Key takeaways
- Local and “near me” search is everything, and your Google Business Profile drives it.
- Reviews and a fast, click-to-call website win the job over slower competitors.
- Google's Local Services Ads (Google Guaranteed) are built for trades and worth using.
- Accreditations like Gas Safe and NICEIC are trust signals that also help you convert.
When someone needs a plumber, an electrician or a heating engineer, they search, often urgently, often on their phone, and they ring one of the first results. For trades, being visible at that moment is almost the whole game. This guide covers how to be the one they call.
Why marketing for trades is different
Trade work is urgent and local. A leaking pipe or a dead boiler is a “now” problem, and the customer will call whoever appears first and looks trustworthy. Most of that searching happens on a phone, so speed and a one-tap call button matter enormously. There is also a strong seasonal pattern, heating and boiler work spikes in the cold months, drainage and outdoor work at other times, which is worth planning around.
Local SEO and your Google Business Profile
For trades, this is the priority above all else. The map pack at the top of “emergency plumber [town]” or “boiler repair near me” is where the jobs are. Claim and fully complete your Google Business Profile, set your service areas accurately, add real photos of your work, keep your details consistent everywhere, and build reviews relentlessly. For a trade, a strong profile with lots of recent reviews often beats a bigger competitor with a fancier website.
Your website
The site does not need to be elaborate, it needs to load fast on a phone, make your phone number a one-tap call, state clearly what you do and the areas you cover, and show your reviews and accreditations. Service-and-area pages help you rank for the specific jobs and towns you want. The job of the site is simple: turn a worried person into a phone call.
Reviews and reputation
Reviews do more for trades than almost any other sector. They drive your map ranking and they are the deciding factor when a customer is choosing between two numbers to ring. A simple habit of asking every happy customer for a Google review compounds into a real competitive advantage.
Google Ads and Local Services Ads
For urgent, high-intent searches like “emergency electrician”, standard Google Ads capture jobs immediately. Just as important for trades are Local Services Ads with the Google Guaranteed badge, which appear right at the top, are charged per lead rather than per click, and carry a trust badge that suits trades particularly well.
Seasonality
Plan your visibility around demand. Heating and boiler work climbs as it gets cold, so that is when to push boiler and heating pages and ads. Quieter periods are the time to build reviews, citations and content so you are strong when demand returns.
Common mistakes
No Google Business Profile or a half-finished one, a slow site with the phone number buried, no click-to-call, ignoring reviews, and not capturing emergency searches when those are the most valuable jobs of all.
How to measure success
Track calls and form fills, and jobs booked, by service. Cost per lead is the number that matters for paid work, and Local Services Ads make that especially clear because you pay per lead.
Frequently asked questions
How do tradespeople get more work online?
A fully optimised Google Business Profile, lots of genuine reviews, a fast click-to-call website, and service-and-area pages. Add Local Services Ads and Google Ads to capture urgent, high-value jobs.
What are Local Services Ads?
Google ads designed for local trades that appear at the very top of results, charge per lead rather than per click, and can carry the Google Guaranteed badge, which builds trust with customers.
Do reviews really matter for trades?
Hugely. They are a major factor in your local map ranking and usually the deciding factor when a customer chooses which number to call.
Is a website still worth it if I get work from word of mouth?
Yes. Even referred customers check you online first, and a fast, review-backed site plus a strong Google profile turns that check into a confident call rather than a second thought.
Related services
Keep reading
- →The Local SEO Guide, the full local search playbook
- →Google Business Profile Guide, the complete setup and optimisation guide
- →Google Ads for Small Businesses, how to make paid search work
Richard Barker has 20+ years of digital marketing experience. By day he leads digital marketing for a major UK IT solutions and services provider, a £2 billion IT solutions provider, building campaigns and websites for UK and international markets. Through Harrison Mann he applies that same strategic rigour to small and growing businesses.
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