Local SEO for trades

Most UK tradesmen who ask about SEO are really asking one thing: why does the other firm come up above me for "plumber Wigan"? Usually they have more recent reviews, a tidier Google profile and a site with a page for the job being searched. None of that needs a specialist. It needs somebody to do it and keep doing it.

Two lists of results

Search for a local trade on a phone and Google shows two things. The map with three firms, then the ordinary website results. They are fed by different work.

• Map results come mostly from your Google Business Profile and your reviews.
• Website results come from your site: its pages, titles, speed on a phone and links in from elsewhere.

Plenty of trades only fix one. A firm with a lovely site and a dead Google profile loses the map. A firm with a good profile and a one-page website loses the second list. The post on what local SEO is covers the basics, and local SEO for small businesses is the version for firms that are not just trades.

Do you need a website at all?

Customers expect one, and a Facebook page alone leaves gaps. But a website for a sole trader can be five pages. See do you need a website. Start with the domain in your own name, not a web firm's.

Pages that match what people type

People search a job plus a place. "Rewire Southampton", "emergency boiler repair Nottingham", "flat roof Cardiff". One page per main job, plus pages for the towns you cover, gives Google something to match. The post on service area pages explains how to do them without copying one page forty times.

Be honest about the area. A page for a town you have never worked in is easy to spot and does your reputation no good.

Your trade, specifically

Competition and wording differ by trade. A roofer's customers search after storms. A heating engineer is busiest as the weather turns. A painter and decorator relies on photos. The cluster has a guide for each:

• Plumbers
• Electricians
• Roofers
• Heating engineers
• Landscapers
• Builders
• Painters

Directory listings

Yell, Checkatrade, TrustATrader and similar sites carry your name and number. The details should match your profile and site. How much this matters is a fair debate, and our post on local citations is cautious about it. Mitch does not build citations.

Cost and timing

Retainers for local SEO vary a great deal and nobody can promise a position. The post on what local SEO costs puts numbers in context, and how long local SEO takes sets expectations. Broadly: months, not weeks. If an unknown number rings and offers you first place on Google for a flat fee, hang up.

For wider context, agency pricing for small trades firms in the UK is usually quoted around £500 to £1,500 a month, which is a typical range and not a quote from anyone.

What to check every month

1. Do your top three jobs have their own page?
2. Do the phone number and hours match the Google profile?
3. How many reviews came in since last month?
4. Where do you rank for your main job in your own town, checked from a clean search? A free local rank checker is coming soon on the free tools page; until then, search in a private window.
5. Ask every new customer how they found you, and keep a tally.

Mistakes that cost money

• Signing with a firm that registers your domain in its own name.
• Buying a package of links with no explanation.
• Writing a page for every postcode in the county.
• Judging results after three weeks.
• Checking rankings on your own phone near home, where results are skewed.