Local SEO for tradespeople: straight talk
No jargon. No theory. Practical guides to getting found on Google and winning more local work.
Everything here is written for UK tradespeople running real businesses: plumbers, electricians, heating engineers, builders, roofers, and similar trades. If it’s not directly useful for improving your local search visibility and getting more jobs from Google, it doesn’t go on here.
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What Happens to Your Google Rankings When You Stop Getting Reviews?
Review velocity local SEO tradespeople rely on is the steady flow of new reviews arriving over time, and when that flow stops, nothing dramatic happens right away, which is exactly why it’s so easy to miss until the damage is done. This post walks through the actual timeline: what changes at 30 days, 90 days,…
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Checkatrade vs Google Reviews: Which Matters More for Your SEO?
Checkatrade vs google reviews SEO UK tradespeople search for usually comes down to one honest answer: Google reviews drive your ranking, Checkatrade drives a separate stream of leads, and treating them as competing priorities misses what each one is actually for. This guide breaks down where each platform genuinely helps, what it costs, and how…
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How Many Google Reviews Does a Tradesperson Need to Rank in the Local Pack?
How many google reviews to rank local pack in your specific trade and town isn’t a fixed number Google publishes anywhere, it’s whatever it takes to beat the three businesses currently sitting above you. That answer is more useful than a made-up target, and it’s easy to work out yourself. This post covers the exact…
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How to Respond to Negative Reviews as a Tradesperson (Without Making Things Worse)
How to respond to bad reviews tradesperson UK customers leave starts with one rule: reply calmly, address the specific issue, and never argue in public. Get that right and a single bad review rarely does lasting damage. Get it wrong, and the reply causes more harm than the review ever did. A one-star review feels…
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How to Automate Google Review Requests After Every Job
How to automate google review requests tradespeople send without having to remember every single time comes down to one thing: triggering the ask from something that already happens on every job, like marking it complete or sending the invoice. Asking manually works, but it depends on you remembering to do it, every time, on top…
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How to Ask Customers for Google Reviews Without Feeling Pushy
How to ask for google reviews tradesperson customers actually respond to comes down to three things: timing, wording and how easy you make it, and none of them require sounding pushy. The businesses with 80 reviews aren’t better at the job than the ones with 8. They’re just better at asking. This guide gives you…
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Why Google Reviews Are the Most Valuable Asset for a UK Tradesperson
Google reviews for tradespeople UK are one of the strongest ranking signals in local search, and they’re often the single deciding factor in whether a customer calls you or the competitor above you in the Local Pack. They don’t just build trust once someone’s already looking at your listing, they influence whether your listing shows…
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How to Track Calls and Enquiries from Your Google Business Profile
Knowing how many calls your Google Business Profile generates is the difference between guessing whether your listing is working and knowing for certain. Most tradespeople have no idea how many leads their profile produces each month. This guide shows you exactly where to find that data and how to use it to make better decisions….
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Google Business Profile Q&A: How to Use It Before a Competitor Does
The Google Business Profile Q&A section is one of the most overlooked features on a tradesperson’s listing, and that’s a problem, because anyone can post a question on your profile and anyone can answer it. If you’re not managing this section, a competitor, a disgruntled ex-customer, or simply a well-meaning stranger could be shaping what…
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How to Use Google Business Profile Posts to Win More Trade Enquiries
Google Business Profile posts let tradespeople share updates directly on their Google listing, and used consistently they keep your profile active, build trust with customers who find you, and send a signal to Google that your business is maintained. This guide covers what to post, how often, and the types of posts that actually move…
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How to Add Photos to Your Google Business Profile (And Why It Affects Your Rankings)
Adding photos to your Google Business Profile is one of the fastest ways a tradesperson can improve their listing, and Google’s own data shows that profiles with photos receive 42% more requests for directions and 35% more website clicks than those without. This guide covers exactly which photos to add, how many you need, and…
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What to Do If Your Google Business Profile Gets Suspended
A suspended Google Business Profile means your listing has been removed from Google Maps and local search results, and for a tradesperson that means potential customers searching for your trade in your area simply can’t find you. This guide explains why Google suspends listings, what the two types of suspension mean, how to appeal, and…
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Service Area Business vs Storefront: Which GBP Type Is Right for Tradespeople?
For most UK tradespeople, a service area business is the right Google profile type, and choosing the wrong one can limit your visibility or, worse, put a home address on Google Maps that you never intended to share publicly. This guide explains what a service area business is on Google, how it differs from a…
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The Best Google Business Profile Categories for UK Tradespeople
Your Google Business Profile category is one of the most important settings in your entire listing, and getting it wrong means you won’t appear in the searches that matter for your trade. This guide covers the best Google Business Profile categories for tradespeople in the UK, trade by trade, so you can get it right…
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How to Optimise Your Google Business Profile to Rank in the Local Pack
To optimise your Google Business Profile as a tradesperson, you need to signal to Google that your listing is relevant, active, and trustworthy, and you do that through a combination of completeness, reviews, photos, and regular activity. This guide covers every optimisation that matters, in order of impact, so you know exactly where to spend…
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How to Set Up Your Google Business Profile as a UK Tradesperson (Step by Step)
Setting up your Google Business Profile is the first step any UK tradesperson should take to get found online, and knowing how to set up a Google Business Profile as a tradesperson in the UK takes less than 30 minutes if you follow the right steps. This guide walks you through the full process, from…
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What Is a Google Business Profile and Why Every UK Tradesperson Needs One
A Google Business Profile is the free listing that puts your trade business on Google Maps and in local search results, and for tradespeople in the UK it’s the single most important piece of your online presence. If someone in your area searches “plumber near me” or “electrician in Leeds”, Google shows a map with…
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