- A contractor website has two jobs: show up when someone nearby searches your trade, and turn that visit into a call or a quote request.
- The checks that cost the most points are usually simple: a page title without your trade and town, no tap-to-call number, no form, a slow page on a phone.
- Your website and your Google profile should agree on your name, phone and address. The report checks that they do.
What the website grader checks
The report is scored out of 100 in six parts. Two of them, worth 46 points together, are about your website itself. These are the exact checks, with the points each is worth:
| Part | Check | Points | What it looks for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search results | Using your own domain | 1 | The site is on its own domain, not a website builder's free address |
| Search results | A headline on the page | 2 | The home page has a main headline (an H1) |
| Search results | Headline names your town | 1 | The headline names your town |
| Search results | Headline says what you do | 1 | The headline says what you do |
| Search results | Trade and town in the page title | 2 | The page title says your trade and your town |
| Search results | Page title matches your Google name | 1 | The page title uses the name on your Google profile |
| Search results | A search description | 2 | The page has a search description (meta description) |
| Search results | Description the right length | 1 | The description is 70 to 170 characters |
| Search results | Description names your town | 1 | The description names your town |
| Search results | Description says what you do | 1 | The description says what you do |
| Search results | Share title (Open Graph) | 1 | A share title, so a link sent by text or posted shows your name |
| Search results | Share description | 1 | A share description |
| Search results | Share picture | 1 | A share picture |
| Search results | Preview card for X and texts | 1 | A preview card tag for X and many text apps |
| Search results | Pictures described for Google | 1 | At least 80% of the pictures on the home page are described (alt text) |
| Search results | Business details Google can read | 2 | Business details in structured data Google can read (LocalBusiness or a trade type) |
| Your website | A website | 1 | A website on file, on your Google profile or typed in |
| Your website | Loads | 1 | The site answers when we load it |
| Your website | Secure (https) | 1 | The site is secure (https) |
| Your website | Built for phones | 2 | The page is set up to fit a phone screen |
| Your website | Fast on a phone | 3 | Google's PageSpeed score on a phone: 70 or more for full points, 40 to 69 for some. If Google does not answer, an estimate from page weight and scripts, and the report says so |
| Your website | A site icon | 1 | A site icon in the browser tab |
| Your website | Tap to call | 1 | The phone number is a tap-to-call link |
| Your website | Phone number on the page | 1 | A phone number on the home page |
| Your website | A way to ask for a quote | 2 | A contact form or an online booking link on a page we read |
| Your website | Hours on the site | 1 | Opening hours somewhere on the site |
| Your website | Address or service area on the site | 1 | An address, or at least two towns you serve, on the site |
| Your website | Website matches Google | 2 | The phone and address on the website match your Google profile |
| Your website | A page per service | 3 | A page for each service: three or more for full points, one or two for some |
| Your website | Towns you serve | 1 | A page for a town you serve, or at least two towns named |
| Your website | Enough to read | 1 | At least 300 words on the home page |
| Your website | An about section | 1 | An about section, so customers know who is coming |
| Your website | Reviews on the site | 1 | Customer reviews or testimonials on the site |
| Your website | Questions answered | 1 | A questions and answers section |
| Your website | Links to your social pages | 1 | Links to your social pages |
A check the report cannot run is left out of the score instead of counted against you: a website host that blocks our checker, a step Google did not answer, fewer than three nearby businesses to compare. The report says which checks were skipped and why. If fewer than 50 points could be checked, it does not give a score at all.
Does your website turn visits into calls?
A website conversion grader asks one question: when someone lands on your site, do they call or ask for a price? For a trade business that comes down to a few things the report checks directly:
- The phone number is on the page and is a tap-to-call link. Many people searching for a trade are on a phone and want to call in one tap.
- There is a way to ask for a quote. A form or an online booking link. Some people will not call, especially after hours.
- Hours and the towns you serve are on the site. People want to know you come to them and when you answer.
- Reviews, an about section and answers to common questions. They answer "can I trust these people" before the customer has to ask.
- The page fits a phone and loads fast. A page that has to be pinched and zoomed, or takes a long time to show, loses people before they read anything.
None of these needs a redesign. Most are a line in the header or a short section on the home page.
The search basics, and why each one matters
Google's own SEO Starter Guide covers the same ground for any site. For a trade business it boils down to this:
| Basic | What good looks like | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Page title | Water Heater Repair in Mesa, AZ | Bell Plumbing | Google often uses it as the headline of your search result (Google on title links) |
| Headline (H1) | Plumber in Mesa, from leaks to water heaters | Tells the visitor and Google what the page is about in one look |
| Search description | 70 to 170 characters with your trade, your town and a reason to call | Google may show it under your headline |
| Share tags | A title, a description and a picture | A link sent by text or posted on Facebook shows your name and a photo instead of a bare address |
| Structured data | LocalBusiness or a trade type such as Plumber, with your name, phone and address | Google documents it for local businesses (local business structured data) |
| Picture descriptions | Alt text such as "New 50 gallon water heater in a garage in Mesa" | Describes the photo for Google and for people using screen readers |
How the grader measures speed on a phone
The report asks Google's PageSpeed Insights for a phone score out of 100. A score of 70 or more earns the full points and 40 to 69 earns some. When Google does not answer in time, the report falls back to an estimate from how heavy the home page is and how many scripts it loads, and says that it did.
The usual reasons a trade website is slow are large photos straight from a phone, a slider at the top, chat and tracking scripts, and a theme built for every kind of business. Shrinking photos before upload and dropping scripts you do not use are free fixes.
Is a free builder site good enough?
It can be. The report gives a point for your own domain, because a free builder address does not look like an established business and you cannot take it with you. The rest of the checks are the same for any site, built by hand, on WordPress or on a builder. A plain site that loads fast, names your trade and towns, and has a phone link often scores better than an expensive one that does not.
After the report
Every low score in the report comes with the fix, in plain words, in the order that tends to matter most. Many take an evening: the page title, the description, the phone link, the profile hours. Others are habits: reviews and photos.
If you would rather not do it by hand, Koira builds a fast contractor website with these basics in place, keeps your listings matching, and asks for reviews after every paid job. See what Koira does for contractor SEO.
Last checked October 9, 2026.