The painters who stay busy usually do five things: they show up on Google Maps with a full profile and plenty of reviews, they show before and after photos everywhere, they build relationships with real estate agents, property managers and builders, they quote fast and follow up, and they have a website with a page for each service and suburb. None of it needs a big budget. Most of it needs consistency.
This guide is written for Australian painters, from sole traders to small crews. It covers the free work first, then the paid options, with a link to the matching page for each step.
What is the best way to get painting jobs?
The best way to get painting jobs is to be easy to find and easy to trust. That means a Google Business Profile with real photos and reviews, a website showing your work by service and suburb, and relationships with people who send repeat work: agents, property managers and builders. Fast, clear quotes then turn those enquiries into jobs.
"What is the best way to get painting jobs?" was the top People Also Ask question when we searched "how to get more painting jobs" in October 2026. The answers that rank all say the same things in different words. Here they are in the order that costs you least.
Get your Google Business Profile right
Your Google Business Profile is free and it is how most homeowners find a local painter. Choose "Painter" as your main category, list every service you offer, set your service areas, and add job photos every week. Google says reviews, complete details and photos help local ranking, and that nobody can pay for a better spot.
A few painter-specific tips:
- List services separately. Interior painting, exterior repaints, roof restoration, deck staining, feature walls and commercial painting are all different searches.
- Hide your home address. Google's guidelines say service-area businesses should clear the address and show service areas instead.
- Use your real business name. Google's guidelines do not allow extra keywords or locations in the name, and stuffing them in risks a suspension.
- Post finished jobs. A weatherboard repaint in Torquay or a feature wall in Newtown shows exactly what you do and where.
We cover the full setup in how to get into the Google Maps top 3.
Show before and after photos everywhere
Painting is a visual trade, so photos sell it better than any words. Take a before photo from the same angle as the after, in good light, on every job. Use them on your Google profile, your website, Facebook groups and your quotes. A homeowner trusts a painter whose work they can see.
Keep it simple. Your phone camera is fine. Stand in the same spot for both shots, turn the lights on, and get the whole wall or the whole front of the house in frame. Ask the customer's permission before posting, and leave out house numbers and number plates.
Real job photos also make your website and profile look like a real business, not a template. That is why we only use real photos of real trade work on every Build.
Ask every happy customer for a review
Reviews decide who gets the call when a homeowner compares three painters on Google Maps. Ask every customer, on the day you finish, with a direct review link by text. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking. Replying to every review shows future customers that you care.
Two rules matter. Google's policy does not allow paying for reviews or offering discounts or freebies in exchange for one. It also does not allow "selectively" asking only happy customers while steering unhappy ones away. Ask everyone the same way, and fix problems before you ask.
A good time to ask is during the final walk-through, while the customer is looking at the finished job. Send the link before you drive away. We cover the system in Google review automation for tradies.
Work with real estate agents, property managers and builders
Agents need houses painted before sale, property managers need rentals freshened up between tenants, and builders need painters to finish their jobs. One reliable relationship can bring repeat work for years, and none of it is shared with other painters. Turn up on time, communicate and invoice promptly.
Someone who works in real estate explained what keeps a trade on their list, in a r/AusPropertyChat thread with 429 upvotes: "Once we have a good trade who communicates, doesn't rip off our clients, and is prompt with completing & invoicing jobs we stick with them."
How to start:
- Drop into three or four local real estate offices and ask for the property manager. Leave a card with your licence number and insurance details.
- Ask builders and plasterers you already know who paints for them, and offer to quote their next job.
- Send photos of a finished rental repaint, so they can see your standard of work.
- Make invoices easy: clear, itemised, on time. Agents remember who made their job easy.
Show your licence and insurance
Homeowners worry about cowboys, so show your licence number and insurance on your quotes, your website and your ute. In NSW, a contractor licence is needed for residential painting worth more than $5,000 in labour and materials. In Queensland, the QBCC requires a licence for building work valued over $3,300. Check your own state's rules.
The NSW rules have a detail worth knowing. According to the NSW Government, since 2015 stand-alone contracts for internal paintwork no longer need a licence unless they are part of other home building work, but exterior work over $5,000 still does. Even when a licence is not required, showing one, along with your public liability insurance, sets you apart from the cheapest quote.
Industry programs help too. Dulux runs an accredited painter program and matches homeowners with accredited painters through its find a painter service. If you qualify, it is another badge of trust and another source of enquiries.
Quote fast, quote clearly, follow up
Most painting jobs are won or lost in the quote. Reply to every enquiry the same day, visit quickly, and send a written quote that lists the rooms or surfaces, the prep, the number of coats, the paint brand and what is excluded. Then follow up, because many customers simply have not decided yet.
Speed matters more than most painters think. In the r/AusPropertyChat thread, one homeowner said: "I call 3 or 4, maybe 1 or 2 will show up, often not." Just showing up and sending a clear quote already puts you ahead of half the field.
A commenter in an August 2026 r/smallbusiness thread, advising a young painting business, suggested a simple rhythm: a "same-day written quote with clear scope, next-day check-in, 5-7 day check-in". We go deeper in follow up systems for tradie quotes and why tradies lose jobs to slow replies.
