How to get your trade business found on Google

Most tradespeople think "getting on Google" means one thing. It doesn't — it means two separate things, and mixing them up is exactly why plenty of good tradespeople are invisible online. About 46% of all Google searches have local intent, meaning someone looking for a plumber or an electrician in their area. If your business isn't showing up for those searches, that work is going to whoever is. The fix is cheaper and faster than you think, but only if you do it in the right order.

What "getting found on Google" actually means

There are two separate Google systems at play: Google Maps (powered by your Business Profile) and Google Search (powered by your website) — and you need both.

When someone types "electrician near me" into their phone, they get two different sets of results. The map pack at the top — those three local listings with star ratings and a map pin — comes entirely from Google Business Profile. Below that, the organic blue links come from websites that have been indexed by Google Search. A business with a strong profile shows up on the map. A business with a strong website shows up in the blue links. The best-performing local trades show up in both places.

What Google Maps shows vs what Google Search shows

Google Maps results are pulled directly from your Google Business Profile listing. They show your name, rating, address, phone number and opening hours. If someone wants to call you straight away from their phone, this is where they'll find you first. Google Search results, by contrast, are built from crawling and indexing actual web pages — your website, your service pages, your location pages. The two systems are connected but separate.

Is a Google Business Profile actually free?

Yes, completely. Creating and maintaining a Google Business Profile costs nothing. You can add photos, collect reviews, list your services, post updates, and reply to questions — all at no charge. The only cost is the hour or so it takes to set up properly and the time it takes to keep reviews coming in. There is no paid tier that gives you more map visibility; the way to rank higher in the map pack is by having more reviews, accurate information, and a local address.

What you can't do from a profile alone

A Business Profile has no room for a project gallery, no space to explain your process, no way to take a deposit or a booking, no place to list your Gas Safe number or NICEIC accreditation prominently, and no testimonials page with photos. It also can't rank for searches like "bathroom fitter Coventry prices" or "how much does a rewire cost" — those land on web pages, not map listings. For everything beyond the map pin, you need a website.

How to set up your Google Business Profile step by step

Getting onto Google Maps takes less than a day if you follow the steps in order — most trades are live within 48 hours of verification.

The most common reason tradespeople don't show up on Google Maps isn't a technical problem — it's that they never claimed their listing, or they claimed it years ago and left it half-empty. Google ranks completed, active profiles over neglected ones.

Claim or create your listing

Go to business.google.com and sign in with a Google account. Search for your business name. If a listing already exists (Google sometimes auto-generates them from directories), claim it. If not, create a new one. You'll need a business name, a primary category (pick the most specific one — "Plumber" beats "Contractor"), a service area or address, a phone number, and a website URL if you have one. You'll then need to verify — usually by a postcard to your address, sometimes by phone or video.

Fill every field — especially the category

Once you're in, fill every section: services offered, opening hours, a description (write it like a human — "I cover Bristol and the surrounding areas, mostly bathrooms and boilers" is better than "we are a leading provider of plumbing solutions"). Add at least five photos — your van, a finished job, you on site. Google's Search Central documentation confirms that relevance, distance and prominence all influence local ranking. A complete profile signals relevance; photos and reviews build prominence.

Get your first five reviews

Reviews are the single biggest factor in map pack ranking. Ask every satisfied customer to leave a Google review — send them the direct link via WhatsApp. Five genuine reviews with specific detail ("replumbed our entire ground floor, tidy job, back the same day when a valve needed adjusting") will move you above competitors who have none. Do not buy reviews or use a service that promises them — Google removes them and can suspend the listing.

Why a Google Business Profile alone won't fill your diary

A Google Business Profile gets you found; a website is what makes someone pick up the phone.

This is the objection I hear most often: "I've got a Business Profile, I get a few enquiries from Google Maps, do I really need a website too?" The answer is yes. When a potential customer finds you on Maps and taps through, they land on your profile. There's no portfolio, no explanation of your process, no way to see whether you're Gas Safe or NICEIC registered, no pricing guide, no clear call to action. A significant chunk of people who click through from a map listing will then search your name to find your website — and if there isn't one, a percentage of them will move on to whoever does have one.

The "no website" problem

If you don't have a website, you're invisible in Google Search organic results entirely. You can't rank for any keyword that includes a location or a service description. You're also handing a trust signal over to your competitors — a website tells a potential customer that you're an established business, not someone who did one job for a mate and put themselves on Google. The guide on getting more work without paying for leads covers this in more detail, but the short version is: a website is the only platform you own and control.

