Home / Benchmarks / Cabinet-Maker / Joinery
The Cabinet-Maker / Joinery Benchmark
Most Aussie cabinet-maker / joinery businesses leave about $9,450/mo on the table. Here’s where the leak is. Every number sourced. No guesses.
What good looks like across the five measures — the Google review bar, the website scorecard, the GBP setup, the ops baseline, and the buyer’s actual questions. Every figure is sourced or labelled. No guesses.
modelled — sizes the leak, not a quote. Average job value (AJV) from modelled: blend: kitchen cabinetry ~$15,000 / built-in wardrobe ~$3,750 / bathroom vanity ~$2,500 (50/30/20) (airtasker, joycekitchens); close rate from hipages platform analysis (20minutemarketing.com.au); default 10 enquiries/month.
Field data · 2026-06-12 · How we score
Where you stand
Five things decide whether a cabinet-maker / joinery gets found and gets the call. Here’s where you stand on each — and the number to beat.
| The review bar | 10 reviews (your suburb) | → |
| The website scorecard | 26.9/45 vs market 31/45 | → |
| The Google profile | category check primary category review | → |
| Your numbers | AJV $9,000 · leak $9,450/mo | → |
| What buyers ask | 8 questions to answer in writing | → |
The 45-point test for your trade
Cabinet-Maker / Joinery sites score 26.9 / 45 on the same nine-dimension rubric we ran across 289 Australian trade sites. The market median is 31/45. Read the trade score as a guide, not a hard stat — it rests on 10 AU sites. Your Google review bar above is the harder number. Top of the pack: BJF Joinery at 35/45.
The two weakest spots are SEO/AI Usefulness (2.3/5) and Local Relevance (2.8/5). Good sites look good and they convert. They don't answer buyer questions in plain form.
| Dimension | Trade average /5 |
|---|---|
| 3-Second Clarity | 3.4 |
| Visual Polish | 3.3 |
| Trust Above Fold | 3.1 |
| CTA Clarity | 3.4 |
| Local Relevance weakest | 2.8 |
| Service Architecture | 3 |
| Proof Depth | 2.8 |
| SEO/AI Usefulness weakest | 2.3 |
| Mobile/Speed Confidence | 2.8 |
The one to study
Husk&Co. — huskandco.com.au
Copy this: Excellent owner-led premium joinery model with quote from owner and purposeful design/practical solution framing.
Design direction: Premium, calm, image-led, strong whitespace and proof
Build rule. Use AU model for realistic owner-operator structure; use national/US models for scale, proof, conversion and service-page architecture.
Your Map Pack reality
Your suburb's bar: about 10 Google reviews (Google Places API (New) (field median)). The quiet quarter sits at 4, the top quarter at 24, the busiest carries 273 — across 394 listings.
Reviews here are table stakes. The top-3 (median 11) carry about the same as spots 4–6 (median 10). Hit the bar, then win on distance, category fit, and site signals.
| Metro | Median reviews |
|---|---|
| Adelaide | 9 |
| Ballarat | 5 |
| Brisbane | 18 |
| Cairns | 10 |
| Canberra | 5 |
| Darwin | 11 |
| Geelong | 5 |
| Gold Coast | 9 |
| Hobart | 3 |
| Melbourne | 24 |
| Newcastle | 11 |
| Perth | 10 |
| Sunshine Coast | 14 |
| Sydney | 16 |
| Toowoomba | 9 |
| Townsville | 7 |
| Wollongong | 18 |
Reviews get you seen. The profile they tap decides what happens next →
The Google profile
Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is the cheapest win on this page. It costs nothing. It moves first.
Most in your trade have the main category set right. Check yours is the most exact one Google offers. Bland always loses to exact.
What we measure — and what we won’t
Review count and prominence rank are public — we read them via the Google Places API. The owner-only fields — photo count, post cadence, messaging response speed — we never scrape from a competitor. Connect your own profile to read those.
Profile set right. Now answer what they ask before they ring →
What homeowners ask before they hire you
A homeowner searches before they call. They're already looking, reading and choosing. Below are the real questions — from accounts across 8 states.
Answer each one on your site in plain form. That's the SEO/AI gap, closed.
How do I know they're any good?
the moment you sign the contract and pay the deposit, everything goes downhill Trust/Red-flags · source
How do I know they're any good?
The designer / sales person pressure you to sign up on the day to obtain a 10% discount Trust/Red-flags · source
How much will this cost me?
intense pressure to pay a deposit on the spot — once you do, you're locked into months of stress Price/Cost · source
How long will I be waiting?
It has taken 5 months+ (started July '25) for this job to be at the point of sign off and it is still not to the standard we expected Timing/Urgency · source
What do I need to know?
1st delivery -15 damaged doors! ...you are usually met with silence - they dont seem to care Outcome/Guarantee · source
What does the job involve?
they wipe their hands of any issues and push onto the installer...they are not interested in problems Process · source
How long will I be waiting?
I contacted service to get an updated ETA only to get told that they were pushing my order down the queue because of some larger commercial order Timing/Urgency · source
What do I need to know?
The order arrived in 16mm MDF, not what I wanted or paid for... on contacting them was told they had more important things and would deal with it in a couple of weeks Edge-cases · source
Read what your customers are reading — the cabinet-maker / joinery buyer guide on Need A Trade
Where your trade leaks money
AJV: $9,000 (modelled: blend: kitchen cabinetry ~$15,000 / built-in wardrobe ~$3,750 / bathroom vanity ~$2,500 (50/30/20) (airtasker, joycekitchens)). Close rate: 20–25%. With follow-up: up to 33%. (hipages platform analysis (20minutemarketing.com.au))
Revenue-leak calculator
Benchmark close rate ~25–33% (hipages platform data). AJV is modelled — see the label above. This is an estimate to size the leak, not a quote.
The 30/60/90 play
Three stages. Each one closes a gap on a measure above.
-
First 30 days — Foundation.
- Fix the two weak dimensions on the scorecard.
- Set the right Google profile category.
- Tighten the above-the-fold trust strip.
-
By 60 days — Proof.
- Start the review engine. Ask every completed job.
- Push toward the 10 review bar.
- Add before/after proof to the weakest dimension.
-
By 90 days — Activation.
- Publish the structured FAQ/answer blocks.
- Wire fast response to every enquiry.
- Re-score against the 45-point test. Aim for at least 4 points up.
Score yourself (0–5 each)
Ten questions. Tap your score on each. The total updates as you go.
-
3-Second Clarity — trade + suburb + customer in your headline?
-
Visual Polish — real job photography, consistent design?
-
Trust Above Fold — reviews/licence/years visible before scroll?
-
CTA Clarity — obvious primary + secondary next step?
-
Local Relevance — service area and suburbs explicit?
-
Service Architecture — services organised by buyer intent?
-
Proof Depth — specific proof stack (before/after, named jobs)?
-
SEO/AI Usefulness — buyer questions answered in structured form?
-
Mobile/Speed — fast, readable, thumb-friendly?
-
Google reviews vs your trade bar (10)?
Score: 0/50
Tap your score on each question above.
Guides for your trade
Fix the leaks yourself. Each guide is one topic, one method, one move.
Common leaks for this trade
The leaks good cabinet-maker / joinerys feel first. Read the one that sounds like your week.
Build the first fix
Each leak has a fix you can build. Start with the one at the top of your list.
That's what good looks like for cabinet-maker / joinery.
See how your profile, site and reviews actually score.
Run the Visibility Check