those calls. Google’s own guidelines set the rules, and a business run from a van and a home office needs to read the address rules closely.
- Use the name customers know you by. Google says not to add taglines or service descriptions to the business name.
- A business that travels to customers can be listed as a service-area business and hide its street address. Google says virtual offices and mailboxes are not eligible addresses.
- Service areas generally should not extend beyond about two hours of driving time from the business.
Source: Google Business Profile guidelines. Check that page for the current wording.
On reviews, the ACCC says online reviews should be independent and genuine, and that creating fake or misleading reviews, or getting others to, is against the law. Ask real clients after a job. Do not write your own. The ACCC advertising page is short and worth reading once.
Ads that bring calls
Broad electrical search terms are contested by every electrician in town. Narrow the ad to the work you want.
- Search ads on the jobs you want. “Switchboard upgrade” and “EV charger installation” pull better enquiries than a broad “electrician” term, which also draws job seekers and people who want a free tip.
- Exclude what you do not do. If you do not do appliance repairs or commercial fit-outs, add those as negative terms.
- Send each ad to the matching page.
- Put the call button first. On a phone, a homeowner with a fault will not read three paragraphs.
The mechanics of running these in your own account are in ads for trades and Google ads for contractors.
Urgent calls and quote-only calls
Treat these as two queues with two scripts.
Urgent. Ask what is happening, whether anyone is in danger, and where the property is. If it is a hazard, tell them to keep clear of it and to call emergency services if anyone is at risk, then give a time. Do not quote a fixed price over the phone for a fault you have not seen. Give a call-out basis and say what you will confirm on site.
Quote-only. The caller wants a number for a rewire or a switchboard. Ask what the house is (age, size, one or two storeys), what has prompted it (insurance, an inspection, a renovation), and when they want it done. A caller who “just wants a rough price” with no timing is early. Send them a range, say what moves it, then follow up once.
If you miss calls on the tools, a text back that says you will ring within the hour keeps the job. The guide on missed call text back shows the wording. Speed matters more than polish: how fast to respond to building enquiries explains why.
Licence numbers in electrician marketing
Electrical work is regulated by the state, and so are the ad rules. These are the ones we opened. Each belongs to its own state, so do not assume your state matches.
| State | What the regulator says |
|---|---|
| NSW | Fair Trading says the licensee’s name and licence number, with the correct category of work, must be shown in all advertising, along with a business phone number. Electrical wiring is listed as specialist work that needs a licence at any value. Source: NSW building trade advertisements. |
| Queensland | The QBCC says to show your licence name and number. A trading name can be used only with your licence name, and the details must be easy to read. Websites, social media, vehicle signage and business cards are all listed. Source: QBCC advertising. |
| Victoria | Energy Safe Victoria says a registered electrical contractor must put its registration number on all promotional materials, including advertisements. It also lists public liability insurance of at least $5 million when carrying out or offering electrical contracting work. Source: Energy Safe Victoria. |
| Western Australia | The WA guideline says the contractor’s licence number (prefix EC and six digits) must appear in any advertisement, “conspicuously”, and suggests it be no smaller than half the size of the largest lettering. Web pages, business cards and every advertisement on a vehicle, front, back or sides, are covered. Source: the WA guideline on licence numbers in advertising, issued in 2019 by what was then Building and Energy and still published on wa.gov.au. It may have changed since, so check the current regulator’s page. |
The practical fix is the same everywhere: put the number in your website footer, on every ad landing page, on vehicle signage, on your listing description where the platform allows it, and on quotes. This is not legal advice. Check your own regulator for your situation, and check any state not listed above.
Rules overseas differ. The pages above are Australian. If you work in New Zealand or the United States, use your own regulator.
Answering and follow-up
Whatever brings the call, the same few habits turn it into work.
- Answer or text back within minutes during working hours.
- Write the quote the same day for small jobs and within a few days for upgrades.
- Follow up a quote once after a couple of days and once after a week. Keep each message short and about the job.
- Keep a short note against each enquiry: job type, who decides, when they want it done. A system to keep track of enquiries and quotes can be a spreadsheet to start.
Count what comes in by source for a month: calls, quotes sent, jobs won. That tells you which of the above to push.
Common questions
How do electricians get more customers?
A complete Google listing with real reviews, a website with a page per job type, a narrow search ad on the work you want most, and a fast reply to every call. Referrals from builders and other trades fill the rest.
Do I have to show my licence number in ads?
In the states we checked, yes. NSW, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia each require it, in slightly different forms. Check your own regulator’s page.
Are electrical leads cables?
In the trade, “leads” can mean cables. In marketing it means homeowners asking for a quote. We use the word in the second sense.
Should I quote emergency jobs over the phone?
Give a call-out basis and what you will confirm on site. A fixed price for a fault you have not seen sets you up for an argument.