The tradie's guide to getting found on Google

To get found on Google as a tradie, claim and fill out your Google Business Profile, keep a steady flow of recent reviews, and make sure your trade and service area are crystal clear — that combination decides who shows up when someone searches "electrician near me." You don't need a $2,000-a-month agency to do the basics that actually move the needle.

Reviews carry more weight than most tradies realise. According to BrightLocal (via 20minutemarketing.com.au), 98% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses. That means almost everyone deciding whether to call you is reading what other customers said first — your reviews are doing the selling before you pick up the phone.

The basics that beat a big agency bill

Plenty of tradies are told the only way to rank is to pay an agency $2,000 a month. The honest truth is that most of the ranking work is fundamentals you can get sorted once and maintain. Pay for help if you want speed and someone to own it — but don't pay because you think the basics are out of reach.

Your Google Business Profile is your shopfront

For a tradie, your Google Business Profile is the shopfront — and a half-finished one tells customers you might be half-finished too. Claim it, confirm your trade, set your real service area and hours, and add photos of actual jobs. A complete profile ranks better and converts better, because a customer can see at a glance that you do their job, in their area, today.

Recent reviews are the tie-breaker

When two tradies look equally capable, recent reviews break the tie — and "recent" matters as much as the star rating. Ten glowing reviews from three years ago read as "were they good once?"; a steady trickle of fresh ones reads as "they're busy and people keep being happy." The trick is making review requests a habit at job completion, not a thing you remember once a quarter.

Don't forget the new search

Customers increasingly ask AI assistants like ChatGPT and Google's AI "who's a good sparky in my area?" — and those tools recommend businesses they can clearly understand. If your trade, area and reputation are legible online, you get recommended in that channel too. This is what ProPath GEO does: it gets you found and recommended across both ordinary Google search and the AI search that's quietly becoming the first stop.

ProPath Group, a Sunshine Coast business automation consultancy that has helped Australian businesses since 1999, sets up these fundamentals so you're found without an eye-watering monthly retainer.

Next step

Start by claiming and completing your Google Business Profile and asking your next three happy customers for a review. If you'd rather have it done properly and kept current, take a look at ProPath GEO — we'll get you found where customers are actually searching.