Start with the profile
For most trades, the business profile drives a large share of calls. Choose the primary category that matches your main trade, add secondary categories for real side services, and set the service area honestly. Fill in the services list with the jobs you actually want, not everything you could do.
Add attributes for onsite service and online estimates if they apply, and make sure your phone is answered during the listed hours.
One page per core service
A page titled Services with a long list of trades rarely persuades anyone. Build a separate page for each major job: panel upgrades, drain cleaning, deck building, roof replacement. Each should explain the process, typical timelines, what affects price, and what the customer needs to prepare.
Include photos from real jobs, a short description of a recent project, and a clear call to action. Link each service page to related pages, such as a financing page or a maintenance plan.
Show proof, not slogans
Trades are trust purchases. Display your license number where required, insurance details, manufacturer training credentials you hold, and membership in associations. Check your state's rules on what must appear in advertising.
Before and after photos with a short note on the problem and the fix do more than adjectives. With the owner's permission, tell a short story: what the customer called about, what you found, what you did.
Reviews with job detail
After each job, ask for a review and invite the customer to mention what was done. Reviews that name the work, such as a water heater swap or a bathroom fan install, help future searchers see that you handle their problem.
Reply to every review, especially complaints about scheduling or surprises on price, and show how you fixed it.
If you take urgent calls, say so, state how after-hours calls work, and set your hours honestly. An emergency visitor will choose the business that answers. If you do not offer emergency service, avoid wording that implies it.
Make the phone number tappable on mobile and visible at the top of every page.
Track leads from the start
Use a call tracking number or a simple log to learn which sources bring work. Ask every caller how they found you. Pair that with analytics events on your forms. Trade work often involves repeat and referral business, so also track those, since an excellent site is not the only path to customers.
Review the numbers every month and spend your effort where the jobs come from.
Planning around seasons
Trades have busy and slow seasons, and your online work should lead them. A heating and cooling company should publish tune-up content in early autumn and early spring, not mid-season. A landscaper should refresh planting and cleanup pages ahead of spring. Update photos and the profile posts to match the work you are doing now.
Use slow periods to improve pages, collect project photos and ask past customers for reviews. When the busy weeks arrive, you will have a profile and site that convert. Keep a short list of the jobs you most want next season and make sure each has a strong page, a few photos and a couple of reviews that mention it.
Common questions
Do I need a blog as a contractor?
Not necessarily. Strong service pages, project examples and answers to common questions often matter more than a regular blog.
Should I list every town I work in?
Describe your real service area on one page with useful detail. Avoid creating many near-identical pages that differ only in a place name.
This guide is general information. Search engines change how they work and their guidelines; check Google's current documentation for your situation. Nobody can guarantee a ranking.