The problem with paid ads for small businesses
Google Ads and Facebook Ads work—but they're expensive, require ongoing spending, and stop the moment you stop paying. A Taranaki electrician paying $500/month for Google Ads needs to book 2-3 jobs just to break even. The moment the budget runs out, leads disappear.
Organic strategies require more upfront work but deliver compounding returns. Get it right once, and you're generating leads for years without ongoing ad spend.
Real example: Word-of-mouth vs. organic search
A New Plymouth plumber relied entirely on word-of-mouth for 10 years. Worked fine—until word-of-mouth dried up during COVID and he had no work for 8 weeks.
After implementing the strategies below, he now gets 15-20 organic quote requests per month from Google. Word-of-mouth is still great, but he's no longer dependent on it.
Strategy 1: Local SEO (highest ROI for NZ businesses)
Local SEO is how you show up when someone in your area searches for what you do. For trades, cafes, salons, and local services, this is the highest-return strategy.
Google Business Profile (do this first)
Free listing that appears in Google Maps and local search results. Most NZ businesses either don't have one or haven't optimised it properly.
Setup checklist:
- Claim and verify your listing
- Add accurate business hours, phone, address
- Upload 10+ quality photos (storefront, team, work samples)
- Choose correct categories (be specific)
- Write a compelling description with keywords
- Get 10+ reviews from happy customers
- Post weekly updates (photos, offers, news)
Impact: Properly optimised profiles get 5-10x more visibility in local search. This alone can generate 10-20 enquiries per month.
Service area pages
Create dedicated pages for each area you serve. A Wellington plumber should have pages for Wellington, Lower Hutt, Porirua, Upper Hutt—not just one "Wellington plumber" page.
What to include:
- Area name in page title and headings
- Specific landmarks or suburbs
- Local testimonials if possible
- Response time for that area
- Simple contact form
Impact: Rank for "your service + specific suburb" searches. Low competition, high intent.
Local citations and directories
Get listed in NZ business directories with consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone). Google uses these to verify your business is legitimate and local.
Priority directories for NZ:
- Yellow Pages NZ
- Finda.co.nz
- Localist.co.nz
- NoCowboys.co.nz (trades)
- Neighbourly.co.nz
- Local chamber of commerce
- Industry-specific directories
Time required: 2-4 hours one-time. Set reminders to update if business details change.
Strategy 2: Website conversion optimisation
Traffic is worthless if visitors don't convert. Most NZ business websites get traffic but fail to turn visitors into customers.
Make it stupid-easy to contact you
Mobile visitors (65% of traffic) want to call or text immediately. Make phone numbers clickable, add WhatsApp/SMS buttons, and keep forms short.
Test: Can someone on a phone contact you in under 5 seconds? If not, you're losing customers.
Show pricing (even ranges)
People want to know if they can afford you. "Contact for pricing" loses 60-70% of potential customers. Even rough ranges ("$500-$2,000" or "from $199") help people self-qualify.
Exception: Very high-ticket services ($10k+) where pricing depends heavily on scope.
Load fast on mobile
Every second of load time costs you 10-15% of visitors. If your site takes 5 seconds to load on 4G, half your visitors have already left.
Target: Under 2 seconds on mobile. Use Google PageSpeed Insights to test.
Add social proof
Reviews, testimonials, before/after photos, client logos—anything that shows you've done this successfully before. People want to see evidence.
Quick win: Add 3-5 Google reviews to your homepage with star ratings visible.
Clear value proposition above the fold
Within 3 seconds of landing on your site, visitors should know: what you do, who it's for, and why they should care. No vague mission statements.
Formula: "We help [who] [do what] in [where]." E.g., "Fast, reliable electrical services for Taranaki homes and businesses."
Strategy 3: Content that answers customer questions
People search for answers to problems. If your website provides those answers, Google sends you that traffic. This is how you compete with bigger competitors.
Write about problems, not services
Nobody searches "professional electrical contractor services." They search "why does my power keep tripping" or "cost to rewire house nz."