What a website does that a profile can't

A website can rank for dozens of keyword variations — "kitchen fitter Leeds", "kitchen fitter Leeds price", "how long does a kitchen fit take" — each one a different search from a different potential customer. It can show a proper before-and-after gallery. It can display your Gas Safe, NICEIC or NAPIT number where people can see it. It can explain your quoting process so you stop getting calls from people who are going to balk at the first number. And it can have a contact form or a call button that works at 11pm when your phone is off.

Why Checkatrade isn't a substitute for being found

Checkatrade, MyBuilder and Rated People put you in front of active buyers — but buyers who are comparing you against 20 other tradespeople on the same screen. You pay for each lead whether you win it or not. Being found on Google through your own website means the enquiry arrives with no middleman taking a cut. You're not on a comparison site, you're the first result. See website vs Facebook — what trades actually need for the same argument applied to social media.

The free tools vs what you actually need to pay for

Google Business Profile is free; a website costs from £395 one-off — and that single investment ends the monthly lead-platform fees.

Before spending anything, it's worth being clear about what the free tools can and can't do, and where the paid tools actually earn their money.

What's free and worth doing

• Google Business Profile — free, takes an afternoon, gets you on Maps
• Bing Places for Business — free, takes 20 minutes, gets you on Bing Maps (which also powers Microsoft Copilot)
• Google Search Console — free, shows you what searches your site appears for once you have one
• WhatsApp Business — free, lets you set auto-replies for out-of-hours enquiries

Everything else people call "free" — Yell.com listings, Checkatrade basic profiles, Facebook Business pages — either costs money to get meaningful visibility or doesn't feed Google Search at all.

What does a website actually cost?

A one-page trade website from a freelancer who hand-codes it runs around £395–£500. A multi-page site (home, about, services, gallery, contact) runs around £595–£795. Managed hosting — domain renewal, SSL, backups, unlimited small changes — typically runs around £10–£15/month on top. That means your total first-year cost for a proper site with hosting is roughly £500–£650, one-off. Lead platforms like Checkatrade charge significantly more per year in subscription and lead fees — and you don't own anything at the end of it.

For what it costs to be on a lead platform for three months, you can have a website that works for the next five years.

Bing Places — worth five minutes

Bing has a smaller share of UK searches than Google, but Bing is also the engine that powers Microsoft Copilot and feeds several AI assistants. A free Bing Places for Business listing takes about 20 minutes and means your business information shows up in those answers too. It's not going to transform your enquiry rate, but it costs nothing and takes no maintenance.

How long does all this take?

A Google Business Profile verifies within a few days; a website goes live in about a week; organic Google Search results start to appear within four to twelve weeks.

Timelines are the thing most trades articles wave away with "results vary". Here is what actually happens at each stage.

Google Business Profile: same week

Once you've submitted your listing, Google posts a verification postcard within five to seven working days in most parts of the UK. Some accounts get instant verification by phone or video call. Once verified, your listing is live on Google Maps and can start showing in the map pack within 48 hours. Reviews you've collected start appearing immediately.

A website: about a week

A hand-built one-page trade site — brief taken one day, design shown the next, live by the end of the week — is realistic. You'll need to give the builder a few photos of your work (phone photos from a finished job are fine), your phone number, a short description of what you do and where, and any accreditations. The domain itself propagates within 24–48 hours of going live. From enquiry to live site, a week is the honest answer.

Seeing results in Google Search: 4–12 weeks

Google needs to crawl and index your new site. A new domain typically picks up its first organic impressions within four to eight weeks if the site is structured properly. Ranking on page one for competitive local terms ("plumber Bristol") takes longer — three to six months of consistent reviews and site activity is a realistic target. Less competitive searches ("boiler service Trowbridge") can appear on page one in weeks. The map pack, because it's driven by reviews rather than site age, often performs sooner than the organic results.

If you want the website part sorted, I build hand-coded trade sites from £395 one-off — no subscription, no agency markup. I'll show you a free mockup of your actual business before you pay a penny, and the site is usually live within a week. Hosting, domain, SSL and unlimited small changes are £10/month after that, no contract. If you refer another trade, you both get £100 off — a one-pager for as little as £295 through the Mate's Rates deal. Start at sitework.uk/#apply.