Why are my Facebook leads bad quality?

Nearly always because the campaign uses an instant lead form with no qualifying questions and no price framing in the creative. Add a budget-range question, state a starting price, and optimise for qualified leads rather than raw form fills.

How much do I need to spend on Meta Ads?

About $1,500 per month is the practical minimum for the algorithm to gather enough data. Most established trade businesses run $2,000–$5,000 per month plus regular creative refreshes.

Should I run Google and Meta at the same time?

If your budget allows it, yes. Google captures the people ready to buy now; Meta builds the pipeline of people who'll be ready in three months. Businesses running both typically see their Google conversion rate improve too, because prospects already recognise the brand.

Are Meta Ads Worth It for Tradies? Honest 2026 Answer

Q: Are Meta Ads worth it for tradies?

For visual, high-value, considered trades — renovators, roofers, concreters, landscapers, pool builders — yes, they're often the cheapest source of qualified enquiries available. For urgent, low-value call-out trades like emergency plumbing or locksmithing, Google Ads is a much better use of the same money.

Meta Ads are worth it for tradies whose work is visual, considered and high value. They're usually a waste of money for tradies whose work is urgent, invisible and low value. That single distinction explains almost every success and failure we've seen.

Trades where Meta works

Trade	Verdict	Why
Bathroom renovators	Excellent	Visual, considered, $15k–$40k jobs
Roofers (restoration)	Excellent	Dramatic before-and-after, high value
Concreters	Excellent	Finished surfaces photograph beautifully
Landscapers	Excellent	Transformation content performs
Pool builders	Very good	Aspirational, long consideration
Emergency plumbers	Poor	Demand is urgent — use Google
Locksmiths	Poor	Nobody plans a lockout in advance

The lead quality problem, and how to fix it

The usual complaint is "Facebook leads are rubbish". Almost always this means an unqualified instant lead form was run with no price framing. Meta will happily give you very cheap leads from people who will never buy — you have to tell it not to.

1
State a starting price in the creative
"Full bathroom renovations from $22,000." Instantly removes people with a $6,000 expectation.
2
Use a form with real questions
Budget range, timeframe, property type. Fewer leads, far better ones.
3
Optimise for qualified conversions
Send the qualified-lead event back to Meta so it learns who to find.
4
Respond within 15 minutes
Meta leads cool faster than Google leads because the person wasn't actively searching.

Judge Meta on pipeline, not on this month

A Meta enquiry for a $30,000 renovation may close four months later. Judging the channel on 30-day revenue makes it look broken. Track leads by cohort and you'll usually find the numbers are far better than they appeared.