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// seo for tradies · from A$197 a month

SEO for tradies, done every month and reported in plain English.

A trade customer searches for the job, checks the map, looks at photos of your work and then rings or asks for a quote. The A$197 monthly plan covers the ongoing work in each of those places: job-type and suburb pages, the Business Profile for call-out work, job photos and review requests, with one report a month.

Get a quoteSee the monthly work

Updated · By Josh Waller

From A$197 a month, hosting and edits includedMonthly reportMonth to month, no lock-inAlso for sites Kovus did not build
McDonald Roofing Company homepage: "The roof is the design." over a standing-seam metal roofCJH Concrete homepage, showing the Currambine location, the published mobile number and the free measure call to action
Two trade builds. CJH Concrete, in front, has a monthly retainer in its scope. Behind it is McDonald Roofing Company.

/ How trade customers search

What is SEO for tradies?

SEO for tradies is the monthly work that keeps a trade business accurate and current in the four places a customer looks before ringing: the map results, the web results, reviews and listings, and AI answers. A website on its own only answers one of them. Local SEO for tradies is the work in all four.

  1. Urgent

    emergency plumber near me

    Water through the ceiling, no power, a gas smell. The search ends in a phone call.

    The map results

    Drawn from Google Business Profiles

    A profile set up for call-out work: the hours you actually answer, the service areas you travel to and posts with photos from recent jobs, so it is complete and active when the call comes.

  2. Planned job

    exposed aggregate driveway joondalup

    A re-roof, a deck, a bathroom. The owner compares a few businesses over days.

    The web results

    Drawn from your service and suburb pages

    A page for each job type and each suburb with real work in it, carrying photos of finished jobs and a way to ask for a quote, and Search Console checked every month for pages Google has not picked up.

  3. Checking you out

    your business name reviews

    Someone was given your name, or found you, and wants to see who you are before calling.

    Reviews and listings

    Google reviews, Bing Places, Hotfrog, Localsearch

    A review link or QR code to send when the job is done, short templates for asking, and listings on Bing Places, Hotfrog and Localsearch that carry the same trading name and phone.

  4. Asking AI

    who replaces switchboards in mandurah?

    The question goes to ChatGPT or lands on a Google AI Overview before any website.

    AI answers

    ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and similar tools

    The same trading name, service area and job details across the site and the profile, and plain answers to the questions customers ask about the job. Checked and reported. Inclusion is up to each platform.

This page points the plan at trade work. The general version for any local business, with every check and monthly stage, is on the SEO plan page.

/ Every month

What does local SEO for tradies involve each month?

Five things on a trade business get looked after every month: the job-type pages, the service areas, the Business Profile for call-out work, the photos from finished jobs, and the quote requests and calls that come in. Each is checked, fixed where needed, kept current and shown in one plain-English report.

  • Job-type pages

    Each job you want more of, from blocked drains to switchboard upgrades, has a page that Google has picked up and that answers the job. New and changed pages are sent to Search Console, and page errors are fixed.

  • Service areas

    The suburbs on the profile match the suburbs on the site and the work you really travel to. A suburb page is added when there is real work and photos to show there, not to fill a list.

  • The profile for call-out work

    Services, hours and public-holiday hours kept current, so someone searching with a burst pipe or no power finds a profile that is complete and says when you answer.

  • Photos from finished jobs

    Posts on the Business Profile with photos from recent jobs, and the copy and photos on the matching job pages refreshed from the work you send through.

  • Quote requests and calls

    Taps on the call links and quote-form submissions tracked as events, so the monthly report shows the calls and quote requests beside Search Console and Business Profile numbers.

/ Where to start

SEO checklist for tradies: 10 things to fix first.

These ten come from the 30-point local SEO checklist, and they go first because foundations come before content volume. They cover the business details, the profile, whether Google can read the site and whether an enquiry actually arrives. A tradie can work through them in order, with or without the monthly plan.

  1. Use one real trading name

    The same name on the website, the Google Business Profile and the main directory listings. Services and suburbs stay out of it unless they are genuinely part of the name.

    Point 1 on the 30-point checklist

  2. Make the phone number agree everywhere

    The header, footer, contact page and structured data should all carry one primary number. Tap each call link on a phone to confirm it dials.

    Point 2 on the 30-point checklist

  3. Keep trading hours current

    Regular hours on the site, and public-holiday hours updated on the profile. If you take after-hours call-outs, say when you are available instead of using 24/7 as decoration.

