SEO 101: How to Get Your Trade Business Found on Google
SEO. Three letters that make a lot of people’s eyes glaze over. But stick with me because once you understand what it actually means and how simple the basics really are — you’ll wonder why you weren’t doing this from day one.
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation.
In plain English it just means making your website easy for Google to understand so it knows when to show it to people who are searching for what you offer.
That’s it. That’s the whole thing.
But Wait — Isn’t AI Taking Over Search?
Yes and no. AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini are absolutely changing the way people find businesses, but here’s the thing — good SEO and good AIO actually go hand in hand. The stuff that makes Google love your website is the same stuff that makes AI love your website.
Specific content, real information, clear service areas, honest pricing.
And here’s something really important that nobody talks about — your target customer is often not on TikTok hunting for a tradie. They’re on Google. They’re typing “who builds granny flats in Rolleston” into a search bar the same way they have been for the last fifteen years. Particularly the 50+ demographic who are often your best customers — the ones with the savings, the section, and the plan to build, renovate or fix something. They Google. They click links. They read websites.
And on top of that, AI is crawling those exact same pages to find answers for its users. So good SEO isn’t just bringing you Google traffic anymore — it’s feeding ChatGPT and Gemini the information they need to recommend you. One well built page, two audiences finding you. Not bad for something that costs nothing.
SEO is absolutely still worth doing. It works alongside AI, not instead of it.
Set it up properly once, and it works for you forever.
The Keyword Formula That Actually Works for Trades
Keywords are just the words and phrases people type into Google when they’re looking for something. For trade businesses, the formula is almost always the same:
Service + Location.
For example, kitchen renovations Christchurch. Fencing contractor Rolleston. Granny flat builder Canterbury. Heat pump installation Rangiora.
That’s your keyword. And your job is to build pages around those keywords so when someone types that exact phrase — or something close to it — your website comes up.
We have pages on Pete’s (my partner’s) website that most people never see from the homepage — pages like “two bay shed Rolleston” and “three bay shed Akaroa.” They exist purely to show up when someone in that specific area searches for that specific thing. And they work. We consistently rank for our services when we niche down like this.
Your competitors have one generic services page. You have twenty specific ones. Who do you think Google is going to show?
Headings — The Thing Most People Skip Completely
When you’re writing or editing a page on your website, you’ll notice heading options — H1, H2, H3. These aren’t just about making text bigger. They’re how Google understands the structure and content of your page.
Think of it like a newspaper. The H1 is your front page headline — the main thing this page is about. There should only ever be one H1 per page. The H2s are your section headings. The H3s break those sections down further.
So a granny flat page might look like:
H1: Granny Flat Builder Christchurch
H2: Why Build a Granny Flat?
H2: Our Granny Flat Services
H3: Detached Granny Flats
H3: Attached Minor Dwellings
H2: Granny Flat Pricing
H2: Areas We Service
See how Google can read that structure and immediately understand exactly what the page is about and who it’s for? That’s the goal. Make it so obvious that Google has no choice but to show your page to the right person.
Use your service and location naturally in your headings where it makes sense. Don’t stuff it in awkwardly — write for humans first, Google second. But don’t be shy about it either.
Blog Posts — The Most Underused SEO Tool in the Trades
This one is my favourite and almost nobody in the trades is doing it well.
People don’t just search for services. They search for answers. They Google questions. And if your website has a page that answers that exact question — you show up.
The trick is to think about what your ideal customer is actually Googling before they pick up the phone. For us that looks like:
“What does it cost to build a granny flat in Rolleston?”
“What is the difference between Zincalume and Colorsteel?”
“Do I need a building consent for a sleepout in Canterbury?”
“How long does it take to build a new home in Christchurch?”
Every single one of those is a blog post. And every single one of those blog posts is a door into your website from someone who is actively researching and is very close to making a decision.
These are not people browsing. These are people about to spend money. You want to be the one who answered their question.
Write the post in plain language like you’re explaining it to a friend. Use the question as your H1 heading. Answer it honestly and thoroughly. Mention your location and services naturally throughout. Add a CTA at the end.
That’s a blog post. That’s SEO. And that page will sit on your website working for you for years.
The Simple SEO Checklist for Every Page You Build
Before you hit publish on any new page, run through this:
- Does my H1 include the service and location?
- Have I used H2 and H3 headings to break up the content?
- Have I mentioned my service area naturally throughout the page?
- Is there a starting from price or some kind of pricing indication?
- Have I included a click to call CTA at the top and bottom?
- Does the page answer the question someone would be Googling?
- Are my photos labelled with descriptive file names? (Google reads these — “granny-flat-rolleston.jpg” beats “IMG_4823.jpg” every time)
Tick all of those and you’ve got a solid SEO page. Do that consistently across your whole website and over time you build something that generates leads on autopilot.
SEO is not complicated. It’s not expensive. It’s not something you need to outsource to an agency charging you $800 a month.
It’s just being specific. Specific about what you do. Specific about where you do it. Specific about the questions your customers are asking before they book.
Build the pages.
Write the blog posts.
Use your headings properly.
Check Search Console to see what’s working.
Do that consistently and Google — and AI — will do the rest.
