The 3-step system that gets a trade to the top of local Google

When someone needs a plumber, an electrician or a roofer, they don't ask around like they used to. They Google it. And the trade whose name comes up first (with photos, reviews and a way to call) gets the job. Not the best worker. The one who's easiest to find and trust.

The good news is that getting found isn't a dark art. For a local trade it comes down to three things. Most tradespeople only ever do the first one, which is exactly why there's room to get ahead.

1. A properly local website

Not a Facebook page, and not a one-page site with a phone number. A real site that tells Google exactly what you do and where you do it: a page for each of the jobs you want more of, and the towns you cover written into the pages and the code behind them. That's what lets Google put you in front of someone searching in your patch.

2. Post your work every week

A website that never changes goes stale, and Google notices. Every finished job you put up is two things at once: fresh proof for the next customer, and a signal to Google that the site is alive and worth showing. The trades who climb are the ones who post their work as they go, a photo and a line, done from the phone before they've loaded the van.

3. Plug in your Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile is the free listing with the map, the stars and the photos that shows up above the normal results, and it's where a huge share of local searches actually convert. Set it up, keep it fresh (with Heyguv it's one tap to copy a job caption across), and use review requests to get customers leaving you Google stars. That covers the map as well as the search results.

The order matters

Do the first without the other two and you'll have a tidy site nobody finds. Do all three, in order, and they compound: the site gives Google something to rank, the weekly posts keep it climbing, and the profile catches the searches that turn into calls. That's the whole system.

It's also what Heyguv helps you keep ticking over: a local-first site built in about a minute, Guv nudging you to post your jobs, one-tap requests that bring in reviews, and your job captions ready to drop onto your Google listing.