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The Excavation & Earthmoving Benchmark
Most Aussie excavation & earthmoving businesses leave about $2,100/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: trench 35m ~$925 / pool ~$1,750 / foundation ~$3,500 / driveway ~$575; ServiceSeeking platform avg $2,107 (oneflare, serviceseeking); 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 excavation & earthmoving gets found and gets the call. Here’s where you stand on each — and the number to beat.
| The review bar | 6 reviews (your suburb) | → |
| The website scorecard | 27.7/45 vs market 31/45 | → |
| The Google profile | category to fix (most are set wrong) | → |
| Your numbers | AJV $2,000 · leak $2,100/mo | → |
| What buyers ask | 8 questions to answer in writing | → |
The 45-point test for your trade
Excavation & Earthmoving sites score 27.7 / 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 3 AU sites. Your Google review bar above is the harder number. Top of the pack: Quality Excavations & Earthworks at 32/45.
The two weakest spots are Proof Depth (2/5) and Trust Above Fold (2.33/5). Good sites look good and they convert. They don't answer buyer questions in plain form.
| Dimension | Trade average /5 |
|---|---|
| 3-Second Clarity | 3.67 |
| Visual Polish | 2.67 |
| Trust Above Fold weakest | 2.33 |
| CTA Clarity | 3.33 |
| Local Relevance | 4.33 |
| Service Architecture | 4 |
| Proof Depth weakest | 2 |
| SEO/AI Usefulness | 2.67 |
| Mobile/Speed Confidence | 2.67 |
The one to study
QLD Earthworks — www.qldearthworks.com
Copy this: Excellent regional model spanning Gold Coast, Brisbane and Northern NSW with both service and machinery-hire logic.
Design direction: Local human owner-operator trust layout
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 6 Google reviews (Google Places API (New) (field median)). The quiet quarter sits at 2, the top quarter at 18, the busiest carries 255 — across 277 listings.
In this trade, reviews drive rank. The top-3 listings carry about 9 reviews. Spots 4–6 carry 5. Close that gap to climb the map.
| Metro | Median reviews |
|---|---|
| Adelaide | 8 |
| Ballarat | 7 |
| Brisbane | 17 |
| Cairns | 3 |
| Canberra | 5 |
| Darwin | 1 |
| Geelong | 5 |
| Gold Coast | 16 |
| Hobart | 4 |
| Melbourne | 13 |
| Newcastle | 4 |
| Perth | 6 |
| Sunshine Coast | 18 |
| Sydney | 8 |
| Toowoomba | 5 |
| Townsville | 3 |
| Wollongong | 3 |
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.
Quick win. The main category for this trade comes back as the bland “Service”. A wrong one drags down your rank. Set yours to the most exact trade category Google offers.
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 much will this cost me?
hourly rates for machine and operator services are typically between $120 and $180 Price/cost · source
How much will this cost me?
You wont get a solid quote on site works from anyone. Its an unknown sum really. Price/cost · source
What do I need to know?
$185/m3 extra over is not out of range. I've seen plumbers quote $80/m3 extra using an excavator. Edge-cases/difficult-jobs · source
How do I know they're any good?
I was not made aware of any of these costs and was a bit shocked at receiving this bill. Trust/red-flags · source
What actually happens during the job?
What about tipping the rock? This came as extra for us. Process/what-happens-next · source
What do I need to know?
Without plans or maps showing the location of underground … assets, you may inadvertently cut trunk cables … If you caused the damage, you can be liable for its repair and the cost can be significant. Licensing/compliance/insurance · source
What do I need to know?
if the fall is greater than 2m the volume builders will avoid or charge you an arm and a leg Edge-cases/difficult-jobs · source
What actually happens during the job?
you can ask upfront for a meter rate of rock removal (excavation) to save on surprises Process/what-happens-next · source
Read what your customers are reading — the excavation & earthmoving buyer guide on Need A Trade
Where your trade leaks money
AJV: $2,000 (modelled: blend: trench 35m ~$925 / pool ~$1,750 / foundation ~$3,500 / driveway ~$575; ServiceSeeking platform avg $2,107 (oneflare, serviceseeking)). 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.
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By 60 days — Proof.
- Start the review engine. Ask every completed job.
- Push toward the 6 review bar.
- Add before/after proof to the weakest dimension.
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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.
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3-Second Clarity — trade + suburb + customer in your headline?
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Visual Polish — real job photography, consistent design?
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Trust Above Fold — reviews/licence/years visible before scroll?
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CTA Clarity — obvious primary + secondary next step?
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Local Relevance — service area and suburbs explicit?
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Service Architecture — services organised by buyer intent?
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Proof Depth — specific proof stack (before/after, named jobs)?
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SEO/AI Usefulness — buyer questions answered in structured form?
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Mobile/Speed — fast, readable, thumb-friendly?
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Google reviews vs your trade bar (6)?
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 excavation & earthmovings 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 excavation & earthmoving.
See how your profile, site and reviews actually score.
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