SEO for tradesmen is sold as though it were complicated, and it mostly is not. A local trade business does not need to rank nationally for anything. It needs to appear when someone within a sensible drive searches for the job it does - and the things that achieve that are few, concrete and mostly one-off.
This guide is about priorities: where an hour or a pound goes furthest, and where it disappears. For the underlying principles, see our local SEO basics.
Where your enquiries actually come from
For most trades there are two places a search can send you work: the map results (your Google Business Profile) and the ordinary results beneath them (your website). The map results tend to catch urgent, nearby searches; the website catches people researching bigger jobs and anyone who checks you out after seeing your van.
Both matter, and they feed each other. A good profile links to a website that confirms you are real; a good website carries the same details as the profile.
The things that genuinely move the needle
| Task | Effort | Cost | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Complete Google Business Profile | An afternoon, then minutes a week | Free | Relevance for map results; first impression |
| Ask every customer for a review | A text after each job | Free | Prominence; trust at the moment of choosing |
| One page per main service | A day or two of writing | Part of any decent build | Lets you match specific searches like "consumer unit replacement" |
| Consistent name, address, phone | An hour of checking | Free | Confirms you are one settled, real business |
| Fast, mobile-first website | Built in, not bolted on | Part of the build | Most trade searches are on phones |
| Trade scheme and supplier listings | An hour | Usually included in membership | Genuine, relevant links and mentions |
Your website: what a trade site needs for SEO
- A page for each main service, with real detail: what the job involves, rough cost ranges if you can give them, how long it takes, what the customer needs to do.
- Your town and service area stated clearly - on the homepage, the contact page and the footer.
- Page titles that say what the page is and where: "Boiler repair in Exeter | Smith Plumbing".
- Your accreditations, where they genuinely apply - Gas Safe Register, NICEIC, NAPIT, TrustMark - with your registration details so customers can check.
- Photos of your own work, not stock.
- A phone number you can tap to call, visible without scrolling.
- Structured data (LocalBusiness markup) giving your name, address or area, phone and hours in a machine-readable form.
What is usually a waste of money
Most tradespeople have been cold-called by someone promising page one. Google's own advice on hiring an SEO is blunt: no one can guarantee a number one ranking, and you should be wary of anyone who claims a special relationship with Google. Be sceptical of:
- Guaranteed rankings or guaranteed map-pack positions.
- Link-building packages that deliver "50 backlinks a month". Buying links is against Google's spam policies.
- Bulk directory submissions to hundreds of sites nobody visits.
- Hundreds of near-identical town pages. That is doorway abuse under Google's spam policies, and it can hurt rather than help.
- Monthly reports full of graphs that never mention phone calls or enquiries.
- Contracts that lock you in for long periods with no clear deliverables.
Questions to ask anyone selling you SEO
- What exactly will you do each month, and can I see it?
- How will we measure success in calls and enquiries, not just rankings?
- Do you follow Google's Search Essentials and spam policies?
- Who owns the website, the Business Profile and any content you create if I leave?
- Can I cancel, and on what notice?
How long it takes
Google says some changes take effect within hours and others take several months. In practice, a tradesperson with a new site should appear for their own name fairly quickly, and for competitive local terms over months rather than weeks. Reviews accumulate job by job. There is no shortcut that survives contact with Google's spam policies.
If you want the ongoing work handled - profile, citations, service pages - our local SEO pack is £49/month. But most of what is in this guide you can do yourself, and it is worth doing before paying anyone.