Short answer: when someone searches for a trade on their phone, Google can show five different things before they ever reach a normal website link: Local Services Ads with the Google Verified badge, Sponsored text ads, an AI Overview, the map with three local businesses, and directory sites. For most UK trades, the two that matter most are the map (your free Google Business Profile) and Local Services Ads. SEO and Google Ads come next, and AI answers matter most when people are still researching a job.

Below is where each one sits on the page, what it costs, and what we found when we checked 36 real Google searches across 10 UK cities on 7 October 2026.

What does a Google search for a trade look like?

This is the typical order on a phone for a search like “plumber Leeds” or “electrician Bristol”. Not every section shows every time, and Google changes the layout often, but this is the pattern to plan around.

Typical order on a phone for a local trade search. Unavoidable Marketing, October 2026.

1. Local Services Ads and the Google Verified badge (what used to be “Google Guaranteed”)

Local Services Ads are the boxes that can appear right at the top for trades such as plumbers, electricians, roofers, locksmiths and heating engineers. They show your business name, star rating, reviews and a call button, with a badge saying the business has passed Google’s checks.

Many people still call this “Google Guaranteed”. Google has since moved to a single Google Verified badge, which its Local Services Ads overview says “shows customers that your business is verified by Google”. Google has also said it is discontinuing the money-back guarantee that came with the old Google Guarantee badge.

• How you pay: per lead, not per click. Google says you only pay when a customer gets in touch from your ad.
• What gets you shown: passing Google’s checks, your reviews, being responsive to enquiries and covering the area the customer is in.
• Reviews count here too: Google says the reviews on your ad include reviews from your Google Business Profile.

For an emergency trade, this is usually the first thing a customer sees. Read more on our Google Local Services Ads page.

2. Sponsored results: Google Ads

Below Local Services Ads sit normal text ads, grouped under a “Sponsored results” label. Google explains in its announcement of the label that these appear at the top of the page, can sit above or below an AI Overview, and appear again at the bottom. People can also hide them with one tap.

• How you pay: per click, whether or not that person calls.
• Best for: jobs where Local Services Ads are not available, specific high-value services, and testing which areas bring the best work.
• Watch out for: paying for clicks that never turn into calls. Measure cost per booked job, not cost per click.

3. Google AI: AI Overviews and AI Mode

AI Overviews are the written answers Google shows above many results, with links to the websites it drew from. AI Mode is a separate tab for longer, back-and-forth questions; Google launched it in the UK in July 2025.

You cannot pay to appear in them. Google’s guidance on AI features and your website says there are no special requirements beyond being indexed and eligible to show in Search with a snippet. In other words, the route in is good, clear, useful pages on your own website.

In our check, AI Overviews were rare on “trade + town” searches but common on questions (see the results below). That matters: when a homeowner asks “how much does a new boiler cost” weeks before they book, the AI answer may be the first place they meet your business.

4. The map: your Google Business Profile

The map with three local businesses (often called the map pack or local pack) is free. It comes from Google Business Profiles. Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence, and that more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking.

For most trades this is the single most important free spot on the page. In our UK Trades Google Gap 2026 study of 777 listings, 62.3% of roofers, plumbers and electricians had fewer than 10 Google reviews, so a well-run profile can stand out quickly.

5. Directories

Between the map and the normal results, Google often shows a strip of directory sites such as Checkatrade, MyBuilder, TrustATrader and Yell. These sites also take many of the top website positions. If customers in your area use them, a complete, well-reviewed listing there is another way onto the first screen.

6. Website results: SEO

Below all of that are the normal website results. Getting your own site there is SEO: a page for each service, pages for the areas you cover, a fast site that works on a phone, and real local proof. It takes longer than ads, but it costs nothing per click, it feeds AI Overviews, and it supports your Google profile.

What we found in 36 real searches

On 7 October 2026 we ran 36 Google searches on a mobile setting through DataForSEO: “plumber”, “electrician” and “roofer” in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool, Bristol, Sheffield, Newcastle and Cardiff (30 searches), plus 6 common homeowner questions such as “how much does a new boiler cost”.

• The map showed on all 30 trade searches, and on every one it sat above the first normal website result. 28 of the 30 showed three businesses.
• Directories were everywhere. A “find results on” strip of directory sites appeared on all 30 trade searches, with Checkatrade in 23 of them. Directory sites held 34 of the 90 top-three website positions.
• AI Overviews showed on 2 of the 30 trade searches but 5 of the 6 question searches. AI answers are where people research; the map is where they pick someone to call.

One limit to be clear about: ads depend on live auctions and on who is searching, so an automated check cannot count them reliably. We have not reported how often ads appeared. This was a single check of 36 searches, so treat it as a snapshot rather than a census.

What should a trade focus on first?

1. Your Google Business Profile. Claim it, fill in every service and area, add real photos and get to 10 reviews and beyond. It is free, it powers the map, and its reviews also appear on Local Services Ads.
2. Local Services Ads, if your trade is eligible. They sit at the top, show the Google Verified badge and charge per lead.
3. A website with a page for each service. It supports your profile, earns website results over time and is how you get into AI answers.
4. Google Ads, carefully, for jobs and areas Local Services Ads do not cover, measured by cost per booked job.
5. Directory listings where customers in your area actually use them.

Not sure where you stand? Get a free Google profile check and we will show you how your business appears on the page today and the three things we would fix first. Trade guides: roofers, plumbers and electricians.

About the author: Andrew Heppinstall is the founder of Unavoidable Marketing, a Leeds agency that helps UK trades and local service businesses win work through Google Local Services Ads, SEO and paid search. His article “What makes Google ads effective?” appeared on the Business Matters page of PHAM News in September 2026.