7 Common SEO Mistakes Tradesmen Make (And How to Avoid Them)

If you’ve tried SEO before and didn’t see results, you’re not alone. We speak to tradesmen every week who say the same thing: “I paid someone to do my SEO, but nothing happened.”

In most cases, it wasn’t SEO that failed. It was the way it was done.

This article covers the seven most common mistakes we see tradesmen make, often because of poor advice or agencies that don’t specialise in the trade sector. If you want SEO that works, these are the things to avoid.

1. Choosing the Wrong Keywords

This is where everything starts — and often where it goes wrong.

Many agencies go after keywords that are too broad, too competitive, or completely unrelated to what your customers actually search for. We’ve seen electricians being optimised for “smart home installations” when they really just wanted local rewire jobs.

Worse still, some websites are built with no keyword research at all.

Good SEO for trades should focus on what people are really typing into Google, like “driveway company Oldham” or “24-hour plumber in Bournemouth.” That’s where the leads come from.

2. Ignoring Location-Based Search

Some agencies treat trade businesses like national eCommerce stores. They target generic phrases like “roof repairs” instead of ranking you in the areas you actually serve.

This mistake means your site shows up for the wrong audience, or doesn’t show up at all.

Local SEO should always be at the core of your strategy. That means place names, map visibility, and content that targets towns where your customers live.

A strong presence in local results brings in leads consistently. It’s one of the biggest differences between SEO that works and SEO that doesn’t. We’ve written about this more in real examples from the trade.

3. Treating SEO Like a One-Off Job

This is a major red flag. Some providers sell “SEO packages” that include a few tweaks to your site, then disappear.

But SEO is never a one-off. Rankings change. Competitors improve. Google updates how search works all the time.

Proper SEO means ongoing content, backlink building, profile management, and regular updates. If your SEO stopped six months ago, chances are your results have too.

Agencies that treat SEO like a box-ticking exercise will always underdeliver. If you've been caught out by that before, you already understand what we’ve seen go wrong.

4. Overpromising and Underdelivering

If an agency promises “page one in a week” or “100 leads a month guaranteed,” be cautious.

We’ve had clients come to us after being locked into long-term contracts with agencies that made big promises and then vanished.

The truth is, SEO takes a bit of time, especially if your site is new or you’re in a competitive market. But once it works, it builds momentum and becomes one of the most cost-effective ways to bring in work.

You don’t need hype. You need the value of SEO over time — consistent leads from real searchers in your area.

5. Ignoring the Website Itself

We often see tradesmen paying for SEO on a website that’s not fit for purpose.

If your site is slow, confusing, or looks unprofessional, ranking it won’t help. People will click, then leave. You won’t get the enquiry. That’s money wasted.

Your website needs to be built to convert. That means fast loading, mobile-friendly layout, local trust signals, clear services, and easy contact options.

We build all our clients’ sites from scratch, with SEO built in from day one. It’s part of what makes our approach different. If you’re comparing options, simple tips that actually work can start with improving your site.

6. No Tracking, No Reporting

Another common issue: you have no idea what’s working.

We’ve seen tradesmen spend thousands without ever seeing a proper report. No keyword tracking. No visitor numbers. No breakdown of enquiries.

If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.

At the very least, you should know how many people are visiting your site, what they’re searching for, and how often they get in touch. We use clear dashboards and tools we rely on every day to make this easy to see, even on your phone.

7. Outsourcing to Low-Quality Providers

This is the one most tradesmen regret.

We’ve seen some businesses try SEO through cheap freelancers, white-label services, or agencies that outsource abroad. The results? Poor English, copy-pasted content, and backlinks from spammy websites.

It might save money up front, but it’s expensive in the long run. Fixing bad SEO is harder than starting from scratch.

If you’ve been burned before, it’s time to work with someone who specialises in trades, builds everything in-house, and offers step-by-step advice with no shortcuts.

Final Thought

SEO can absolutely work for tradesmen. We’ve seen it. We do it every day.

But it only works when it’s done properly — with the right targeting, quality content, local strategy, and ongoing attention.

If your last experience with SEO was a letdown, one of the mistakes above was likely the cause. The good news? All of them are avoidable. You just need the right team behind you.

To see how other tradesmen turned things around, you might also be interested in the results speak for themselves.