The short version: most roofing leads in the UK come from Google search, Google Maps and word of mouth. The roofers who get the most work online do a handful of practical things well, and do them consistently:
- A Google Business Profile that ranks in the map results for every town they cover
- A separate web page for each roofing service and each main area
- A steady flow of genuine Google reviews
- Google Ads aimed only at the jobs worth having
- Social media ads built around before-and-after photos and short job videos
- Tracking, so they know which of the above is actually bringing in work
Below is how each one works in practice, based on over 10 years of marketing roofing companies.
1. Get your Google Business Profile right
When someone searches “roofer near me” or “roof repairs” plus their town on a phone, the map results usually appear first and take a large share of the calls. Your Google Business Profile decides whether you appear there.
Choose “Roofing contractor” as your main category and add any others that genuinely apply. List every service you offer (roof repairs, re-roofing, flat roofs, roughcasting, fascias and soffits, chimney repairs) and set your service areas to the towns you actually want to work in. Add real photos of your own jobs every week or two. A profile with 200 genuine job photos looks very different to a customer from one with three stock images.
2. Build a page for every service and every town
A homepage that lists every service and every town will rarely rank for any of them. Google wants to send someone searching “flat roof repairs Motherwell” to a page about flat roof repairs in Motherwell.
Start with a page for each main service, then add pages for the towns you most want work in. Each one should be genuinely useful: what the job involves, materials you use, roughly how long it takes, guarantees, photos of that type of job, and reviews from customers in that area. Thin pages that just swap the town name don’t work and can hold the whole site back.
3. Make reviews part of every job
Roofing is a trust purchase. Homeowners worry about cowboy roofers, and reviews are the first thing they check. They also help you rank in the map results.
The simplest system is the best one: send a short text with your Google review link the day you finish a job, while the customer is still pleased. A second, gentle reminder a few days later roughly doubles the number you get. Reply to every review, good or bad, politely and briefly.
4. Use Google Ads for the jobs that pay
Google Ads puts you at the top of the page within days, which makes it the fastest way to fill gaps in the diary. It’s also the fastest way to waste money if it’s set up badly, because roofing clicks are expensive.
Point your ads at your most valuable jobs, such as re-roofs, flat roofs, roughcasting and urgent repairs, and send each one to a page about that service, not your homepage. Block searches that will never become a job, such as “roofing jobs”, “roofer salary”, “roofing course” and “how to fix a slipped slate”. Only show ads in the areas you cover and at the hours you can answer the phone. After a storm, repair searches jump, so raise the budget for a few days to meet them.
See how we run Google Ads for trade businesses.
5. Run social media ads with your best before-and-afters
Facebook and Instagram reach homeowners before they start searching, which Google can’t do. Successful lead-generation campaigns for roofers usually rely on strong visuals: a tired roof next to the finished re-roof, a dated pebble-dash house transformed with new roughcast, or a 20-second clip from the scaffold.
Use a simple lead form so people can ask for a quote without leaving the app, target homeowners in the towns you cover, and refresh the creative every few weeks. Social leads are often earlier in their decision than Google leads, so a quick, friendly follow-up matters even more.
6. Make your website prove you’re not a cowboy
Most homeowners check your website before they ring, even if they found you on Google Maps or Facebook. In a few seconds on a phone, it needs to tell them who you are, where you work, what you do and how to get in touch.
The essentials: your phone number at the top of every page and easy to tap, photos of your own work, guarantees and insurance details, any trade accreditations, reviews, and a short quote form. A slow site, stock photos or a broken contact form will lose you jobs you never knew about.
7. Show up in AI search
More homeowners now ask ChatGPT, Google’s AI answers or similar tools to recommend a roofer near them, and roofing companies we work with regularly see enquiries come through this way. These tools tend to recommend businesses that:
- Have clear pages explaining each service and area they cover
- Have plenty of genuine reviews
- Appear with the same name, address and phone number across directories and the wider web
- Are mentioned on other websites, such as local news, suppliers, trade bodies and community pages
None of this is separate from good SEO. It’s the same work, done properly.
8. Plan around the weather
Roofing demand follows the seasons. Storms bring a rush of repair enquiries. Spring and summer are when homeowners plan re-roofs and roughcasting. Winter brings leaks and emergencies. Plan your content, ads and social posts ahead of each phase rather than reacting once the phones are already ringing for someone else.
9. Treat lead platforms as a top-up, not the plan
MyBuilder, Checkatrade, Rated People and similar sites can fill gaps, especially when you’re starting out. But leads are usually shared with other roofers, which turns every job into a price comparison. Your own website and Google profile bring customers who contacted you and nobody else. The aim is to rely on platforms less each year, not to drop them overnight.
10. Track every lead
If you don’t know where each enquiry came from, you can’t tell what’s working. Use a tracked phone number for your ads, track form submissions, and ask every new customer how they found you. Review it monthly: leads by source, what each cost, and which turned into jobs. That’s how you know where to put more money, and what to switch off.
Common mistakes roofers make with marketing
- One homepage trying to rank for every service and town
- Google Ads with no blocked searches, paying for job seekers and DIYers
- Sending ad clicks to the homepage instead of a service page
- Stock photos instead of real jobs
- No routine for asking for reviews
- Buying an agency package with no tracking and no clear report of what was done
Frequently asked questions
How many leads should a roofing company expect from marketing?
It depends on your area, competition, services and budget. As a guide, the roofing companies we work with typically get 30 to 50 leads a month each on modest budgets once everything is set up properly.
Is SEO or Google Ads better for a roofer?
Both. Google Ads brings work in quickly and can be turned up after storms. SEO takes a few months but keeps bringing leads without paying per click. Most roofers do best running ads while SEO builds underneath.
How long does SEO take for a roofing company?
Google Maps rankings often improve within the first couple of months once your profile and reviews are sorted. Ranking for competitive city searches usually takes six months or more. Smaller towns tend to be quicker.
Do Facebook ads work for roofers?
They can, especially for re-roofs and roughcasting where strong before-and-after photos do the selling. They work best alongside Google, not instead of it.
Want help getting more roofing leads?
We’ve been marketing roofing companies for over a decade and have helped roofers grow into multi-million-pound businesses. See how we approach roofer marketing, or ask for a free audit of your website, Google profile and ads.
Written by Yas, Director at ISTRATAGEM, a Glasgow-based marketing agency working with trade businesses across the UK.