Local SEO for tradesmen: how to show up in every town you cover
Most trades cover far more than the town they live in. A plumber in Chatham might work across Medway, Maidstone and half the villages in between. But when someone in Maidstone searches "plumber near me", Google has to decide who to show them. Local SEO is everything that goes into that decision.
This guide covers what Google looks at and the practical steps that help you show up in the towns you actually work in. No jargon, no tricks.
How Google picks which trades to show
Google says local results are mainly based on three things:
Relevance: how well your listing and website match what the person searched for.
Distance: how far you are from the person searching, or from the place they typed.
Prominence: how well known and trusted you are, which includes your reviews and how often you're mentioned around the web.
You can't change distance much. You can do a lot about relevance and prominence.
1. Set up your Google Business Profile properly
This is the listing that appears on Google Maps and in the map box at the top of the results. For most trades it's the single most important thing.
Pick the right main category, such as "Plumber" or "Electrician", and add the secondary ones that genuinely apply.
If you go to customers rather than them coming to you, you can hide your home address and set the areas you serve instead.
List your services in the words customers use.
Add real photos of your work, regularly.
Keep your hours accurate, including whether you do emergencies.
Reply to every review.
Don't stuff extra keywords into your business name, like "Dave's Plumbing Maidstone Emergency Plumber Boiler Repair". Google's guidelines say your name should be your real business name, and listings that break the rules can be suspended. There are six more checks in your Google listing gets seen before your website does.
2. Name your towns on your website
Google reads your website to understand where you work. If it never mentions the towns you cover, it has nothing to go on.
We recently came across a stonework company that works all over Kent, but their website only ever talks about London. Kent doesn't appear once. Google has no reason to show them to someone searching in Kent.
At the very least, list the towns and villages you cover on your home page and your contact page. If you work across several towns, a page for each of the main ones can help, but only if each page is genuinely useful.
3. Town pages done properly
A town page that's the same text as the others with the town name swapped in doesn't help anyone, and Google knows it. A useful town page says something specific about working there:
the jobs you do most in that area
the villages around it you cover
how quickly you can usually get there
photos of jobs you've done in that town
reviews from customers there
You can see how we've done ours for Maidstone, Medway, Canterbury, Ashford and Tunbridge Wells, with a Kent overview above them.
4. Get reviews that mention the job and the town
Reviews help with prominence, and the words in them help with relevance. A review that says "fixed our boiler in Sittingbourne, came out the same day" tells Google and the next customer exactly what you do and where.
Ask customers two simple questions when you ask for a review: what did I do for you and which town are you in, and what made you glad you picked me? Don't write the review for them, and don't offer anything in return, because both break Google's rules.
Watch it: review requests that go out after every job without you having to remember.
5. Keep your details the same everywhere
Your business name, phone number and area should match across your Google profile, your website, Facebook, Yell, FreeIndex and any other listings. Mismatched details, like an old number on one directory, make Google less sure you're the same business.
While you're checking, make sure every link actually works. We recently found a business whose website link on Facebook now opens an online casino, because their web address had lapsed and someone else bought it. There's more on that in business domain expired: what happens next.
6. Get mentioned locally
Links and mentions from local websites help prominence. Ideas that don't cost much:
suppliers or merchants who list recommended trades
a local club or team you sponsor
local business groups and directories
a write up of a bigger job you did for a local organisation
How long does it take?
Months, not days, and it depends on how much competition there is in your area. The Google profile changes and reviews usually make the biggest difference first.
A one hour local SEO checklist
If you only have an hour this week, do these in order:
Google Business Profile: check your category, service areas, hours and phone number. Add five recent photos.
Website: make sure your home page names your main towns and your trade in the headline.
Reviews: ask your last five customers for a review, mentioning the job and the town.
Directories: search your business name and check every listing that comes up has the same name, number and area.
Links: tap every link to your website from your Google profile, Facebook and Instagram and make sure they all work.
Do that every few months and you'll be ahead of most of the trades in your area, many of whom have never touched their listing since they set it up.
Questions trades ask
How do I show up on Google Maps as a tradesman?
Create and verify a Google Business Profile, pick the right category, set your service areas, add real photos and get reviews. Keep everything accurate and up to date.
Can I rank in a town where I don't have an office?
Yes, as a service area business. Set the areas you cover on your Google profile and name the towns on your website. You'll usually rank most easily closest to where you're based.
Do I need a separate page for every town?
Not for every town. A page for each of your main towns can help if each one is genuinely useful. A list of villages on your areas page covers the rest.
Should I use a fake address in another town?
No. Google's guidelines don't allow it, and listings found breaking the rules can be suspended.
For Kent trades there's a local guide in getting found by customers in Kent. Our Smart Website names your towns and jobs properly from day one.