    Point 3 on the 30-point checklist

  4. Set an honest service area

    A service-area business can name up to 20 cities, postcodes or other areas. Google no longer accepts a radius, and advises keeping the area within about two hours of the base.

    Point 4 on the 30-point checklist

  5. Pick the most specific primary category

    The primary Business Profile category should describe the core business. Secondary categories are only for work the business really does.

    Point 5 on the 30-point checklist

  6. Check Google can index the site

    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 stays undiscovered.

    Point 6 on the 30-point checklist

  7. Give each priority service its own page

    A plumber who wants more blocked-drain work needs a useful blocked-drain page, not one sentence inside a broad services list.

    Point 7 on the 30-point checklist

  8. Build suburb pages only with local substance

    Real job references, local photos and area detail. Pages that are identical apart from the suburb name are the kind of copied page Google's spam policies warn against.

    Point 11 on the 30-point checklist

  9. Test every form

    Submit it from a phone and from a desktop, then confirm the success message, the notification email and the reply path all work.

    Point 21 on the 30-point checklist

  10. Measure calls and forms

    Track taps on the call links and successful form submissions, and use the numbers to compare pages instead of inflating traffic figures.

    Point 29 on the 30-point checklist

The other twenty checks, and how to score a site out of 30, are in the 30-point local SEO checklist. The score is a maintenance tool, not a Google ranking score. To see what your own homepage already shows, run the free tradie website check.

/ By trade

Does SEO work the same way for every trade?

The plan is the same, and the searches are not. A burst pipe is searched on a phone and ends in a call, a re-roof is compared for weeks, and a driveway is searched by finish and then by suburb. So the pages, the profile categories and the questions the work covers change with the trade.

/ The first three months

What happens in the first 90 days of SEO for a tradie?

Access is sorted first, then the monthly round runs three times. Month one sets your baseline, and months two and three are measured against it. What follows is the order of the work, month by month. It is not a schedule of results, and the plan is month to month from the first day.

  1. Before month 1

    Quote, then access

    Your written quote confirms the scope. You add Josh as a manager on your Google Business Profile and stay the verified owner. If Kovus did not build the website, you provide editor access to your platform, and you keep ownership of every account.

  2. Month 1

    The baseline month

    The job pages, service areas, profile and call tracking are checked for the first time, and the fixes follow. The listings on Bing Places, Hotfrog and Localsearch are matched to the site, and you get a review link or QR code. The first report becomes the baseline.

  3. Month 2

    The second round, with something to compare

    The same round again. The checks are read against month one, copy and photos are refreshed from the jobs you finished, and the report shows what changed since the baseline.

  4. Month 3

    The third round, and pages only when they are earned

    The round again, now with two earlier reports behind it. In any month, a new job or suburb page is added when you have real work and photos to show there. No copy-and-paste suburb pages are built to fill a calendar.

  5. Day 90

    What you hold

    Three monthly reports, each measured against your own starting point, and a profile, listings and accounts that are all still yours. The plan stays month to month throughout. Where the business ranks by then is up to Google and the other platforms.

/ A trade build with a retainer in its scope

How long does SEO take for a trade business?

There is no set number of weeks. It depends on where the business starts, how many others work the same suburbs and what Google changes along the way. A business with a site starts from whatever Search Console already shows. Donza Plumbing, below, started from Instagram, so its case study shows what the build put in place.

Donza Plumbing homepage, showing the Mannering Park location, the published mobile number and the call and quote actions
The Donza Plumbing homepage. The business is based in Mannering Park, New South Wales.

A plumber with no website, now 150 pages.

Donza Plumbing ran its quotes through Instagram messages, with no website, no directory listing and no Google Business Profile. The build went live with a page for each job type and each suburb the business works, and its NSW Fair Trading accreditations published on the site and in the code Google reads.

The scope includes a month-to-month retainer covering Business Profile setup, reviews and content.

  • 150pages now, up from 139 at launch
  • 103suburb pages now, up from 100 at launch, across the corridor the business works
  • 13service pages, split by job type
  • 7guides answering questions the trade gets asked

Read the Donza Plumbing case study

Other builds with a retainer in the scope

/ The two monthly plans

How much does SEO for tradies cost?

