Marketing for trade businesses: found online, recognised on the street

In short: trade businesses are searched for locally and seen on the job site. Online, what counts is a complete Google Business Profile, genuine reviews and a website with one page per service. On the street, it is the vehicle, site fence and workwear. When both look the same, they reinforce each other. Content for website and social media comes from everyday work.

This is our first article for a specific industry. The general overview is in marketing for small businesses. As of October 2026.

Small, local, in demand

Trades and crafts form the largest division of the Austrian economy. According to the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, it counted around 251,600 businesses in 2025, almost 45 percent of the commercial economy. Around 69 percent of them are one-person businesses, and those with employees have about twelve staff on average (WKO: trades and crafts division profile, PDF, German).

In other words: most trade businesses have neither a marketing department nor much time. Marketing has to work alongside daily business. That is possible if you concentrate on what works.

Being found online

Anyone looking for a plumber, painter or joiner usually searches on Google, often with the town. For local results, Google says it considers three things: relevance, i.e. how well a profile matches the search, distance and prominence (Business Profile Help: local ranking). What you can influence:

• The Google Business Profile: fill it in completely, with the right category, services and photos of real work. Businesses that travel to customers specify a service area. If you don't receive customers at your business address, Google says to remove the address from the profile (Business Profile Help: service area). Guide: create and maintain a Google Business Profile.
• One page per service on the website: bathroom renovation, boiler replacement and servicing are three pages, not one paragraph. How the copy should sound is covered in the article writing website copy.
• The same company details everywhere: name, address and phone number identical in the profile, on the website, in the legal notice and on the vehicle.

Reviews: the digital reference letter

Trades live on recommendations. Google reviews are the recommendations strangers can read too. Google advises asking customers directly, for example via a link or a QR code. Incentives such as free or discounted services in return for reviews are strictly prohibited according to Google (Business Profile Help: tips for getting reviews).

The best moment is straight after the job, when the customer is satisfied. A QR code on the invoice or business card makes it easy, more on this in the article QR codes in advertising. And if a bad review does come in: responding to a negative Google review.

Being recognised on the street

A trade business has advertising space other industries don't: the vehicle that drives through the region every day, the job site that neighbours pass for weeks, and the workwear customers see in their home.

• Vehicle: company name, service in a few words, phone number and web address, legible from several metres. Less is more here. More under vehicle graphics.
• Job site: a site fence banner or sign with company name and service shows everyone in the street who is working here. With a QR code to the matching service page it becomes an invitation.
• Workshop or premises: a clearly legible sign, so that customers who found you on Google Maps also find you on site.
• Workwear: the same logo, the same colours. It looks professional and builds trust when someone comes into the house.

What matters is that everything fits together. Anyone who sees a different logo on the van than on the website wonders whether it is the same business. The basis for this is a consistent corporate design.

Content from everyday work

Trade businesses have what many others are looking for: visible results. Before-and-after photos, a finished kitchen, a video of a façade taking shape. This suits the Google profile, the website and, if there is time, Instagram. If you are looking for apprentices and skilled workers, the LinkedIn company page often finds the right people. Only show customers' projects with their consent.

A roofer with two advertising spaces

The case is constructed, but typical. A roofing business with six employees gets almost all its jobs through recommendations. The website is old, the Google profile shows a wrong phone number, and the vehicles only carry a small logo on the door.

This changes in three steps: first, profile and website are corrected, with one page each for pitched roofs, flat roofs and roof windows. Then the vehicles get lettering with service, phone number and web address, clearly legible from behind. Finally, every job site gets a site fence banner in the same look, with a QR code to the pitched-roof page. After every job the owner asks for a review. Whether enquiries rise is shown by comparison with the previous year, and by asking new customers how they found the business.

Our view

We letter vehicles, make signs and site fence banners, and look after websites and Google presence. We often see businesses that look like two different companies online and on the street. That is a shame, because in the trades especially, the two worlds reinforce each other: anyone who has seen your van five times is more likely to click on your Google profile. What you can do yourself and where help makes sense is covered in the article DIY marketing or an agency?

Checklist for trade businesses

• Google profile complete, with service area and real photos?
• One page per service on the website?
• Name, address and phone number the same everywhere?
• Customers asked for a review after every job, without anything in return?
• Vehicle with service, phone number and web address, legible from a distance?
• Job site, workshop and workwear in the same look?
• New customers asked how they found the business?

Frequently asked questions

What marketing do trade businesses need?

Above all a complete Google Business Profile with genuine reviews, a website with one page per service and a presence that looks the same on the vehicle, the job site and workwear. Social media can add to this, but for many businesses it is not the first step.

Do tradespeople need a Google Business Profile, even without premises?

Yes. According to Google, businesses that travel to their customers specify a service area instead of an address. If you don't receive customers at your business address, you should remove the address from the profile. That way the business still appears in local searches.

How do tradespeople get more Google reviews?

By asking satisfied customers directly, ideally right after the job, with a link or QR code, for example on the invoice. According to Google, incentives such as discounts or gifts in return for reviews are strictly prohibited.