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The Pressure Washing / Exterior Cleaning Benchmark
Most Aussie pressure washing / exterior cleaning businesses leave about $294/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: driveway ~$237 / house exterior ~$350 / patio ~$150 / roof ~$250 (tradeheroes, airtasker); 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 pressure washing / exterior cleaning gets found and gets the call. Here’s where you stand on each — and the number to beat.
| The review bar | 31 reviews (your suburb) | → |
| The website scorecard | 34/45 vs market 31/45 | → |
| The Google profile | category check primary category review | → |
| Your numbers | AJV $280 · leak $294/mo | → |
| What buyers ask | 8 questions to answer in writing | → |
The 45-point test for your trade
Pressure Washing / Exterior Cleaning sites score 34 / 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 7 AU sites. Your Google review bar above is the harder number. Top of the pack: Gold Coast Pressure & Exterior Cleaning at 38/45.
The two weakest spots are SEO/AI Usefulness (2.86/5) and Mobile/Speed Confidence (3.29/5). Good sites look good and they convert. They don't answer buyer questions in plain form.
| Dimension | Trade average /5 |
|---|---|
| 3-Second Clarity | 4.43 |
| Visual Polish | 3.43 |
| Trust Above Fold | 3.86 |
| CTA Clarity | 4 |
| Local Relevance | 4.29 |
| Service Architecture | 4.14 |
| Proof Depth | 3.71 |
| SEO/AI Usefulness weakest | 2.86 |
| Mobile/Speed Confidence weakest | 3.29 |
The one to study
We Wash Houses — www.wewashhouses.com.au
Copy this: Use house-washing specialist positioning and satisfaction guarantee.
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 31 Google reviews (Google Places API (New) (field median)). The quiet quarter sits at 8, the top quarter at 78, the busiest carries 395 — across 140 listings.
Reviews here are table stakes. The top-3 (median 38) carry about the same as spots 4–6 (median 41). Hit the bar, then win on distance, category fit, and site signals.
| Metro | Median reviews |
|---|---|
| Adelaide | 52 |
| Ballarat | 6 |
| Brisbane | 86 |
| Cairns | 7 |
| Canberra | 13 |
| Darwin | 17 |
| Geelong | 16 |
| Gold Coast | 36 |
| Hobart | 64 |
| Melbourne | 52 |
| Newcastle | 9 |
| Perth | 40 |
| Sunshine Coast | 59 |
| Sydney | 20 |
| Toowoomba | 8 |
| Townsville | 41 |
| Wollongong | 6 |
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 much will this cost me?
How much did it cost? Was it worth it? Price/cost · source
What do I need to know?
Roof washing, is my quote reasonable? Price/cost (red-flag) · source
How do my options compare?
Pressure Washing vs Soft Washing: Which Does Your Sydney Home Actually Need? Comparison/alternatives · source
What do I need to know?
Honestly, don't get it pressure washed. It'll often work, but just as often it'll damage tiles and introduce leaks. Outcome/risk (damage) · source
What do I need to know?
Be careful when working on asbestos roofs – they are brittle and you can easily fall through. Outcome/risk (height/safety) · source
What do I need to know?
My mate did it and 6 months on, it's definitely done something, but i wouldn't call it clean. Aftercare/maintenance · source
What do I need to know?
Probably shouldn't high pressure clean terracotta, more low pressure and scrub. You'll get broken tiles and grout will dislodge. Edge-cases/difficult-jobs · source
What actually happens during the job?
Cover nearby plants, electrical outlets, and light fixtures with plastic sheeting Process/what-happens-next · source
Where your trade leaks money
AJV: $280 (modelled: blend: driveway ~$237 / house exterior ~$350 / patio ~$150 / roof ~$250 (tradeheroes, airtasker)). 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.
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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 31 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 (31)?
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 pressure washing / exterior cleanings 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 pressure washing / exterior cleaning.
See how your profile, site and reviews actually score.
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