The short, honest answer
A Facebook Page can show up in Google results, usually when someone searches your business name directly. But your individual posts almost never rank for the searches that actually bring you work, like 'emergency plumber Parramatta' or 'electrician near me'. Google treats Facebook as a walled garden. It can see your public Page, but it does not reliably crawl and rank every post you put up. So posting five times a week will not push you up the rankings for local service searches.
That does not mean Facebook is useless. It just means it is playing a different position than you thought.
What Google actually indexes (and what it skips)
Google is a search engine. Its job is to crawl web pages, understand them, and rank them. It does that best when the content lives on a proper website it can freely access.
Gets indexed reliably
- Your website pages (service pages, suburb pages, blog articles)
- Your Google Business Profile, which powers the map pack and 'near me' results
- Reviews on your Google profile
- Public business directories and citations
Rarely helps you rank
- Individual Facebook or Instagram posts
- Content locked behind a login or app
- Photos with no text, no captions, no context
Social platforms want people to stay on the platform, not click off to Google. A lot of that content is loaded in ways search engines struggle to read, and it changes constantly. So Google leans on stable, crawlable pages instead.
Why Google prioritises your website and profile for service searches
When someone types 'blocked drain plumber' into Google at 7pm, Google is trying to send them to a business that is nearby, trustworthy, and clearly offers that service. It works out 'nearby and trustworthy' mostly from your Google Business Profile and your website, backed up by reviews and consistent business details across the web.
A Facebook post saying 'cleared a nasty blockage in Blacktown today' does not feed that system in any meaningful way. The same story published on your website as a short case study, with the suburb and the service named, absolutely can. Same effort, very different payoff.
The smarter play: build the layers in the right order
Think of it as a stack. Get the bottom layers right first, then let social amplify them.
1. Google Business Profile first
This is the single biggest lever for local tradies. Fully fill it out: services, service areas, hours, photos, and your phone number. It is free and it is what drives the map results and 'near me' searches.
2. A website Google can read
You need real pages for your main services and the suburbs you cover. Plain, clear text beats clever design here. This is the content Google indexes and ranks, and it is where your Facebook traffic should land.
3. Reviews, steadily
Reviews build trust with both Google and customers. Ask every happy customer, every time. A steady trickle beats a one-off burst.
4. Social as the trust and reach layer
Now Facebook earns its keep. Post to your website first, then reshare it to Facebook. You get the ranking benefit on your site and the reach and social proof on the platform. People who find you on Google will often check your Facebook to see you are legit and active, so keep it tidy.
Don't let the leads you attract slip through
Here is the part tradies forget. All this effort, the profile, the website, the posts, exists to make the phone ring. And on a busy site, that ringing phone often goes unanswered. Research consistently shows most people who reach a missed call do not leave a voicemail; they just ring the next tradie on the list.
That is the gap InstantLead closes. When you cannot pick up, it texts the missed caller back in under five seconds, works out their name, the job and how urgent it is, then alerts you instantly. Your marketing brings the lead to the door; this makes sure you do not lose it while you are up a ladder.
A simple weekly rhythm that works
- Monday: publish one short update or job story on your website
- Tuesday: reshare it to Facebook and your Google profile
- Ongoing: ask two customers for a Google review
- Once a quarter: review your top service and suburb pages and refresh the details
That is it. It keeps the layers that actually rank in good shape, and it treats Facebook as the megaphone it is, not the foundation it is not.
The bottom line
Posting on Facebook will not directly push you up Google for the searches that win jobs. Your Google Business Profile, website and reviews do that heavy lifting. So put your best content on your own site first, use social to amplify it and build trust, and make sure every lead that comes through gets answered. That order is what gets a tradie found and, more importantly, booked.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will posting on Facebook every day help me rank higher on Google?
Can my Facebook Page show up in Google at all?
Should I stop using Facebook then?
What is the single best thing I can do to show up on Google?
Get found, then don't miss the call
Your marketing works hard to make the phone ring. InstantLead makes sure you never lose a lead when you can't answer, texting missed callers back in seconds and capturing the job details for you. Try it free for your first month at portal.instantlead.com.au/register, or get in touch to see how it fits your trade.