Work out what a lead is worth to you, then budget for enough leads to win the jobs you want. In our example electrical business, a lead is worth about $66, a lead costs about $45, and 20 jobs a month takes about $2,610 a month in ads. To start, about $32–$64 a day for the first fortnight is enough to learn which ads bring work.
Every electrician is different. The figures in this guide show the method; swap in your own job value, margin and close rate to get your budget. Example amounts are shown in your currency.
Step 1: what a lead is worth to you
Three numbers decide it: what a job is worth, the share of that you keep after costs, and how many of your leads become paying work. Multiply them and you get the most you can pay for a lead and still break even.
| Example electrical business | |
|---|---|
| Average job value | $420 |
| Margin you keep after costs | 45% |
| Leads that become paying jobs | 35% |
| A lead is worth | $66 |
Pay less than that per lead and your ads make money; pay more and they lose it, however busy the phone is. There’s more on this in what a lead is worth.
Step 2: what leads cost
In the US, the median Facebook cost per lead for home and home improvement businesses is about US$41, against about US$28 across all industries1. Leads are getting dearer too: the average cost per lead rose about 21% in a year2.
Your own cost depends on your area, your offer and your ads. This example uses $45 a lead. Once your ads have run for a few weeks, use your real figure from Ads Manager.
Step 3: budget for the jobs you want
Start from the work you want, not from a number that feels safe. Divide the jobs you want each month by your close rate to get the leads you need, then multiply by what a lead costs.
| Each month | |
|---|---|
| Paying jobs wanted | 20 |
| Leads needed (20 ÷ 35%) | 58 |
| Cost per lead (example) | $45 |
| Monthly ad budget | $2,610 |
| Kept from those jobs before ads | $3,780 |
| Left after the ads are paid for | $1,170 |
If the last line comes out small or negative with your own numbers, more ad spend won’t fix it. Lift the value of each job, your close rate or your margin first, or aim the ads at the jobs worth more.
Step 4: how much to start with
A brand-new campaign needs enough results to tell a good ad from a bad one. Meta has long described about 50 results in 7 days as the point an ad set leaves its learning phase, though some accounts have been shown lower bars3. Most small businesses can’t afford 50 leads a week, so aim for 10–20 leads across the first two weeks instead.
At $45 a lead, that’s about $32–$64 a day. Run two or three ads, judge them on the jobs they bring, then move budget to the winners a step at a time.
The jobs worth advertising
Electricians have a wider spread of job values than most trades: a smoke alarm compliance check and a switchboard upgrade or EV charger install are very different jobs. Work out your budget around the jobs you actually want more of, not your average call-out.
- Switchboard upgrades: high value, often triggered by a failed inspection or a renovation.
- EV charger installs: a growing job that people research online before they call anyone.
- Solar and battery work: big tickets, longer decisions, and lots of comparison shopping.
- Smoke alarm and safety compliance: steady volume, lower value, often landlords and property managers.
Ad ideas for electricians
- A reel of an EV charger install in a real garage, with the car plugged in at the end.
- A clear offer for switchboard upgrades aimed at homes of a certain age in your area.
- A landlord-focused compliance ad that sells convenience: booked, done and reported without them being there.
When to spend more, and less
Air-conditioning and solar enquiries climb into summer; safety and smoke alarm work follows end-of-financial-year and new tenancy dates. EV charger demand tends to follow new car deliveries, which isn’t seasonal at all.
Mistakes that waste budget
One ad for every kind of job
A single “sparky near you” ad can’t tell you which work it brings. Run the jobs you care about as separate ads so each one is judged on its own results.
Chasing cheap compliance leads with a high-value budget
Low-value jobs can fill the diary and still lose money once travel and time are counted. Put the most budget behind the jobs with the best value per lead.
Changing everything every day
Big edits to budgets, audiences or ads send an ad set back into learning, and results wobble while it relearns. Make fewer, bigger changes and give them a few days.
Spreading a small budget over too many ads
Ten ads on $45 a day means none of them gets enough leads to judge. Fewer ads, each with a fair share of the budget, tell you more, faster.
Agency or do it yourself?
Agencies commonly charge $500–5,000 a month, or 10–20% of ad spend, on top of the ads themselves45. On a $2,610 budget, that fee can be a big share of what you spend reaching customers. A good agency can earn it; if you mainly need someone watching the numbers and telling you what to change, you may not need one. See the signs your agency isn’t worth it.
Questions
What does a Facebook lead cost for an electrician?
The US median for home and home improvement businesses is about US$41 a lead1. Yours will differ by area and job type; what matters is whether a lead costs less than it’s worth to you.
Do electricians need a website to run Facebook ads?
No. Lead form and Messenger ads work without one. A good website helps people who want to check you out first, and it lets you send different jobs to different pages.
How many ads should an electrician run?
Two or three per type of job is plenty to start. More than that splits a small budget so thinly that no single ad gets enough results to judge.
See what your own ads are worth
Tony checks every live ad each morning and tells you which to turn off, which to scale and why, using your numbers. The first audit is free and takes four minutes.
Sources. Dollar figures from studies are shown in your currency, converted at Reserve Bank of Australia rates for 9 October 2026 and rounded; each source has the original. Example amounts are the same number in your currency.
- WordStream (LocaliQ), Facebook Ads Benchmarks 2025: medians of 726 US lead campaigns, April 2024 – June 2025. www.wordstream.com/blog/facebook-ads-benchmarks-2025
- Search Engine Land, “Facebook ad costs jump 21% in 2025, but still beat Google”, September 2025 (WordStream LocaliQ data). searchengineland.com/facebook-ad-costs-jump-beat-google-461690
- Jon Loomer, “Is the learning phase changing?”, May 2024: Meta’s documentation reflects about 50 optimised events in 7 days to exit learning; some accounts were shown 10 in 3 days. www.jonloomer.com/qvt/is-the-learning-phase-changing/
- Margin Media, “How much does it cost to advertise on Facebook in Australia?”, October 2024: management usually A$500–5,000 a month, or 10–20% of ad spend. marginmedia.com.au/our-blog/facebook-ad-costs-australia
- Linear Design, Facebook ads management pricing guide, 2026: US$500–5,000+ a month or 10–25% of spend; many require 3–6 month minimums, some 6–12. lineardesign.com/blog/facebook-ads-management-pricing-guide/