SEO for painters and decorators: fill the diary in every season

How do painters and decorators get more work from Google? Split your website into the jobs people actually search for, such as interior painting, exterior painting, wallpapering, spraying and commercial work, show honest before and after photos, and plan content around the seasons so exterior pages are ready by spring and interior pages carry you through winter. Unavoidable Marketing is a Leeds-based agency that does SEO and local SEO for UK painters and decorators, and founder Andrew Heppinstall is on every strategy call.

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Last updated: 18 October 2026

Four kinds of customer, four kinds of page

A decorator’s enquiries come from very different people, and each one searches differently. Write for each of them rather than one vague “about our services” page.

Plan the year around the weather

Painting and decorating is seasonal in a way Google can work with. Exterior searches rise when the weather turns, and the decorators who rank in May are the ones who published and improved their exterior pages back in winter. A rough plan:

• Late winter: update your exterior painting, masonry painting and render painting pages with last year’s jobs, so they are settled before demand rises
• Spring: add posts answering exterior questions, such as how long masonry paint needs to dry before rain, or how often windows and fascias need repainting
• Summer: keep posting exterior jobs to your Google Business Profile, and start pushing interior work for autumn bookings
• Autumn and winter: lean on interior pages, wallpapering, cabinet spraying and pre-Christmas refreshes, plus commercial work that fits quieter weeks

Doing this steadily means you are not scrambling for work every November, and your quiet months fill with indoor jobs booked from search.

Before and after photos that people believe

Before and after is the best proof a decorator has, but only if it is honest. Shoot from the same spot, in similar light, with the room the same. A dark before and a sunny after looks staged, and customers notice.

• Show the prep, not just the finish: filled cracks, sanded woodwork, lining paper going up. That is what separates you from a cheap job
• Get close on the bits that matter: cut-in lines at the ceiling, gloss on spindles, a wallpaper seam that disappears
• Rename files to describe the job and place, such as “hallway-stairs-landing-repaint-harrogate.jpg”
• Write a short caption saying what was done, what products or finish you used, and how long it took

Wallpaper and spraying deserve their own pages

Many decorators bury wallpapering in a list. That is a waste. People searching for a wallpaper hanger often have expensive paper already bought and are nervous about it. A page that talks about pattern matching, lining walls first, handling non-woven and traditional papers and murals will win those customers.

Spraying is similar. Kitchen cabinet spraying, uPVC window and door spraying and spraying new-build interiors are all separate searches with separate worries. Explain prep, masking, curing time, what finish to expect and how it compares to replacing. If you spray, this is often your highest-value work, so it should not be hidden at the bottom of the services page.

Landlord and letting agent turnaround

A void flat costs a landlord money every day it sits empty, so the message here is speed and reliability. Build a page aimed at landlords and agents that covers what is included in a standard turnaround, how quickly you can usually start, whether you handle minor repairs and filling, how you deal with keys and access, and how you send photos and invoices at the end. Add a few short case notes, such as “two-bed flat in Headingley, walls, ceilings and woodwork done between tenants”. Agents tend to stick with a decorator who makes their life easy, so one good page can lead to repeat work for years.

Commercial painting

Commercial clients look for different proof. They want to see insurance, health and safety paperwork, examples of working in occupied buildings, out-of-hours availability and the size of jobs you can take on. A commercial page with real examples, such as a school corridor painted over half term or a shop repainted overnight, does more than a list of sectors.

Colour advice content that brings people in early

Homeowners search for colour help long before they search for a decorator: “what colour goes with grey carpet”, “best paint finish for a hallway”, “is eggshell or satin better for woodwork”. A few helpful guides written in your own words, using your own jobs as examples, can bring those people to your site early. When they are ready to book, you are already the decorator they trust. Keep it practical and local, not a copy of a paint brand’s blog.

Google Business Profile, reviews and AI search

Choose Painter or Painting contractor as your main category, list your services clearly and post photos from current jobs regularly. Ask every customer for a review and ask them to mention the room, the job and the town. Letting agents and commercial clients can leave reviews too, and those reviews reassure similar clients.

Homeowners also ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Google’s AI Overviews things like “how much prep does a decorator do before painting”. These tools build answers from clear answer-first pages, consistent business details across directories, reviews and mentions on reputable sites. Nobody can guarantee being named, but well-written pages make you a strong candidate.

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