Quick answer
Local SEO for tradies comes down to four things: a complete and active Google Business Profile, a dedicated website page for each service and genuine service area, a steady flow of real customer reviews, and consistent business details everywhere you’re listed. Do these well and you give Google every reason to show you when nearby customers search.
When a pipe bursts in Rutherford or an air-conditioner dies in a Cessnock heatwave, customers don’t scroll for long. They call one of the first businesses Google shows them. Local SEO is how you become one of those businesses.
Step 1: Get your Google Business Profile right
- Choose the most specific primary category (e.g. “Electrician”, not “Contractor”).
- Set yourself up as a service-area business if you don’t have a shopfront, and list only the areas you genuinely cover.
- Add real photos of your work, your team and your vehicles.
- Fill in services, hours and a description written for customers, not keywords.
- Post updates regularly — completed jobs, seasonal tips, offers.
Step 2: One page per service
A single “Services” page listing everything you do rarely ranks for anything. Create a page for each core service — for example hot-water installation, switchboard upgrades, blocked drains — explaining what’s included, how the job works, and how to book.
Step 3: Honest service-area pages
If you regularly work in Maitland, Singleton and Kurri Kurri, a useful page for each area can help. Make them genuinely different: local job examples, travel information, common local issues. Copy-and-paste pages with only the suburb name changed can do more harm than good.
Step 4: Reviews, every week
Ask every happy customer for a Google review, ideally with a direct link sent by SMS the same day. Reply to every review — positive or negative — professionally. Never buy or incentivise reviews; it breaches Google’s policies and Australian Consumer Law.
Step 5: Consistent details everywhere
Your business name, phone number and website should be identical on your website, Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Apple Business Connect and directories such as Yellow Pages, True Local and Hotfrog.
Common mistakes
- Listing a home address you don’t want public instead of setting a service area.
- Keyword-stuffing your business name on Google.
- A website that loads slowly on mobile — most trade enquiries happen on phones.
- No click-to-call button above the fold.
