Imagine this: a potential client is searching online for the exact service you provide—whether it’s plumbing, electrical work, or roofing—and your site doesn’t even show up. Or worse, it appears, but takes so long to load that the client moves on to someone else.
Losing business because of technical issues on your website is frustrating and costly, but it’s completely avoidable.
All trade businesses face stiff competition these days, and having a well-designed site isn’t enough. Without mastering technical SEO, your website could be flying under the radar, missing out on valuable leads. A great site goes way beyond looks—if your website is slow, hard to navigate, or filled with broken links, Google won’t recommend it to potential clients.
That’s the reality for many tradespeople who haven’t prioritised technical SEO.
But don’t worry—this post is here to help. We’ll walk you through tested, practical tips to sharpen your site’s performance and get it ranking higher on search engines. By the end, you’ll have a website that not only looks good but works hard to bring in more clients and grow your business.
Let’s get started!
Why Technical SEO Matters for Tradesmen

Think of your website like a chisel—if it’s not sharp, you won’t get the best results. That’s exactly what technical SEO does: it sharpens your site so it’s working as efficiently as possible.
For tradesmen, most of your customers will search online for local services, and Google needs to know your site is reliable, fast, and easy to navigate before recommending it. Without technical SEO, even the best-looking site might not get seen. From improving your site's speed to making sure it works on mobile phones, technical SEO helps you show up where it counts—right in front of potential customers.
At the end of the day, it’s not about learning a ton of jargon or spending hours tweaking your site. It’s about ensuring your website helps you grow your business, not holds it back. With a few well-placed adjustments, you’ll be setting yourself up to bring in more leads and, ultimately, more work.
That’s where technical SEO makes a real difference.
Think Mobile First

More people than ever are searching for services from their phones, especially when they need a local tradesman. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you could be losing out on a huge number of potential clients.
In fact, Google prioritises mobile-friendly sites in its rankings. So, if your site isn’t easy to use on a mobile, it might not even appear in search results when someone needs a plumber or an electrician in your area.
It’s not complicated to check if your site works well on mobile devices. Tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test give you a quick answer. If it’s not up to scratch, the fixes are usually straightforward:
- Resizing images
- Using a responsive design
- Tweaking fonts and buttons to make everything easier to click and read on smaller screens
Your website should work as smoothly on a mobile phone as it does on a desktop. Don’t let a clunky mobile experience be the reason a potential customer chooses someone else. Make sure your site is ready to grab their attention, no matter what device they’re using.
Turbocharge Your Website

Nobody likes waiting around for a slow website to load—especially potential customers looking for a tradesman in a hurry.
A slow site can drive people away before they even see what you offer, and worse, it can hurt your rankings on Google. The faster your site, the better the user experience, which means more people stick around, and search engines take notice.
There are simple ways to improve your site speed:
- Compress images: Large images can slow things down. Compressing them keeps your site looking great without taking forever to load.
- Use browser caching: This lets visitors store certain parts of your website, like images, so it loads faster the next time they visit.
- Minimise code: Cleaning up your site’s HTML, CSS, and JavaScript can make a big difference in speed.
To get started, tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix can help you identify what's slowing down your site and offer specific recommendations.
Remember, a faster website doesn’t just mean happy visitors—it means Google sees your site as more valuable.
And that can lead to better rankings, more traffic, and more business.
Trim the Fat Off Your URLs

A clean, well-organised URL structure isn’t just for show—it helps both search engines and visitors understand what your site is about. For plumbers, electricians, roofers, and other tradesmen, this can mean the difference between getting found or getting lost in the noise online.
Think of your URL as a roadmap.
A clear, simple URL helps guide both potential customers and search engines to the right place. For example, a URL like yoursite.com/services/plumbing-repairs tells Google exactly what’s on that page—and it tells your customer too.
Here are some tips to optimise your URL structure:
- Keep it short and descriptive: A good URL is easy to read and tells visitors what to expect on the page.
- Include relevant keywords: Use terms that relate to the services you offer, like 'plumbing repairs' or 'electrical services'. But don’t overdo it—keep it natural.
- Avoid unnecessary characters: Dashes are fine, but long strings of random numbers or symbols can confuse both people and search engines.
An optimised URL structure not only makes it easier for people to navigate your site, but it can also improve your SEO, helping Google rank your site higher.
When you keep things simple and organised, you’re setting yourself up for better visibility and more business.
Link Like a Pro, Rank Like a King

