SEO and Google Maps work starts from $800 a month, quoted separately from any website build, because getting found and being built are two different jobs.
SEO for tradies, be the one Google shows when someone needs your trade today
What SEO for tradies actually means
The aim of local SEO for tradies is to get your business found in Google's map and website results when someone nearby searches for your trade.
Someone types "electrician near me" and Google shows three businesses in a map at the top, then a list of websites underneath.
SEO for tradies is the work that decides whether you are in that map. That is it. Not rankings in the abstract, not traffic for its own sake. Whether your phone rings when someone within driving distance needs your trade.
Google handles 87.9% of Australian searches (StatCounter, September 2026), so for most trades this is where local work is won or lost.
Why the map pack matters more than the website for most trades
For local trade searches, the three businesses in the map take the majority of the clicks. Most people never scroll past them.
That map is not decided by your website alone. Google says local results are based on relevance, distance and prominence: how well your profile matches the search, how close you are, and how well known and trusted your business is, which includes your reviews.
A beautiful website with a neglected Google profile will lose to a plain website with a well kept one. That is the part most tradies have backwards.
What actually moves it
Your Google Business Profile, properly set up and actually used. Correct categories, real service areas, photos added regularly and posts going up. Most trade profiles are set once and abandoned.
Reviews, consistently. Not a burst of ten and then nothing for two years. A steady trickle signals an active business. Asking every customer at the right moment is the whole trick.
Pages that match real searches. A page for each service you want work in, and each area you genuinely cover. "Emergency electrician Wollongong" needs a page, not a mention.
Your name, address and phone consistent everywhere. If your number is different on three directories, Google trusts none of them.
A site that loads fast on a phone and is easy to crawl. The technical floor. It will not win on its own, but falling through it will sink everything above.
SEO for your trade
- SEO for electricians: fault calls, switchboards, EV chargers and commercial work
- SEO for plumbers: emergency jobs, blocked drains and hot water pages
- SEO for roofers: storm work, restorations and staying busy between storms
- SEO for builders: project pages, licence details and long sales cycles
- Leads guides for air conditioning, landscapers, painters, concreters and more in the marketing for tradies hub
Every trade is searched differently. Urgent trades are won in the map in minutes and project trades on the website over weeks, so each guide covers what matters most for that trade.
How long does SEO take for tradies?
Months, not weeks. Fixing a neglected Google Business Profile can show movement within weeks. Ranking service pages usually takes several months, and longer in a capital city where competitors have years of reviews and content.
What speeds it up is consistency: photos and posts every week, reviews every week, and one better page at a time. What slows it down is stopping and starting.
What it does not mean
It does not mean buying links, stuffing suburb names into paragraphs, or spinning fifty near identical pages for fifty suburbs. That worked years ago. Now it either does nothing or it does damage.
It also does not work overnight. A new business or a new site takes months to build the track record Google wants to see. Anyone promising page one in thirty days is either lying or planning to burn your domain.
SEO or Google Ads?
Google Ads can put you at the top tomorrow, but you pay for every click and the calls stop when the budget does. SEO builds slowly, then keeps working without a cost per click. Many tradies run ads while SEO builds. The Google Ads guide for tradies has real Australian bid ranges for trade searches.
Where a tradie website fits in
The website is the foundation and the SEO is what puts it in front of people. You need both, but in that order. There is no point ranking a site that does not convert, and no point building a site nobody finds.
How to tell if your SEO is working
- Calls and website clicks from your Google Business Profile performance report
- Impressions and clicks in Google Search Console for the services you care about
- Where you sit in the map when you search your main service from your own suburb
- Most important, enquiries you can trace back to Google, logged every month
Not sure where you stand now? The free 15 second lead score quiz shows which part of getting found, chosen and called is weakest.
What it costs
Websites are $999 to $2,500 one off plus GST, with hosting and maintenance at $60 a month.
Local SEO results from real tradies
Two Illawarra trade businesses talk about their results on video. Daniel from DoorMec Garage Doors says calls doubled in a year after local SEO and the Google listing were taken care of. Cooper from AC Gutter Guard says calls are up 133% since local SEO, Google Ads and quiz funnels were sorted out. Read the DoorMec Garage Doors case study and the AC Gutter Guard case study, or see all client case studies. Results are each owner's own words, and every business is different.
Straight answers before you commit
What is SEO for tradies?
The work that gets your trade business showing up when someone nearby searches for what you do, mainly in the Google map results where most local clicks go.
How long does SEO take for a trade business?
Months, not weeks. Google Business Profile work can show movement sooner, website rankings take longer. Anyone promising fast results is selling you something.
How much does SEO for tradies cost?
From $800 a month, quoted separately from a website build.
Do I need SEO if I already have a website?
Usually yes. A website tells Google you exist. SEO is what gets you shown ahead of the other twelve businesses that also exist.
Is Google Maps more important than my website?
For most trades, yes. The map results take the bulk of local clicks, and they are driven by your Google Business Profile as much as your site.
Can I do SEO for my trade business myself?
You can do a lot of it: keep your Google profile complete and active, ask every customer for a review and write a proper page for each service. The Google Business Profile guide is a good place to start.
What is the difference between SEO and local SEO for tradies?
Local SEO is the part focused on nearby searches, mainly the Google map results and your Business Profile. For most tradies it is the part that matters most, backed by a website with strong service pages.
Check if your trade is still open in your area
I work with one business per trade per area so I am never running campaigns against my own clients. Take the free 15 second lead score quiz to see where you stand, or check whether your trade is available where you are.