How Local SEO Can Help Your Tradie Business

Whether you’re a plumber, an electrician, a bricklayer, a tiler or even a jack of all trades – the chances are you’re pretty keen to get your business noticed where it counts.  In your local area.

The trick of the tradies is local search engine optimisation – or local SEO.  

Local SEO To Help Your Tradie Business

Local SEO is all about targeting local users, searching for a local business to increase your website traffic. If you have a local customer base and offer your services in specific geographical areas, local SEO will improve your chances of success.    You may even benefit from additional business coming from outside your local area as a result of your local SEO efforts.  

Research shows that almost half of all Google searches are for local businesses.  Another study showed that 95% of people used a mobile device to do a local search with 61% calling the business.  Yet another study showed that 88% of mobile searches for local businesses either called or visited the business.

There’s no doubt that investing time and effort in local SEO is worth your while.

Why You Need Local SEO

Local SEO will help put your tradie business front and centre of customers who count.  It will help your business stand out from the clutter and help drive more targeted traffic to your website.

Remember, this traffic is coming from people who are searching specifically for services that you offer and, in a location, close to you.  That means the likelihood of conversion is so much higher.  

Local SEO also boosts your credibility before someone has even interacted with your business because it provides searchers with information about you (such as your address, a bricks and mortar premises if you have one, your Google star rating, number of reviews, link to your website, business hours, Google maps directions link etc) all from your Google My Business account.  It makes your business more trustworthy in their eyes.

Where Do You See Local SEO Results?

You’ll see local search results in the ‘Snack Pack’ or Google 3-pack – a boxed area that appears on the top or near the top of the first page of the search results when a local online search is made through Google.  This ‘Snack Pack’ displays the top three local business listings which are most relevant to that particular search enquiry, as well as displaying the most important information for those businesses.  When someone clicks on the listing, it expands to show more information (depending on what has been loaded into the profile).

This ‘Snack Pack’ is where your tradie business needs to be.  And local SEO can get you here.

How Do I Get My Tradie Business Into the ‘Snack Pack’?

The very first thing you need to do is set up your Google My Business (GMB) listing.  This is a free, easy-to-use tool that enables you to register on what is essentially Google’s own business directory.    You should include important details about your business including your location, website address, contact details operating hours, customer reviews and images.   

It’s really important that you have your name, address and phone number (NAP) consistent across all directory listings.  If there are discrepancies or inconsistencies with your NAP, Google may ignore your profile.  You also need to make sure that any directory listings you’re on are legitimate.

So, if you want to boost your chances of a coveted spot in Google’s ‘local 3-pack’, here are some tips:

• Make sure your business information is as detailed, accurate and relevant as possible so that Google can understand your business and match it to relevant searches
• Give specific information about your location so that when someone’s search includes a location term, Google knows exactly where you are in relation to that search
• Try and accumulate things that enhance your reputation, eg reviews, directory listings and local citations

Other Local SEO Tools and Tips to Help Your Tradie Business

Many local SEO techniques are free and easy to implement, so it’s a really effective way of reaching your target audience while protecting your bottom-line.   

Local citations are very valuable.  These are when your business is listed by a third-party website (such as a review site or in a blog).   No backlink to your website is required, but the important thing is that your business is noted as a point of reference, so it enhances your authority and inspires respect and trust. See our recommended list of citations for Australia here.

Localised content is another important local SEO technique.  You can add blogs to your website which cover locally relevant topics and you can improve your on-page SEO with things like title tags, meta descriptions and image tags.

Backlinks can also be beneficial for local SEO.  These are links to your website from external websites, like your suppliers and business directories.  

And then there are reviews.  Reviews are the holy grail of local SEO, so you should try and accumulate great reviews and testimonials into your directory listings, especially Google My Business.  The number of reviews is also important, and while no-one wants negative feedback, remember that any and every review is an opportunity to engage with your customers, tell your story and reinforce all the good stuff about your tradie business! We have some tips on asking for Google Reviews here.

Where to Turn for Help

A tradie business is often a one-person enterprise, with time and resources stretched to the limit.  SEO may seem like a bridge too far, but it’s actually easier and more accessible than you think.

As a tradie, you’re used to DIY.  So have a look at The SEO School, a DIY online course that takes you through all the important tactics and tools of SEO, and best of all, you implement your own SEO strategy as you progress through the modules.  It was developed by veteran Perth digital marketing specialist, Karen Dauncey, who has helped many tradie businesses go from zero to Google hero with local SEO.

Find out more or book your course at The SEO School.

If you found this article useful then check out “Why Local SEO is Important to your Business“

Karen Dauncey

Karen Dauncey has been working in SEO since 2003. She specialises in helping businesses get found online through Google using Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) She is the founder and creator of The SEO School an online SEO Course to help teach business owners how to do their own SEO. She regularly delivers educational programs for both Local, State and Federal Government and is an advisor for the ASBAS Digital Solutions Program. Karen’s passion and commitment to help small business owners get found online is the driving force behind her online school, making SEO advice accessible to all with free resources and online courses.

Karen's wealth of SEO knowledge and practical digital marketing experience comes from running her own SEO and Google Ads agency, Blue Cherry Online Marketing since 2008. Karen has optimised over 1000 websites, managed millions of dollars' worth of spend on Google Ads and has a solid understanding of the constantly shifting industry of digital marketing and SEO. This gives her a unique advantage when it comes to being able to recommend the right online marketing strategies for your business. This gives her a unique advantage when it comes to being able to recommend the right online marketing strategies for your business. She was recently recognised as an SEO Expert for the popular course creation platform, Kajabi as well as appearing on ABC Radio
for her expert opinion on the ACCC's investigation into search engines.

Karen has attended search engine conferences in London, Stockholm, Adelaide and Sydney, and was also invited to attend a pilot Business Coaching Course at Google’s Head Office. She has a Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing in the UK.

She is also the co-owner of the Digital Experts Directory, an online directory for female serviced-based businesses to promote their business (with a great backlink for SEO).

To keep up to date with the latest in SEO, join her Facebook group The SEO School Community or follow her on Facebook or LinkedIn.