SEO For Tradesmen: A Plain-English Guide To Getting Found On Google
SEO for a trade business is not complicated. It has been made to sound complicated by people who want to charge a monthly fee for it.
For a tradesperson it comes down to one question: when someone near you searches for the job you do, do they find you or someone else? Everything below is about making the answer "you".
Related: Websites for Tradespeople. £499 trade websites. Free draft in 48 hours, only pay if you like it.
The two places you can show up
When someone searches "plumber Bristol", Google shows two lists.
The map results. Usually three businesses with a map, stars and a call button. This is where most local jobs come from, because it is the first thing people see and they can ring straight from it. Your Google Business Profile decides whether you show here.
The normal results. The list of websites below the map. Your website decides whether you show here.
You want both. The map brings the urgent, ring-now jobs. The website brings the people comparing two or three trades before they decide.
What to do first, in order
1. Get your Google Business Profile right. Pick the right main category, list every service, set the towns you cover, add real photos and link it to your website. If you work from home, you can hide your address.
2. Have a website with a page for each main job. One page that lists twelve services in bullet points ranks for none of them. A page for each main job, written for the customer, gives Google something to match each search to.
3. Add pages for the towns you want work in. Start with two or three. Each one should say something real about working there, not the same page with the town name swapped.
4. Ask every happy customer for a review. Reviews help you rank and they help you win the job once someone finds you. A text after the job with a direct link works better than asking face to face and hoping they remember.
5. Make sure your details match everywhere. Your business name, phone number and area should be written the same way on your website, your profile and every directory you are on.
That is most of it. Do those five well and you will be ahead of most trades in your area.
What to ignore
• Posting a blog every day. A few useful pages beat dozens of thin ones.
• Buying links or "domain authority" packages. They break Google's rules and can sink a site.
• Anyone who guarantees you first place. Nobody controls Google's results.
• Ranking for your own business name. You already will. It tells you nothing.
How long it takes
A new website usually takes a few months to start ranking for the searches that bring work, and longer in a busy city. Your Google Business Profile can move faster, especially once reviews start coming in. Check your progress monthly, not daily. Our guide to checking your Google Maps ranking shows how.
Guides for your trade
Every trade gets searched differently. These guides go into the jobs, searches and seasons that matter for each one:
• SEO for carpenters and joiners
• SEO for landscapers and gardeners
• SEO for painters and decorators
Want it done for you?
We build websites for trades with a page for each job, area pages and the Google Business Profile connected from day one. You see a free draft before you pay anything.
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Related Resources
Websites for Tradespeople
£499 trade websites. Free draft in 48 hours, only pay if you like it.
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