Question 1

What does Ajay Dabhi do?

Accepted Answer

Ajay Dabhi is a Melbourne marketing and AI freelancer who helps local service businesses get more calls and booked jobs. That covers Google Ads, Local Services Ads, local SEO, Meta (Facebook and Instagram) ads, AI automation like missed-call text back and AI receptionists, review systems, and on-site photo and video. One person, end to end, Melbourne metro only.

Question 2

What does a marketing and AI freelancer in Melbourne do?

Accepted Answer

A marketing and AI freelancer in Melbourne handles your marketing as one person, end to end, instead of through an agency team. In my case that covers Google Ads, local SEO, Facebook and Instagram ads, AI automation like missed-call text back and AI receptionists, on-site photo and video, and social media management. The difference from an agency is direct access: the person you call is the person doing the work. The difference from an offshore freelancer is that I'm physically in Melbourne, so I come to your business, shoot your content at your actual jobs, and set systems up at your desk. For a local service business, that usually matters more than any single tactic.

Question 3

Do you work outside Melbourne?

Accepted Answer

No. I work with businesses in Melbourne only, and that's deliberate. The point of hiring me over an online agency is that I can be at your business, shooting your photos and videos on site, meeting your team, and fixing things at your desk instead of over a video call. If you're outside Melbourne, I'm not your guy, and I'd rather say so upfront than do a worse job remotely.

Question 4

How much does a marketing freelancer cost in Melbourne?

Accepted Answer

It depends on what you need, but you'll know the number before we meet. Most local service businesses come to me for one of three things: Google Ads management, a full lead generation setup with ads, landing page, tracking and automation, or ongoing content and social media. Each is priced as a flat monthly amount, month to month, with no lock-in contracts and no percentage-of-ad-spend fees. Get in touch, tell me about your business, and I'll give you a straight price. If the numbers don't make sense for your size of business, I'll tell you that too.

Question 5

Should I hire a marketing freelancer or an agency?

Accepted Answer

If you're a local service business in Melbourne, a freelancer is usually the better fit. Agencies make sense when you need a large team across many channels and markets. For a cleaner, tradie, pest controller or clinic, you mostly need one person who understands local lead generation deeply, answers when you call, and is accountable for one number: what a booked job costs you. With an agency, your account is often handled by a junior behind an account manager on a long contract. With me, the person you meet is the person doing the work, month to month. The honest trade-off is that I take a limited number of clients, because there is one of me.

Question 6

What is AI automation for a small business, in plain terms?

Accepted Answer

AI automation means software handles the repetitive parts of getting and keeping customers, so nothing slips while you're on the tools. The three I build most for Melbourne service businesses are: missed-call text back, where anyone who calls and gets no answer instantly receives a text so the lead isn't lost; an AI receptionist, which answers calls or website chats, captures the job details, gives the next step, and helps book jobs into your calendar, including after hours; and automated follow-up, which chases quotes and enquiries that would otherwise be forgotten. For one home service client, the AI receptionist now books jobs from calls that previously went to a competitor.

Question 7

Do you actually come to my business?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and it's the core of how I work. The first meeting happens at your business, not on a video call, and it costs you nothing. From there I come on site to shoot photos and videos of your real jobs, your team and your work, which becomes the content for your ads and social media. I'll also set up the technical side, like call tracking, with you in the room so you understand what you're paying for.

Question 8

Am I locked into a contract?

Accepted Answer

No. Everything is month to month. If I'm not making your phone ring, you should be able to leave, and that pressure keeps me honest. The only thing I ask for is a fair window for results, because Google Ads and SEO need a few weeks of data before they stabilise, and I'll tell you upfront what a realistic timeline looks like for your trade.

Question 9

How quickly will I see results?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the channel, and I'll give you honest timelines rather than a sales answer. Google Ads is the fastest, with calls usually starting within the first week or two, then cost per lead improving over the following month. Missed-call text back and an AI receptionist work from day one, because they capture leads you're already generating but currently losing. Meta Ads usually take two to four weeks of testing. Local SEO is the slow burner, with meaningful movement over two to four months. As a reference point, one home service client generated 153 leads in 28 days at $35 a lead with this playbook.

I'm Ajay.

Engineer turned marketer.

How did I get here?

How do I work?

Who do I help?

Why Melbourne only?

What I can build for you.

Marketing & ads

AI & automation

Websites & landing pages

On-site photo & video

What I work with.

Real numbers, one real client.

Want to talk?