The marketing channels that bring in calls for contractors and home service trades, what each one costs, and the order we'd set them up in.
Most contractors get their first jobs from referrals and word of mouth. That works well until you want more work than your network can send, or until a slow season shows how much you depend on it. This guide covers the marketing channels that bring in calls for general contractors and home service trades, what each one costs, and the order we'd set them up in.
When someone searches for a contractor in their town, the first thing they usually see is a map with three businesses. Those listings come from Google Business Profiles, and a profile is free. Choose the primary category that matches the work you want most, set a service area that matches where you actually work, add real photos of your jobs, and keep your hours and services current. Our guides to choosing Google Business Profile categories and ranking higher on Google Maps go through the details.
A one page website gives Google very little to work with. Homeowners search for the specific job they have, such as a kitchen remodel, a roof replacement or a panel upgrade, and they often add their town to the search. A site with a page for each service you want more of, and pages for the towns you serve, gives you a way to show up for those searches. It also gives people a reason to call once they arrive: photos of your work, your service area and a phone number they can tap. Our contractor website examples show what that looks like on real sites.
Reviews help you rank in the map results, and they help the person reading those results decide to call you. The businesses that collect the most reviews usually ask the same way after every job, with a direct link sent by text. Our post on how to get more Google reviews covers the timing and wording, and creating a Google review link takes about two minutes.
Marketing brings in calls, and a missed call often goes to the next company on the list. If you're on a job site most of the day, set up a text that goes out automatically when you miss a call, so the customer hears back right away. We explain the setup in our missed call text back guide.
Google Local Services Ads charge per lead and appear above the map for many trades. Regular Google Ads charge per click. Both can work, but they usually cost more when the profile, the reviews and the website behind them are weak. Read our Local Services Ads guide before you start, and plan for a budget large enough that the results tell you something.
Sites like Angi, Thumbtack and HomeAdvisor charge for leads, and the same homeowner is often sent to several contractors. Some contractors make the numbers work, especially when they're starting out. Because those leads stop when you stop paying, it's worth putting part of that budget into your own profile and website. We compared the options in SiteHike vs lead generation sites and in our post on whether Thumbtack is worth it.
Yard signs, truck lettering and a leave behind card with your review link still work, especially in neighborhoods where you already have jobs. They cost little, and they lead people to search for your name, which is where your Google profile and website take over.
It's hard to decide where to spend without knowing which channel brought in each call. At a minimum, ask every new customer how they found you. A tracking number on your website and profile, or a CRM that logs every call, makes the answer more accurate. Our local SEO checklist lists the rest of the setup.
This is the same setup SiteHike runs for contractors, and our trade guides go further for electricians, plumbers, roofers, remodelers, tree services, garage door companies and pest control companies. The full list is on our industries page. If you'd like to see where you rank now, start with a free audit.
Start with a free audit of your site and your Google listing. It costs nothing and you aren't signing up for anything.