SEO For Trades: What Actually Works

Your Google Business Profile is the box that appears on the right of a search, or in the maps, with your name, photos, and reviews. For most trades, this is more important than your website. It's often the very first thing a potential customer sees. If you haven't claimed your free profile, do it now. If you have, you need to treat it like a prized tool.

Fill out every single section. Don't skip anything. Add your services, the exact areas you cover, your opening hours, and plenty of real photos of your work and your van. Make sure your name, address, and phone number are identical everywhere else on the internet. Then, use the 'Posts' feature once a week. Add a photo of a recent job and a short sentence about it. It shows Google, and customers, that you're active and open for business. It's the single most powerful free marketing tool you have.

You've taken great photos of a finished job as we suggested. What do you call the files? Most people leave them as `IMG_2026.jpg` or `WhatsApp_Image_123.jpg`. This is a missed opportunity. Google can't 'see' a picture, but it can read the file name. You need to tell it what the picture is of.

Before you upload them, rename your photos. Change `IMG_2026.jpg` to `new-boiler-installation-falkirk.jpg` or `custom-joinery-edinburgh-kitchen.jpg`. Be descriptive. It takes ten seconds per photo and helps Google understand what your work looks like and where you do it. While you're at it, when you upload the photo to your website, you'll often see a box for 'alt text' or 'alternative text'. Just write a plain sentence in there describing the picture, like 'A new combi boiler fitted in a kitchen cupboard'. This helps visually impaired users and gives Google another clue. It's simple, practical, and it works.

We know what you're thinking. You're a roofer or a plasterer, not a writer. Forget the word 'blog'. Think of it as an 'Advice' or 'Projects' section instead. Its job is to answer the questions you get asked by customers every single day on the phone. Questions like 'How long does it take to plaster a room?' or 'What's the difference between a combi and a system boiler?'.

Each of those questions, written out as a short, helpful article on your website, is a new page that can attract a customer. It shows you're a genuine expert who knows their trade inside-out. It builds trust before they've even decided to pick up the phone. You can also use this section to do a 'project focus', showing before, during, and after photos of a job you're proud of. Explain the problem, what you did to fix it, and show the result. This is powerful proof that you do quality work.

In Google's eyes, a link from another website to your website is like a vote of confidence. Think of it as a digital handshake or a recommendation. Getting these links, especially from other local businesses, tells Google that you're a legitimate, trusted part of the local community. This isn't as hard as it sounds.

Start with the obvious. Do you buy your materials from a specific supplier? Ask them if they have a 'Recommended Installers' or 'Trade Partners' page on their website where they can add a link to your site. Are you listed on trade-specific directories like Checkatrade? Make sure your profile links back to your website. If you sponsor the local kids' football team or donate to a community charity, ask them to add a link to your site on their 'Sponsors' page. These are natural, honest links that show you're a real local business, and they make a genuine difference.

Yes. And it's not for some technical reason to please a Google robot. It's about not losing a customer who wants to give you money. Imagine your ideal customer. They might be on a building site with poor 4G signal, or on a quick tea break. They've just searched for 'emergency plumber near me' and clicked on your site. If your website takes five or six seconds to appear, they won't wait. They'll just hit the back button and click on your competitor.

A slow website is frustrating. The most common cause is using massive, uncompressed photos that take an age to download. Your website doesn't need to be flashy, but it absolutely must be fast and easy to use on a mobile phone. A simple, quick-loading site will always win more business than a slow, complicated one. It's a basic sign of professionalism, like having a clean van.

This might all sound like a lot of faff when you've got jobs to finish and quotes to send. We get it. Our founder, Robert, didn't start in marketing. He trained as a motor mechanic and worked on the tools in a garage in Cupar, Fife. He learned SEO over 15+ years by doing it, seeing what worked and what didn't, not by reading about it in a textbook.

The logic is the same as fault-finding on an engine. You need to use the right tools, follow a clear process, and focus on the fundamentals that actually make a difference. All this advice—proper service pages, honest area pages, good photos, a complete Google profile—isn't about 'tricking' an algorithm. It's about showing potential customers that you are a real, trustworthy professional who does good work. It's about making it as easy as possible for a person with a problem to find you, trust you, and hire you.

That's the only kind of SEO that has ever worked in the long run. We use all the modern tools available to get the job done efficiently, including AI systems. For Robert, who has dyslexia and ADHD, using the right tools is essential for working well. It's always about finding the right tool for the job, whether that's a wrench or a piece of software.