Your website isn’t just about individual pages—how those pages connect to each other is just as important.
Internal links are the threads that tie your site together, helping both visitors and search engines navigate it easily. A strong internal linking structure not only keeps potential clients on your site longer but also helps search engines understand the importance of each page.
Start by linking your most important pages—like service areas, testimonials, and contact forms—from various parts of your site. For example, if you’ve written a blog post about boiler repair tips, linking directly to your boiler repair service page can encourage visitors to check out what you offer. It’s all about guiding them where you want them to go.
Spread that juice
Another benefit of internal linking is that it spreads “link juice,” a term that refers to the value search engines give to your site’s pages.
Pages with more internal links pointing to them are seen as more valuable and are more likely to rank higher. By strategically linking to key pages, you’re signalling to search engines which pages are the most important.
Bring down your bounce rate
Additionally, internal links can reduce your bounce rate—by encouraging visitors to explore different parts of your site, they’re more likely to stay longer, increasing the chances of converting them into customers.
The longer a visitor stays on your site, the more trust you build, which is essential for tradespeople aiming to secure work.
Put a Padlock on Your Site
With ever-greater numbers of shady characters operating online, security is everything these days.
If your website doesn’t have SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), you’re putting not only your visitors but also your business at risk. Google favours secure websites, and having SSL in place means your site will show up as https:// instead of http://—a sign that your site is trustworthy.
Why does this matter?
For trade businesses, trust is everything.
Customers are more likely to engage with a secure site, especially when they’re looking to hire someone for important work like plumbing, electrical, or building services. Without SSL, browsers may even warn visitors that your site is ‘not secure’, which can turn potential clients away before they’ve had a chance to learn about your services.
Here’s what SSL does for your site:
- Protects sensitive information: SSL encrypts data, ensuring that information shared between your site and your visitors stays private.
- Improves SEO: Google has made it clear that secure sites rank higher, so having SSL can give you an edge in the search results.
- Builds trust: A secure site builds confidence with your visitors, which can lead to more inquiries and bookings.
If you don’t have SSL in place, it’s worth reaching out to your web host or developer to get an SSL certificate installed. Most hosting providers offer this service for free or for a small fee.
Patch Up the Cracks in Your Site
Imagine if potential customers tried to visit your site but hit a dead end—that’s what happens with broken links.
Not only do they frustrate visitors, but they can also harm your site’s SEO. The same goes for crawl errors. If search engines can’t properly access or understand your site, you might miss out on valuable traffic.
Here’s why fixing these issues is critical:
- Crawl errors: These occur when search engines like Google can’t access certain pages on your site. If Google can’t “crawl” your pages, they won’t appear in search results.
- Broken links: These are links that lead to pages that no longer exist or have been moved. They create a poor user experience and can cause visitors to leave your site prematurely.
Here’s how to address them:
- Use Google Search Console: This free tool shows you exactly where crawl errors are happening on your site. It will flag any broken pages and tell you what needs fixing.
- Fix or redirect broken links: Identify any broken links (you can use tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs) and either update them or set up 301 redirects to a relevant page.
- Check for internal links too: Don’t forget to check links within your site—both users and search engines rely on these to navigate your pages.
If you regularly fix crawl errors and broken links, you’ll improve your website’s performance and ensure search engines can properly index your site. In turn, this helps your site appear higher in search results and keeps visitors engaged for longer. Nice!
Let Google Navigate Without Getting Lost

An XML sitemap is like a blueprint for search engines—it tells Google and other search engines exactly what pages exist on your website and how they’re structured.
This helps search engines crawl your site more efficiently and ensures every important page gets indexed. For tradesmen, this means that your services, testimonials, and contact pages are more likely to appear in search results when someone’s searching for local trades.
Setting up and optimising an XML sitemap doesn’t have to be complicated. Here’s how to get it done:
- Use an SEO plugin: If you’re using a platform like WordPress, plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math can automatically generate an XML sitemap for you. Once installed, the plugin will take care of most of the technical work.
- Submit your sitemap to Google: After setting up your sitemap, submit it through Google Search Console. This helps Google find your site’s content faster and ensures everything important is being crawled.
- Keep it up to date: Every time you add new content—like a blog post or new service page—your sitemap should update automatically (if you’re using a plugin). However, it’s worth checking every so often to make sure everything is in order.
A well-organised XML sitemap acts as a guide for search engines, ensuring all your pages, especially the most important ones, are easily found and indexed.
This small step can make a big difference in how your site ranks, helping you attract more clients and grow your business.
Organise Your Info, Impress the Bots
Structured data and schema markup may sound technical, but they’re powerful tools that can give your website an edge in search results.
Think of them as extra information you provide to search engines, making it easier for Google to understand what your site’s about. For tradesmen and women, this can mean better visibility and even those coveted rich snippets—extra details like star ratings or service lists that appear directly in search results.
Schema markup for local business helps Google display specific details about your business, such as:
- Reviews: If you have customer reviews on your site, schema can help these appear directly in search results, making you stand out from the competition.
- FAQs: For tradies, including a frequently asked questions (FAQ) section can be a great way to provide quick answers to potential clients. Using FAQ schema markup makes it easier for search engines to display these answers prominently.
- Business information: Local business schema can highlight key details like your location, opening hours, and contact information—essential for tradespeople who rely on local customers.
The good news is, you don’t have to be a coding expert to add schema markup to your site.
Tools like Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper can guide you through the process, or you can ask a web developer to help set it up. Once implemented, it will make your site more understandable for search engines, which can lead to better rankings and more clicks from potential clients.
Incorporating structured data can significantly improve how your site appears in search results, giving you an extra edge that helps attract more customers—without having to lift a finger once it’s in place.
Final Thoughts: Stay Ahead of the Competition
For UK trade businesses, competition can be fierce, and your website is often the first impression potential clients get of your comapny.
By focusing on technical SEO, you’re not just improving your site for search engines—you’re making it easier for customers to find and trust you. From ensuring your site is mobile-friendly to boosting speed, fixing crawl errors, and adding schema markup, each small tweak adds up to a stronger, more visible online presence. These tested technical SEO tips are designed to give you an edge over the competition and help your site attract more leads.
Remember, technical SEO isn’t a one-time job, nor is your overarching SEO strategy (check out our ultimate guide to SEO for contractors if you're struggling with getting yours together).
Keeping your site optimised and updated is key to staying ahead in the game. If it all feels overwhelming, don’t worry—we can handle the heavy lifting for you. We’ll make sure your site works as hard as you do to bring in more business.
All you need to do is pick up the phone and give us a call.