According to BrightLocal's 2025 Local Consumer Review Survey, 98% of UK consumers used the internet to find a local business in the last year — and 76% of those used Google specifically. If you're not visible on local search, you're invisible to three-quarters of your potential customers.
A 2026 refresh: Google's own UK data now shows "near me" searches up 147% since 2022, and BrightLocal's latest survey puts the average UK map-pack business at 47 Google reviews — up from 29 in 2023. If your profile is under 25, you're behind the local median before you start.
For builders, we've gone deeper in our new SEO for Builders in the UK 2026 guide.
Every category, every service, every photo. This is the single biggest local SEO lever.
Name, Address, Phone — identical across your website, GBP, and every UK directory (Yell, Thomson Local, FreeIndex, Cylex, Scoot, Bark).
One page per town or service area you want to rank in. Generic "we cover the UK" doesn't rank.
One page per service. Each one targets its own keyword cluster.
LocalBusiness, Service, FAQPage and BreadcrumbList JSON-LD. Helps Google understand and display your business.
Aim for at least 25 Google reviews. Ask after every job via SMS or email.
List your business on UK directories — Yell, Thomson Local, FreeIndex, Cylex, Scoot, Bark, Trustpilot, CheckaTrade.
Mobile loads under 2.5 seconds. Compress images, use modern formats.
Service pages should link to location pages and vice versa.
Answer the questions your customers Google. (Like this post.)
Local press, suppliers, trade associations, sponsorships.
Google Search Console + GA4 every month. Double down on what's working.
Our trades website packages include all 12 steps as standard. Pair it with the wider lead generation ideas playbook for a full pipeline, or book a free strategy call to see exactly where you stand today.
Most UK trades see the first Google Business Profile impressions inside 2–3 weeks, first map-pack rankings inside 6–10 weeks, and meaningful enquiry volume from local SEO by month 3–4 — provided NAP is consistent, 25+ reviews are in place and each target town has a dedicated landing page.
The 2026 UK map-pack median is 47 reviews (BrightLocal). Under 25 you're behind the local median; 50+ puts you in the top half of most trade categories; 100+ is usually enough to compete in any UK town outside central London.
Book a free 15-minute strategy call and we'll map out the fastest path to more enquiries.