The SEO plan costs from A$197 a month, with no lock-in: it is month to month. On a website Kovus built, that price includes hosting, backups and unlimited edits, and the A$97 plan covers those without the SEO work. A website build is separate, at A$500 to A$1,000. The plan is also sold for sites Kovus did not build.

The two Kovus monthly plans for a trade business: what each costs, what the month includes and which websites it suits
PlanPriceWhat the month includesWhich websites
Hosting and editsA$97 a monthA$1,164 over a year
  • Hosting and CDN
  • A security and performance pass
  • Uptime monitoring
  • Verified backups
  • Unlimited edits
A trade website Kovus built and hosts.
Plus SEOfrom A$197 a monthfrom A$2,364 over a year
  • Everything in the A$97 plan
  • Ongoing SEO
  • The Google Business Profile
  • A monthly report
A trade website Kovus built, or one built by someone else. That site stays with its current host.

On a trade site Kovus built, A$97 keeps the job pages hosted, backed up and edited, and A$197 adds the profile, listings and job-page work above. A bigger business that needs more work each month is quoted in writing before it starts. Every price is on the pricing page.

A published range to hold that against: SEO, when it is bought, runs A$300 to A$3,500 a month according to GoDaddy's Australian website cost article. That figure is theirs, for businesses in general, and is not a Kovus price.

Running a site another builder made?

The A$197 plan is still available for a website Kovus did not build, on the same pricing from A$197 a month. The site stays with its current host, which keeps looking after hosting, security and backups, and new job or suburb pages are made in your platform with editor access you provide. You keep ownership of every account.

/ Straight answers

What can't SEO promise a tradie?

Where you rank. SEO is measured, not guaranteed: Google and the other platforms decide who shows up for a search, and each AI tool decides which businesses it mentions. The work is done every month, and the report shows where you stand and what changed, with no position or date attached.

  • A spot in the map results for call-outs

    Which trades show for an urgent search is Google's call, and distance from the caller is part of it.

  • A number of calls or quote requests

    The report counts the calls and quote requests that come in. It does not promise how many will.

  • AI mentions

    Whether an AI tool names a trade business is up to each platform. It is checked and reported, not promised.

Job photos, job-type pages and the Business Profile all stay in the business's name. The client owns the website, content, domain and source code. Optional ongoing services are month-to-month with no minimum term. The client may cancel at any time, effective at the end of the current paid month.

Questions about SEO for tradies.

How much does SEO for a tradie cost?
The SEO work is the monthly SEO plan, from A$197 a month. For a site Kovus built, it also includes hosting, a security and performance pass, uptime monitoring, verified backups and unlimited edits. A bigger business that needs more work each month is quoted in writing before it starts. It is month-to-month with no minimum term. Website builds are quoted separately, at A$500 to A$1,000.
What does local SEO for tradies actually involve?
Monthly work on the parts of a trade business people search: the job-type and suburb pages, the Business Profile for call-out work, job photos, listings and review requests. Calls and quote requests are tracked, and one plain-English report shows them beside Google Analytics, Search Console and Business Profile numbers.
Do I need a website, or is a Google Business Profile enough?
They do different jobs. The profile is what appears in the map results at the top of a local search and on Google Maps. The website is where the profile, the listings and the AI tools point back to, and where service and suburb pages answer searches the profile cannot. The plan works on both.
Should my profile list every suburb I travel to?
List the areas you genuinely serve. A tradie with no shopfront hides the address and sets service areas instead: Google currently allows up to 20, by city, postcode or other area, with no radius, and advises keeping them within about two hours of your base.
Will you build a page for every suburb?
No. A suburb gets a page when there is real work and photos to show there. Copy-and-paste suburb pages are not built.
What photos should I send through each month?
Photos of finished jobs, with a line on what the job was and where. They go into posts on the Business Profile and onto the matching job pages, so both stay current with the work you are doing.
Is there a lock-in contract?
No. The plan is month to month with no minimum term, and the written quote sets out the scope before anything starts. Cancelling takes effect at the end of the current paid month.

/ Related

Where SEO sits among the other channels, from the free Business Profile to lead platforms and ads, is set out in marketing for tradies. The profile work on its own, and what happens if Google suspends a trade profile, is on the Google Business Profile management page.

/ The next step

Tell me the trade and the suburbs you work.

What the business does, which suburbs the work actually comes from, and what shows up when you search for it now. I will reply with what the monthly plan would cover and what is needed for a written quote.

Get a quoteSee pricing

/ Perth based · Month to month · You own the website