15 Free Ways to Advertise Your Small Business in Australia

You can advertise a small business in Australia without spending a cent, and most of the channels that work are the boring ones: a claimed Google Business Profile, a handful of directory listings, a Facebook Page that posts on the right day, a sign on the ute, and a habit of asking happy customers to tell someone. None of these will flood you with work on their own. Together, and kept up over a few months, they are how most local businesses actually get found.

TL;DR

Start with Google Business Profile, because that is where "plumber near me" searches land. Then get listed on the free directories, set up a Facebook Page and join your local community groups, and put your suburb in your website title. After that it is people work: ask for reviews, ask for referrals, partner with a business next door, and send a short note to the local paper. Each channel is free in money but costs an hour or two to set up and a little attention each month.

1. Claim your Google Business Profile

Go to Google Business Profile, search for your business name, and either claim the existing listing or create one. Google will verify you by postcard, phone, email or video depending on the business. Fill in every field: categories, hours, phone, website, service areas, and at least ten photos of real work. This one listing feeds Google Search and Google Maps, and it is the single biggest free channel for any local business. What it does not do is rank you on its own. Reviews, photos and a complete profile are what move you up the map pack. While you are in there, create a Google Post: an update, an offer, or an event. Posts expire, so treat them like a shop window sign you change monthly. A profile with a recent post looks open and converts more of the people who already found you. Our complete guide to Google Business Profile walks through every setting.

2. Get listed on the free directories

Directory listings do two things: they send a trickle of direct enquiries, and they give Google consistent signals about your name, address and phone number. Use the exact same business name and phone format on every site. Do not bother with the paid tiers on most of them. Our top 20 free business listing sites in Australia covers which ones are worth an afternoon. You can add your business to The Local List for free as part of that pass, and every listing is checked against the Australian Business Register.

3. Set up a Facebook Business Page

Create the Page at facebook.com/pages/create, pick the local business category, and fill in address, hours, phone and a plain description. Post a few times a month: a finished job, a before and after, a change of hours. A Page with no posts since 2023 looks closed. Do not expect organic reach to be large. Meta shows Page posts to a small slice of followers unless people engage. Its real value is that people check the Page before they call, and it gives you a place to be tagged.

4. Join local community Facebook groups

Almost every suburb and town in Australia has a "Community Noticeboard" or "Buy Swap Sell" group, and they are where "can anyone recommend a good electrician?" gets asked daily. Join as yourself, not as your Page. Read the rules: most groups ban business posts except on a set day (often "Self-Promotion Sunday" or "Business Monday"), and posting outside that day gets you removed. Answer recommendation requests with a short, honest reply and let members tag you. This is one of the few channels that produces jobs the same week.

5. Use Instagram with location tags

Instagram works for visual trades and shopfronts: landscapers, cake makers, cafes, hairdressers, painters. Tag the suburb or venue in every post and use the location sticker on stories, because locals browse those location pages. Reels of a job in progress get more reach than a polished photo. If you sell something people cannot see, such as bookkeeping, Instagram is a low return and you can skip it without guilt.

6. Post on Nextdoor

Nextdoor is smaller than Facebook in Australia but its whole point is neighbourhood recommendations, and the people on it are homeowners. Set up a free business page, then respond when someone nearby asks for a tradie or service. Do not broadcast offers into the feed. Coverage is patchy outside the capital cities, so check how active your area is before spending time on it.

7. Ask every happy customer for a review

Reviews are the ranking factor you control most directly, and most businesses never ask. Do it at the moment of satisfaction: when the job is done and the customer says thanks. Text them your Google review link (you can copy it from your Business Profile dashboard) with one line: "If you have a minute, a quick review helps us a lot." Do not offer discounts for reviews, which breaches Google's policy and can get the reviews removed. Reply to every review, including the bad ones, in a calm sentence or two.

8. Ask existing customers for referrals

Most of your best future customers already know one of your current ones. Ask directly: "If you know anyone else who needs this, I would appreciate you passing my number on." Some businesses add a small thank-you for a referral that turns into a job. Keep it simple and legal, and do not pester. A referral ask costs nothing and converts far better than a stranger from an ad.

9. Partner with a complementary local business

The cafe and the florist next door share customers but do not compete. Swap business cards on the counter, tag each other on social, or put together a simple bundle (flowers and a coffee voucher for Mother's Day). Tradies can do the same: a plumber and an electrician who refer each other will both be busier. Pick one partner, agree what each of you will do, and check in every couple of months.

10. Use local noticeboards

Libraries, IGA supermarkets, community centres, sports clubs and laundromats still have corkboards, and people still read them while waiting. Print a clear A5 flyer with what you do, the suburbs you cover, and a phone number in large type. Ask permission before pinning. This is old-fashioned and slow, and it works best for services people want nearby: cleaners, dog walkers, tutors, gardeners.

11. Sign your vehicle

A ute or van that says what you do and how to call you is a moving billboard that costs nothing after the one-off signwriting. If even that is out of budget, a pair of magnetic door signs is cheap and comes off at the weekend. Keep it readable at 20 metres: business name, trade, suburb, phone. The website URL matters less than the phone number. Park it where people walk past while you work.

12. Start a simple email list

You do not need a fancy newsletter. Collect email addresses from customers who agree to hear from you, and send a short monthly note: what you have been working on, a seasonal reminder (gutters before storm season, air conditioning service before summer), and one offer. A free tier on any mainstream email tool handles a few hundred contacts. Only email people who opted in; the Spam Act applies to businesses of every size.

13. Answer questions in local forums and Reddit

Reddit has active subs for every Australian capital, and people there ask for tradie and service recommendations constantly. Answer with useful, specific advice and mention your business only when it is directly relevant and the sub allows it. The same goes for local forums and Whirlpool threads. Spamming gets you banned within a day. Being the person who gave a straight answer about why a hot water system fails gets you remembered.

14. Send a note to local media

Community newspapers and local radio still run "new business opens in town" pieces and are short of content. Email the editor three or four sentences: who you are, what you do, why you started, and a photo. Do the same when you hit a milestone or do something for the community. There is no guarantee they run it, but when they do it comes with a link and a level of trust no ad buys.

15. Put your suburb in your website title

This one underpins the rest. A basic website, even a single page, with your suburb and trade in the page title ("Plumber in Frankston | Smith Plumbing") is how you show up for the searches that matter. Add your phone number, hours, a few photos, and the suburbs you service. The site does not need to be pretty. It needs to load fast on a phone and say where you are.

Where to start this week

Do the Google Business Profile today, the directory listings and Facebook Page this week, and set a reminder to ask for a review after every job. The rest can come one at a time. If you want more on turning those channels into work, read 10 ways to get more local customers. And if you have not listed yet, add your business to The Local List for free.