Wellington is a compact city with specific demands on tradies. The old villas in Thorndon and Mt Victoria need constant maintenance. Island Bay and Brooklyn get hammered by southerly winds and moisture. The steep sections in Karori and Kelburn mean access is a real consideration. And the steady stream of government workers moving in and out of the region means landlord maintenance work is always there for tradies who can be found.
Most of that work goes to whoever shows up first in a Google search. This guide covers how to make sure that's you.
Wellington's tradie market is smaller but tight
Wellington city has around 215,000 people. The wider metro region — Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Petone, Porirua, and out to Kapiti — adds another 200,000 or so. That's a meaningful pool of potential customers, but the tradie network is tight. Everyone knows everyone. Reputation travels fast.
That cuts both ways. Bad work gets remembered, but so does good work. A solid Google presence reinforces your reputation and makes it easy for satisfied customers to refer you. Someone tells a neighbour about the job you did in Miramar, the neighbour searches your business name, finds a professional-looking site with photos and reviews, and calls you. That chain only works if there's a site to land on.
Step 1: Get a website that covers the Wellington region
Wellington, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Petone, Porirua, Kapiti Coast — these are all different Google search markets. Someone searching for a builder in Newtown isn't seeing the same results as someone searching in Johnsonville or Lower Hutt.
Your website needs to mention the areas you actually work in. If you cover Wellington city, name Thorndon, Karori, Island Bay, Miramar, Newtown, Te Aro, Brooklyn, Mt Victoria, and Kilbirnie on your site. If you extend to the Hutt Valley, add Lower Hutt and Petone. Each suburb you name is another search query you can potentially rank for.
Keep the homepage clean. Say what you do, where you work, and how to reach you. That's the job of a tradie website. Everything else is secondary.
Read our guide on what Wellington tradies need on their website for a full breakdown of what to include.
Step 2: Set up your Google Business Profile
Wellington's tradie searches often return the map pack first. This is the box of three local businesses that appears at the top, with a map. Getting into that box is worth more than ranking on page one organically.
To appear in the map pack, you need a verified Google Business Profile with your service areas set correctly. For Wellington tradies, that means setting your service radius to cover the suburbs you actually work in — don't just pin it to your home address if that's not where your customers are.
Fill in every section:
- Business name, phone, and website link
- Service areas (list specific suburbs, not just "Wellington")
- Photos of real completed jobs
- Trading hours
- A short business description that mentions what you do and where
Step 3: Get reviews from Wellington customers
Wellington is a city where word of mouth already moves fast. Reviews are the online version of that. A tradie with 20+ genuine Google reviews ranks higher and gets clicked more than one with 3.
Ask every customer for a review after the job finishes. Text them a direct link. Make it one step, not three. Most people are happy to help if you make it easy — they just won't go looking for your Google listing unprompted.
If you're doing work across the Hutt Valley and Porirua as well as the city, reviews from those areas also help you rank in those specific locations.
Step 4: Lean into Wellington-specific work types
Wellington has some specific trade demands that don't apply the same way elsewhere in New Zealand.
Wind and moisture damage is constant. Roof repairs, weatherboard maintenance, fence repairs, and window re-sealing are regular jobs driven by Wellington's weather. If you do this kind of work, mention it specifically on your site.
The older housing stock — particularly the pre-1960s villas in Thorndon, Mt Victoria, and Karori — needs ongoing maintenance. Owners of these properties are often looking for tradies who understand old construction, not just new builds.
Wellington's hilly terrain also drives specific work. Retaining walls, steep-access builds, and hillside drainage are more common here than in flat cities. If you work on these, say so. There are homeowners in Brooklyn and Northland searching for tradies who know what they're doing on a slope.
Step 5: Cover the Hutt Valley and Porirua too
Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Petone, and Porirua are separate search markets from Wellington city. If you work across the region, your Google Business Profile service areas and your website should reflect that.
A tradie based in Newtown who also works in Lower Hutt should have "Lower Hutt" and "Petone" mentioned on their site. A plumber in Porirua should mention Kapiti Coast if they take jobs up there. Each additional area you add is a market you can compete in.
How SiteSorted can help
If you don't have a website, or the one you have isn't bringing in enquiries, SiteSorted builds tradie websites from $299 — one payment, no monthly fees. You spend about 15 minutes filling in your details and service areas, and your site gets built with mobile layout, suburb coverage, and local SEO included.
See everything that's included on the pricing page.
The short version
Wellington is a market where being findable matters. The city is compact enough that a good Google presence gives you coverage across most of it. Get a website, fill out your Google Business Profile properly, and ask for a review after every job.
Those three things, done well, put you ahead of most tradies in the region who haven't done them at all.
Build your free site preview now and see your site before you pay anything.
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