Local SEO gets your trade business showing up when someone in Melbourne searches “[trade] near me”. The big levers: a complete Google Business Profile, a fast website with your suburbs and services, consistent name, address and phone, genuine reviews, and local content. Most tradies can cover the basics in a weekend.
What local SEO is
Local SEO is everything that helps you appear in the results a nearby customer sees — the Google map pack and the “near me” searches. For a Melbourne tradie, it's the difference between being found by someone two suburbs over and being invisible.
The levers that matter
- Google Business Profile — claim it, complete it, pick the right category, add photos and keep it current.
- A fast, mobile-first website — naming the services you offer and the suburbs you cover.
- Consistent name, address and phone — the same details everywhere they appear online.
- Genuine reviews — ask happy customers; they feed both rankings and trust.
- Local content — pages and Insights that answer what locals actually search.
Showing up in AI answers too
More people now ask Google's AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity for a tradie recommendation. The same fundamentals help: a clear, well-structured website with your services, suburbs and FAQs, marked up so answer engines can read and cite it. Reviews and a strong Google Business Profile reinforce it.
Do it yourself or done for you
You can cover the basics yourself with a weekend and some patience. If you'd rather it was handled, every Scalesites site is built for local SEO and connected to your Google Business Profile from the start — 5-page $750 (most popular) or 3-page $500. See what's included.
Frequently asked questions
How long does local SEO take to work?
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The basics — a complete Google Business Profile and a site set up for local search — can start helping within weeks. Building steady rankings and reviews is an ongoing effort that compounds over months (illustrative).
Do I need a website for local SEO, or just a Google Business Profile?
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Both. A Google Business Profile is essential, but a website naming your services and suburbs reinforces it, gives you something to rank, and captures the click when someone wants a quote.
Can I rank for more than one suburb?
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Yes. A site that names the suburbs you genuinely service — and a complete Google Business Profile — helps you show up across your service area, not just your home suburb.