Should a tradesman do SEO themselves or hire an agency?
Do the basics yourself and pay for the parts that take time or skill. Any trade can complete their Google Business Profile, ask every happy customer for a review and post job photos. An agency earns its fee on area pages, technical fixes, link building and tracking.
The DIY list costs nothing but an hour a week: fill every field in your profile, choose the right primary category, list your services and service areas, reply to every review and keep your name, address and phone number identical everywhere online.
Paying for help makes sense when you are on the tools all day, when you work in a busy city, or when you want to rank in towns where you have no address. That work needs content, technical changes and links that most trades do not have time for.
If you do hire, make sure the Google Business Profile, website and analytics stay in your name, and avoid long contracts.
Useful pages
This is one part of a bigger picture. SEO for tradesmen: the full guide covers costs, timelines, Google Maps, websites, agencies and AI search in one place.