Use the job site to find the next job
Every house you paint is an advert to the whole street. With the customer's permission, put a site sign out front while you work and for a week after. Drop a short flyer in the letterboxes on the same street. Neighbours who just watched you work are far warmer than strangers.
Keep the ute and the site tidy, because neighbours judge the work by what they see. A clean drop sheet, a tidy ute and a sign with your name, trade, phone number and website do more than any slogan. As a tradie in an August 2026 r/tradies thread put it, a website makes it "easier to justify your quotes too when the other guys just have a mobile number on their ute."
Build a website with a page for each service and suburb
Homeowners search "painter Geelong West" or "exterior house painting Torquay", not "painting services". A website with a page for each service and each suburb you work in gives Google something specific to show for those searches. A quote form and tap-to-call on every page turns visits into jobs.
Nobody can promise a ranking, but a site like this is structured to improve local search visibility, and every enquiry through it comes to you alone. Here is what that looks like for three painters we have built for:
| Painter | Area | Pages |
| ZN Painting Services | Geelong and the Surf Coast, VIC | 25 |
| Elegant Prime Painting | Upper Mount Gravatt and south Brisbane, QLD | 24 |
| Maxson Painting | Brunswick Heads and the Northern Rivers, NSW | 20 |
Each has separate pages for services like interior painting, exterior repaints, roof restoration and deck staining, plus a page for each suburb they work. Zabi Nazari of ZN Painting Services left this Google review: "Recently had Edris, doing me a job, helping me grow bigger. Great communication skills and he went step by step through the process, I was aware of everything..."
See the full painter offer on websites for painters.
Paid options: platforms and ads
hipages, Airtasker and paid ads can fill a quiet month, but they cost money every time and the work stops when you stop paying. hipages charges $139 to $649 a month plus GST for leads shared with up to two other businesses. Airtasker takes 12.5% to 20% plus GST of each job you win.
For painters, the numbers depend on job size. A fixed lead cost is small next to a full exterior repaint, but large next to a single feature wall. Work out your cost per job won before you commit. We compare them in is hipages worth it? and Airtasker vs hipages for tradies.
Frequently asked questions
How do painters get more clients?
Most painters who stay busy combine a strong Google Business Profile with reviews, before and after photos, relationships with real estate agents, property managers and builders, fast written quotes with follow up, and a website with service and suburb pages. Referrals from happy customers then do the rest. Paid platforms are best kept for quiet weeks.
Do painters need a licence in Australia?
It depends on the state. In NSW, a contractor licence is needed for residential painting worth more than $5,000 in labour and materials, though stand-alone internal paintwork has been exempt since 2015. In Queensland, the QBCC requires a licence for building work over $3,300. Check your own state's building regulator.
Is hipages good for painters?
It can fill gaps, especially for new painters, but you pay $139 to $649 a month plus GST and share each lead with up to two other businesses. It suits bigger repaints better than small jobs, because the lead cost stays the same. Track your cost per job won before you stay on it.
How can a painter get work from real estate agents?
Visit local agencies and ask for the property manager, leave a card with your licence and insurance, and show photos of rental repaints. Then be reliable: turn up on time, communicate and invoice promptly. Agents stick with trades who make their job easy, so one good job often leads to many.
Should a painter have a website?
Yes. Homeowners check you out before they call, and a website with your services, suburbs, photos, reviews and licence details answers their questions. It also gives your Google Business Profile somewhere to send people. With Ampliia it costs $500 setup, then $100 a month, and you see the finished site before paying the Balance.
Sources
- Google Business Profile Help: Tips to improve your local ranking: reviews, photos and complete details, and no paid ranking.
- Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines for representing your business: business names and hiding your address.
- Google Maps user contributed content policy: no paid or incentivised reviews, no selective asking.
- NSW Government: Painting work: the $5,000 threshold and the 2015 internal paintwork change.
- QBCC: When you need a licence: the $3,300 threshold.
- Dulux: Find a painter: the Dulux Accredited Painter program.
- hipages membership costs and Airtasker Tasker tiers: platform prices, checked October 2026.
- r/AusPropertyChat, "Helped my plumber mate stop losing jobs from missed calls": the real estate and "I call 3 or 4" quotes.
- r/smallbusiness, "Young painting business owner looking for advice", August 2026: the follow up rhythm.
- r/tradies, "Are websites worth it for tradies", August 2026: the mobile number on the ute.
- Zabi Nazari's review: the public Google Business Profile for Ampliia AI.
Related reading
- Websites for painters
- Where to advertise as a tradie
- How to get into the Google Maps top 3
- Follow up systems for tradie quotes
- See Builds we have done
What Ampliia charges
$500 setup, then $100 a month. The $100 Deposit starts the Build. You see the finished 20 to 30+ page site within 3 business days of the Deposit and your details, and the $400 Balance is only due on Approval. The Care Plan is month to month, and your domain, logo, photos and words are always yours.
Based in Geelong, Victoria. Built 30+ websites for Australian tradies, including painters, electricians, fencers, concreters and auto businesses.
About Edris →Ready for a proper tradie website?
$500 setup, then $100 a month. $100 Deposit starts the Build. 20 to 30+ pages, service and suburb pages, quote form on every page. Full preview in 3 business days.