AI search optimisation for tradesmen: get named by ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI

How does a trade business get named when someone asks ChatGPT or Google for a plumber, electrician or roofer? AI assistants name firms they can read about clearly and trust: plain answer-first service pages, the same name, address and phone number everywhere, reviews that mention real jobs and towns, and mentions on other reputable sites. Unavoidable Marketing is a Leeds-based agency that does AI search optimisation for UK tradesmen, building those signals for plumbers, electricians, roofers, heating engineers, builders and locksmiths, with founder Andrew Heppinstall on every strategy call.

Book a free 30-minute strategy call

Last updated: 18 October 2026

AEO and GEO in plain words

A homeowner with a dripping ceiling used to type “emergency plumber Wakefield” into Google and scroll a list. More of them now ask a question instead: “Who is a good emergency plumber near Wakefield who can come tonight?” They ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, or they read the Google AI Overview at the top of the results. The assistant gives a short answer and names two or three firms.

AEO (answer engine optimisation) means shaping your website so it gives clear, direct answers an assistant can lift. GEO (generative engine optimisation) means building the wider evidence across the web that makes an assistant confident enough to name you. Different labels, same job: give the machines a clear, consistent, trustworthy picture of your firm.

How AI assistants decide which trade firms to name

Nobody outside these companies sees the full workings, and nobody can guarantee being named. What we do know is the kind of sources assistants build answers from:

• Pages that answer the question directly, near the top, in plain words
• Business details (name, address, phone) that match across your site, Google, Checkatrade, Yell, Bark and other directories
• Reviews, especially ones that say what the job was and where
• Mentions on other reputable sites: trade press, local guides, supplier case studies, directories
• Structured data (schema) that tells software what your business is, where it works and what it does
• Named experts: a real owner or engineer with a name and a trade background, not a faceless brand

What a trade firm can do this month

Trade by trade: what good looks like

Plumbers and heating engineers: separate pages for emergency call-outs, boiler installs, boiler servicing and bathroom work. State Gas Safe registration clearly on gas pages, because it is a legal requirement and assistants and customers both look for it. Say whether you do nights and weekends.

Electricians: split domestic rewires, consumer unit upgrades, EICRs for landlords and EV charger installs. Show NICEIC or NAPIT if you hold it. Landlord questions are common, so answer them on the page: how long an EICR takes, what happens if it fails.

Roofers: storm damage, flat roofs, slate and tile repairs, chimney work. Show Competent Roofer or TrustMark if you have it. After a storm, people ask “who can fix a roof leak today?”, so say plainly how quickly you can come out.

Builders: extensions, loft conversions, kitchen knock-throughs. Planned work means longer research, so pages that explain process, timescales and what affects cost get read and quoted. FMB membership is worth showing.

Locksmiths: lockouts, lock changes after a break-in, uPVC door mechanisms. Speed and trust matter most. Show Master Locksmiths Association membership if you have it, and list the towns you actually cover.

What to avoid

• Copying the same page 40 times with only the town name changed
• Buying reviews or asking mates to write them
• Listing towns you will never drive to
• Paying anyone who promises you will be “number one in ChatGPT”
• Hiding your name, address or Gas Safe number to look bigger than you are

How to check if AI names you

You can test this yourself in ten minutes. Open ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google, and ask the questions your customers ask, in their words:

• “Who is a reliable electrician in [your town]?”
• “Recommend a roofer near [your town] for a leaking flat roof”
• “Who can install a new boiler in [your town] this week?”

Note who gets named, and what sources the assistant cites. If a competitor appears, look at where the assistant found them: their website, a directory, a local news piece. That tells you the gap. Answers change between days and between users, so check the same questions monthly rather than reading too much into one result.

How we do it

We have worked with businesses since 2012, across 390+ projects, and 92% of our clients come back. We measure on booked jobs and enquiries, not on screenshots of chatbot answers.