Tradie Website and Local SEO Checklist: 30 Practical Checks

The short answer

A tradie website is ready to compete locally when it clearly explains what you do, where you work, why a customer should trust you and how to enquire. The website also needs accurate business information, crawlable pages, fast mobile performance and measurement that shows which pages produce calls or quote requests.

This 30-point checklist is deliberately practical. It does not promise a number-one ranking. Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence, and that no business can pay for a better organic local ranking. The job of the website is to make the business easier to understand, verify and contact. See Google’s local ranking guidance for the official explanation.

Use the checklist in order. Foundations come before content volume.

Business and search foundations

1. The business name is consistent. Use the real trading name on the website, Google Business Profile and major directory listings. Do not add services or suburbs to the business name unless they are genuinely part of it.

2. The primary phone number is correct everywhere. Test every tel: link on mobile. The number in the header, footer, contact page and structured data should agree.

3. Trading hours are current. Include regular hours and update public-holiday hours on the Google Business Profile. If you offer after-hours callouts, explain the actual availability rather than writing “24/7” as decoration.

4. The service area is honest. A service-area business can nominate up to 20 cities, postcodes or other areas. Google no longer accepts a radius setting. Google also advises keeping the overall area within about two hours of the business base. See Google’s service-area guidance.

5. The correct Google Business Profile category is selected. Choose the most specific primary category that describes the core business. Add secondary categories only for work the business genuinely performs. Google confirms that categories affect local ranking in its Business Profile category guidance.

6. The website is indexable. Important pages should not carry noindex, sit behind a login or be blocked by robots.txt. Submit the sitemap in Search Console and inspect any page that remains undiscovered.

Pages that match real jobs

7. Each priority service has a dedicated page. A plumber who wants more blocked-drain work needs a useful blocked-drain page, not one sentence inside a broad services list.

8. Service page titles use the language customers use. Prefer “Switchboard upgrades in Perth” over an internal label such as “Electrical solutions”.

9. The opening paragraph answers the query. State the service, who it suits, where it is available and the next step before telling the company story.

10. Every service page explains scope. Include the jobs covered, common exclusions, the quote process and what the customer should prepare.

11. Suburb pages exist only where there is real local substance. Use genuine job references, local photos, service details and practical area information. Swapping suburb names through otherwise identical pages can cross into doorway abuse under Google’s spam policies.

12. Related pages link to each other. Service pages should link to relevant areas, guides and case studies. Google recommends descriptive internal links because they help people and search engines understand the relationship between pages. See Google’s link guidance.

Proof that reduces doubt

13. The site uses real project photography. Show the work, the crew, the vehicle or premises, and the finished result. Supplier images can explain a product, but they should not replace evidence of the business’s own work.

14. Images have useful alternative text. Describe what the image proves. “Completed standing-seam roof in Cottesloe” is more useful than “roof image”.

15. Licences and registrations are accurate. Display only licences, memberships and certifications the business can verify. Put the most important trust signal near the enquiry path, not only in the footer.

16. Reviews are genuine and attributable. Use customer wording accurately and link to the source where practical. Do not manufacture names, locations or outcomes.

17. The About page identifies real people. A customer inviting a tradie onto a property wants to know who is behind the business. Include a real name, role and appropriate experience without inventing a founding story.

18. Case studies explain the job. A useful case study covers the brief, constraints, approach and result. It does not need an inflated metric to be credible.

Enquiry and conversion checks

19. The phone number is visible without hunting. On mobile, the main call action should be reachable with one tap.

20. The quote form asks only for information needed now. Name, contact method, service, suburb and a short job description are usually enough for the first response.

21. Every form is tested. Submit it from a phone and desktop. Confirm the success message, notification email and reply path all work.

22. Pricing expectations are addressed. If exact pricing is impossible, explain call-out fees, minimum charges, quote conditions or the factors that change cost.

23. The next step is explicit. Tell the customer whether the business will call, request photos, arrange a site visit or send a written quote.

24. Emergency and planned work use different paths. An urgent leak, power fault or storm-damaged roof needs a phone-first path. A renovation or maintenance contract can use a more detailed quote form.

Speed, accessibility and measurement

25. The site works at 360 pixels wide. Check the navigation, buttons, tables, long headings and forms on a small phone viewport.

26. Core content works without animation. Motion can improve hierarchy, but service details and enquiry paths must remain available when reduced motion is enabled or JavaScript fails.

27. Text and controls meet contrast requirements. Normal text should meet a 4.5:1 contrast ratio. Keyboard focus should be visible on every link, button and form field.

28. Large images are compressed and dimensioned. Serve modern formats where practical and reserve image dimensions to avoid layout movement while the page loads.

29. Calls and forms are measured. Track tel: clicks and successful form submissions. Use the data to compare pages, not to inflate vanity traffic numbers.

30. Search Console is reviewed for decisions. The Performance report shows queries, pages, countries, impressions and clicks. Once enough data exists, improve pages that receive relevant impressions but weak clicks or enquiries. Start with Google’s Search Console guide.

How to score the site

Count one point for each item that is complete and verified.

The score is a maintenance tool, not a Google ranking score. A business can pass all 30 checks and still face stronger competitors, a smaller service area or limited demand. The value is knowing that the site is not losing straightforward opportunities through avoidable gaps.

What to read next

Start with the Google Business Profile optimisation guide, then compare service pages and suburb pages. If the website itself needs rebuilding, the websites for tradies guide explains the full Kovus system.