Local SEO
Local SEO checklist for UK tradespeople
A practical local SEO checklist for electricians, plumbers, tree surgeons and other trades: Google Business Profile, area pages, reviews and mobile speed.
When someone searches "electrician near me" or "tree surgeon in Surrey", Google is trying to match a local need with a local business it trusts. Most of what decides who appears is unglamorous: accurate details, a page that says where you work, reviews that keep coming, and a site that loads quickly on a phone.
None of that needs an agency. It needs a checklist and someone to keep it up to date.
Key takeaways
- Your Google Business Profile and your website must say the same thing.
- Name the areas you cover in plain text, not just on a map.
- Reviews matter most when they keep arriving, not when you have a lot from 2022.
- A slow mobile site loses the click even when it ranks.
- Local SEO is maintenance. Set a monthly rhythm and keep it.
1. Get your Google Business Profile right
Claim it, fill in every field, and choose the most specific primary category you can. Add your service area, your hours and the phone number you actually answer. Upload real photos of real jobs. Post an update when you finish something worth showing.
Check that the website link goes to a page that matches the profile: same name, same number, same area.
2. Say where you work, in words
Google reads text, not intentions. If your site never names the towns and counties you cover, it has no reason to show you for them. A short, honest paragraph listing your core areas does more than a map embed on its own.
If you cover a wide patch, a page per area can help, as long as each one says something real about working there rather than swapping the town name in a template.
3. Match your details everywhere
Your name, address and phone number should be identical on your website, your Google profile, Checkatrade or similar directories, and your social pages. Small differences, an old mobile number here, a trading name there, chip away at Google's confidence that they are all the same business.
4. Keep reviews coming
A steady trickle of recent reviews beats a big pile of old ones. Ask at the point the customer is happiest, usually when the job is signed off, and make it easy: a direct link to your Google review form by text or email.
Reply to every review, including the awkward ones. Replies are public and they tell the next customer how you handle things.
5. Make the site fast on a phone
Most of your customers will find you on a phone, often on a weak signal, standing in front of the problem. If the page takes five seconds to show your number, they will call the next result. Compress images, cut anything that loads before the headline, and put the call button at the top.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a separate page for every town?
Only if you can say something specific about each one. A handful of honest area pages for the places you genuinely work beats fifty near-identical ones, which Google tends to ignore.
Does my Checkatrade or directory listing count as a website?
It helps you get found, but it is a page you do not control, surrounded by your competitors. Your own site is where people confirm you are the right choice and get in touch directly.
How often should I check all this?
Monthly is enough for most trades: profile details, hours, a review ask, and a quick test that the contact form and phone link still work. Monthly website care covers the website side of that.
Where to start
If you are an electrician, see websites for electricians for a page built around exactly this. Otherwise, run a free website check, fix the mobile speed items first, and explore monthly website care to keep the rest in step.