Examples of content that ranks and converts:
- "How much does it cost to [service] in [location]?"
- "What causes [common problem]?"
- "[Service] vs [alternative] - which is better?"
- "How long does [service] take?"
- "Do I need a [license/permit] for [thing]?"
Answer the question fully, then offer your service
Don't write thin content just to rank. Genuinely answer the question in 300-800 words, then add a clear call-to-action at the end.
Format: Problem → Solution → How it works → What it costs (roughly) → CTA to contact you.
Target long-tail keywords with low competition
You won't rank for "plumber nz" (too competitive). You can rank for "emergency plumber lower hutt weekend" or "cost to replace hot water cylinder wellington."
Tool: Type your service into Google and look at "People also ask" and autocomplete suggestions. Those are real questions people search.
Strategy 4: Get more (and better) reviews
Reviews directly impact local search rankings and conversion rates. A business with 50+ reviews gets 5x more clicks than one with 5 reviews, even if they rank the same.
Ask at the right moment
Ask for reviews when customers are happiest—right after you've solved their problem. Send a text or email within 24 hours with a direct link to your Google Business Profile.
Template: "Thanks for choosing us! If you're happy with the work, a quick Google review would help us enormously: [link]"
Make it frictionless
Don't make people search for your business. Send them a direct review link that opens straight to the review form.
How to get your link: Google "get google review link" or use tools like ReviewShake, BirdEye, or Podium.
Respond to all reviews (especially negative ones)
Thank people for positive reviews. For negative reviews, respond professionally, apologise if warranted, and offer to make it right. How you handle complaints tells potential customers a lot.
Bonus: Responding to reviews signals to Google that you're an active, engaged business.
Target: 1-2 new reviews per week
Don't aim for 100 reviews overnight (Google flags sudden review spikes). Get 1-2 genuine reviews per week. In 6 months you'll have 25-50 reviews, which is usually enough to dominate local search.
Strategy 5: Leverage existing customer base
Your existing customers are your best source of new customers. Most businesses completely underutilise this.
Email list (even a simple one)
Collect emails from every customer. Send a quarterly newsletter with useful tips, seasonal reminders, and special offers. Even a 2% conversion rate on 500 emails is 10 jobs.
Tools: Mailchimp (free up to 500 contacts), Google Workspace (if you already have it), or simple BCC emails.
Referral incentives
Offer a small incentive for referrals: "$50 off your next service if you refer a friend who books." Make it easy—give customers referral cards to hand out.
Cost: Only pay when you get actual work. Far cheaper than ads.
Stay top-of-mind
People forget you exist unless you remind them. A café owner sending "winter menu launched" emails, a plumber sending "pre-winter heating check" reminders—simple touches that generate repeat business.
Timeline: What to expect
Organic strategies take longer than ads but deliver better long-term results. Here's a realistic timeline:
Week 1-2: Setup
Google Business Profile, website conversion fixes, review request system, directory submissions.
Month 1-2: Early results
First reviews coming in, Google Business Profile getting views, website traffic slowly increasing. 2-5 new monthly enquiries from organic.
Month 3-6: Momentum builds
Ranking for local keywords, 15-25 reviews accumulated, consistent enquiries. 10-15 monthly organic leads.
Month 6-12: Compounding returns
Dominating local search, 30+ reviews, ranking for multiple keywords. 15-30 monthly organic leads, reduced reliance on word-of-mouth or ads.
Key insight: Month 1 is slow. Month 6 is transformational. Month 12, you wonder why you didn't start sooner.
Start with these three things
Don't try to do everything at once. Start with the highest-impact actions:
1. Optimise your Google Business Profile (2 hours)
Photos, description, categories, hours. Start asking happy customers for reviews this week.
2. Fix your website's mobile experience (4 hours)
Make phone number clickable, reduce load time, simplify contact forms. Test on your phone.
3. Create one quality content page (3 hours)
Answer one question your customers frequently ask. Target a long-tail keyword. Publish and promote.
Do these three things well, and you'll see results within 4-8 weeks. Everything else builds on this foundation.