How to Get Welding Customers From Google

Where welding customers search

When someone needs a gate rehung, a trailer repaired or a bracket fabricated, they may search "welder near me" or "mobile welding" and get a map with a few Business Profiles. Google says those local results are "mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity," described as relevance, distance and prominence, and that "There's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google" (source).

Your profile won't replace the contractors, farmers and shops who already call you. It's how the people who don't know you yet can find you, and how people who got your name secondhand can check you out.

Step 1: Decide what kind of business you are on Google

Get this right first. Welding businesses come in three shapes, and Google treats each one differently (guidelines, service areas):

• Mobile welder, no shop customers visit. You're a service-area business. Hide your address and list the areas you serve. If you run it from home, Google's guidelines say to clear a residential address from the profile.
• Fab shop where customers come in. You're a storefront. Show your address. Google says businesses that show an address should keep permanent signage with the business name at that address.
• Shop plus field work. You're a hybrid. Google says hybrid businesses can show their address and also set a service area, as long as the location is staffed and can receive customers during its listed hours. Google's own hybrid example is an auto repair shop that also offers roadside service, which is close to a fab shop that also runs a mobile rig.

Two things that don't qualify: a P.O. box, and a rented mailing address you don't work out of (a "virtual office") (source).

Step 2: Claim and verify

Google says verifying makes your business "more likely to show up in search results" (source). If Google offers a live video call, it says to be ready to show your location, "branded equipment, marketing materials, or tools," and proof you manage the business (source). For a welder, that's the rig or truck with your name on it, your machine and your paperwork.

Step 3: Pick the most specific category

Google says "The categories you select affect your local ranking on Google," and to pick the most specific category that describes your main business. If the exact one isn't there, choose a general one; you can't create your own (source). Type your trade into the category box and see what Google offers. If your main work is welding repair, pick the option closest to that. If most of it is building custom metal work, pick the one closest to fabrication. Add a second category only if it's a real, separate part of your business (source).

Step 4: List the jobs, in plain words

Google lets service businesses list services, including custom ones with descriptions, and says a service you list "may be highlighted on your profile" when someone searches for it (source). Write what customers actually ask for:

• Gate repair and custom gates
• Trailer repair and hitch work
• Farm and ranch equipment repair
• Handrails, stair rails and railings
• Cattle guards, pipe fence and corrals
• Heavy equipment and bucket repair
• Aluminum and stainless welding, if you do it
• On-site / mobile welding

Keep prices and phone numbers out of custom service names; Google rejects those (source). Don't make a separate profile for each service, either. Google says to list services on one profile (source).

Step 5: Service area and hours that match reality

If you're mobile, you can list up to 20 service areas by city, ZIP code or other area, and Google says the whole area shouldn't be more than about 2 hours' drive from your base (source). A rig based near Seguin might list Seguin, New Braunfels, La Vernia, Marion, Kingsbury and the nearby county roads it really covers. Set accurate hours and special hours for holidays (source). Google says complete, accurate info makes you more likely to show up (source).

Use your real business name, the way it's on your truck and invoices. Extra words like "Mobile Welding Repair Near Me" in the name aren't permitted and can get the profile suspended (source).

Step 6: Let your welds do the talking

Welding is visual, and that's an advantage. Google recommends adding photos and videos to show customers what you offer (source). Post clean beads up close, a finished gate hung and swinging, a repaired trailer tongue, the rig set up on a job, before-and-after shots of a broken part. Google asks for photos in focus, well lit and without heavy filters, and videos up to 30 seconds. Media shows only after verification and can take 24 to 48 hours to appear (source).

Step 7: Ask every customer for a review

Google says prominence is partly based on how many reviews you have, and that "More reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking" (source). Get your review link and QR code from your profile; Google says the QR code can only be made from a computer browser (source). Ask when the customer sees the finished job, then text the link.

Google's policy forbids offering discounts, cash or free work for reviews, and forbids asking only the customers you think are happy (source). Full walkthrough: how to get more Google reviews as a contractor.

Step 8: A website that works like a portfolio

A website isn't required for a profile, but for custom fab work it's where people decide whether you can build what they want. Google says it compiles business info partly from "crawled web content (e.g., information from a business' official website)" (source). What a welding site needs:

• Your phone number up top, tap-to-call.
• A gallery of real projects, with a line of text under each saying what it is and where. Google recommends high-quality images near relevant text, and using text, not just images (starter guide, get on Google).
• The services from your profile and the towns you cover, written out.
• Any certifications you hold, if customers or contractors ask about them.
• Fast loading on a phone. Google says most searches now happen on mobile devices (source).

Link it from your profile with the full URL (source). More: do contractors need a website?

Step 9: Check what people searched

Your profile's Performance section shows the searches people used to find you and how many tapped Call, asked for directions or clicked your website. Calls there are taps on the call button, not answered calls (source). If the searches are all your business name, add services people search for and keep posting photos.

Not showing up at all? Read why isn't my business showing on Google Maps. We build websites for welding and fabrication shops in Seguin, New Braunfels, San Marcos, San Antonio and Austin. See our welding and fabrication page, sites we've built and our services.