Facebook ads for tradies bring cheap enquiries because the form is easy to fill in and the person is scrolling, not searching. To get better ones, ask harder questions in the form, check who you are aiming at, and ring each person quickly. This page is about the quality of enquiries rather than the number.
Why Facebook ads for tradies bring cheap, thin leads
Someone searching on Google for “ducted air installer” is looking for one. Someone on Facebook was looking at photos of a cousin’s holiday when your ad appeared. Some are interested, and some tap because the form is already filled in with their name and number.
That is a trade-off in how the form works. Meta’s own developer guide says that by default, lead ads are optimised for the volume of leads rather than their quality. The enquiry costs the homeowner little effort, so you get more of them and a lower share are ready. There is no reliable figure for how many, and most numbers quoted online come from people selling ads or leads. Measure your own: out of the last 20 enquiries, how many answered the phone, how many had a real job, how many got a quote.
If you want the bigger picture on what an enquiry is worth, read cost per lead and what a lead is worth.
Instant form versus your own page
There are two common ways to collect an enquiry from an ad.
| Instant form (inside Facebook) | Your own page | |
|---|---|---|
| Effort for the homeowner | Very low, often pre-filled | Higher, they leave the app |
| Number of enquiries | More | Fewer |
| Quality | Mixed, check your own | Often more deliberate, but test it |
| Control over questions | Some, within the form tool | Full |
| Work to set up | Little | You need a page that loads fast on a phone |
Neither is always better. If your ad budget is small and your phone follow-up is strong, an instant form with good questions can be fine. If you are drowning in poor enquiries, test your own page for a few weeks and compare the share that answer the phone.
Add friction that helps
A few more questions can cost you volume and raise quality. Keep the ones that help you decide whether to ring.
- The job, in their words. A box asking “What do you want built?” tells you more than a tick-box.
- Suburb or postcode. You can drop anything outside your area before you waste a call.
- Timing. “Ready to start within 3 months” versus “Just researching”.
- Do they own the home? A renter or an agent needs a different conversation.
- A budget range, if you are comfortable. Some businesses prefer not to, as it can put people off. Test it.
Meta documents a review step for instant forms. In its developer guide for lead ads, Meta says the form setting adds a step where a person reviews and confirms their answers before submitting, and describes it as a way to create forms that result in higher intent leads. Read that note on Meta’s lead ads guide for developers, then look for the matching option when you build the form, as the wording in Ads Manager can change.
Expect fewer enquiries from any of these. Judge it on how many get to a signed job.
Targeting basics
Targeting is where many tradie ads waste money. Check these in your own ad account.
- Location. Use the suburbs or radius you actually travel to, and name them in the ad as well.
- Narrow interests are optional. Broad targeting with a clear ad and good form questions can work. Test, do not assume.
- Your own account. Run the ads in an ad account in your business name, even if someone else manages them, so the page, the data and the lead history stay yours.
- The ad itself is a filter. Name the job and the area in the ad. “Decks in the Eastern Suburbs” attracts different people from “Free quote”.
For ad rules on housing and related categories, read Meta’s current policies yourself before you run anything. They change.
Ring within minutes
An enquiry from a scrolling feed goes cold quickly. The person has moved on to something else by the time you ring an hour later. Set an alert on your phone and ring as soon as you can. The routine in how fast to call a bought lead works the same for ad enquiries: ring, ask three questions, text if there is no answer, and stop after a set number of tries.
If you miss calls on site, an automatic text that says you got the enquiry and when you will ring holds the lead until your next break.
Track to signed job
Cost per enquiry is the number Facebook shows you, and it is the least useful one. Keep your own simple record for each ad enquiry.
- Did they answer the phone?
- Was it a real job in your area?
- Did you quote?
- Did they sign?
After a month, work out the ad cost for every signed job. Compare ads and forms on that. A form that gets half as many enquiries but twice the signed jobs wins. If a lot of enquiries have fake names or numbers, see fake and duplicate leads for what to check.
When to switch to checked enquiries
Running your own ads is worth it if you have the time to manage them and ring fast. If you do not, someone else can run the ads and check each enquiry first. PreBuild Systems runs ads in your own account, and it rings every homeowner who enquires before one business gets them. See the ads page and the homeowners page.
Common questions
Do Facebook ads work for tradies?
They can bring enquiries, but quality varies. The form questions and how fast you ring decide most of it.
Why are my Facebook leads fake or not answering?
An easy form lets people submit with little thought, and some details are mistyped. Add a review step, ask a real question, and ring quickly.
Should I use an instant form or send people to my website?
Test both. Compare how many answer the phone and how many sign.
How do I get better quality enquiries from Facebook?
Name the job and area in the ad, ask a few qualifying questions, and track to signed jobs.