The Only 3 Local Marketing Moves That Matter for Contractors
Forget the 20-step marketing checklist. Three moves drive 90% of local contractor growth: Google Business Profile, reviews, and showing up where neighbors look.
A roofer in Dallas told me he spent $14,000 last year on marketing. Spread across six channels. Facebook ads, a fancy website redesign, door hangers, a Yelp premium listing, a local magazine ad, and a wrapped trailer.
I asked him which one brought the most clients. He had no idea.
This is the local marketing trap. You read an article listing 15 strategies, try to do all of them, and end up doing none of them well. Meanwhile the electrician down the street who has never read a marketing blog is booked solid because he does three things and does them relentlessly.
Here are those three things.
Move 1: Google Business Profile (This Is Your Storefront)
Eighty-seven percent of homeowners research contractors online before calling anyone. And for local searches, Google does not send them to your website first. It sends them to the Map Pack — those three local results that appear above everything else.
Your Google Business Profile is how you get into the Map Pack. Treat it like your most important marketing asset because it is.
What actually affects your ranking:
Reviews. This is the biggest factor you can control. More reviews, more recent reviews, and higher average ratings all push you up. Do not run a one-time review blitz and stop. Build a system where every completed job triggers a review request.
A simple text within two hours of job completion works best. Direct link to your Google review page. Keep the ask short: "Really appreciate your trust in us. A quick Google review helps other homeowners find reliable help." Aim for 3-5 new reviews per month minimum.
Completeness and activity. Fill out every single field. Add services with descriptions. Upload fresh photos weekly. Post updates. Google rewards profiles that show signs of an active business.
Category selection. Your primary category is the single strongest ranking signal. "Plumber" ranks for plumbing searches. "Home improvement" does not. Be specific. Add every relevant secondary category.
Response to reviews. Reply to every review, positive or negative. Google sees engagement. Homeowners see a business that cares.
This is not quick work. It is the kind of steady, unsexy effort that separates full calendars from empty ones. Contractors who actively manage their GBP see 2-3x more profile views than those who set it and forget it.
Move 2: Reviews (The New Word of Mouth)
Reviews deserve their own section because they do more than boost your GBP ranking. They are the modern version of a neighbor's recommendation.
Think about how you choose a restaurant in an unfamiliar city. You check Google reviews. Your customers do the same thing when their water heater dies at 9 PM.
The numbers: A contractor with 80+ reviews and a 4.7 average will get called before a contractor with 8 reviews and a 5.0. Volume signals legitimacy. A perfect score with few reviews signals "probably their mom and two friends."
How to generate reviews consistently:
Ask at the peak moment. Not via email three days later. Right when the client is happiest — standing in their new kitchen, watching their AC kick on for the first time, admiring the clean gutters. "Would you mind leaving us a quick Google review? It really helps."
Then follow up with a text containing the direct link. One text, not three. Make it easy, not annoying.
Handling negative reviews: Respond quickly, calmly, and publicly. "I am sorry about your experience. I would like to make this right — please call me at [number]." Then actually make it right. Potential clients read negative reviews but they pay even more attention to how you respond.
Never argue. Never make excuses. The audience is not the angry reviewer. It is the hundred future clients reading the exchange.
Move 3: Show Up Where Neighbors Already Look
Your future clients are not browsing Instagram looking for a plumber. They are in three places: Google (covered above), Nextdoor, and asking their friends.
Nextdoor is the digital version of chatting over the backyard fence. When someone posts "anyone know a good electrician?" in their neighborhood, that is the highest-intent lead you will ever find. The person needs the service right now and is explicitly asking for recommendations.
Claim your Nextdoor business page. Then do two things: respond to every recommendation request in your trade and your area, and share genuinely helpful tips. Not promotions. Tips. "With freezing temps coming, here is how to prevent pipe bursts." This positions you as the knowledgeable professional who cares, not the guy constantly advertising.
Real estate agents and property managers encounter people who need contractors every single week. A listing agent whose client needs a roof patched before closing. A property manager with a leaking toilet in Unit 4B. Build relationships with five agents and three property managers in your area and you will have a steady referral stream that costs nothing.
How to start: call five local agents this week. "I am [name] with [company]. I do [trade] and I would love to be your go-to when clients need help. I respond fast, price fairly, and I will make you look good." Then deliver on that promise.
Vehicle branding. Your truck is a mobile billboard that costs nothing after the initial wrap or magnetic signs. Every time you park at a job site, every neighbor who walks by sees your name. Include your phone number and "Google us" on the vehicle. Keep the truck clean. A dirty truck with your logo on it is worse than no branding at all.
What About Everything Else?
I know what you are thinking. What about SEO? Social media? Paid ads? Direct mail?
They all work. But they are second-order tactics. If your GBP is weak, your review count is low, and nobody in the neighborhood knows your name, running Google Ads is like putting a turbocharger on an engine with no oil.
Get the three fundamentals right. Then once your schedule is consistently 70-80% full, start layering on additional channels. SEO is a great long-term investment. Facebook ads can work for seasonal pushes. But they are amplifiers, not foundations.
The roofer I mentioned at the top? He stopped everything except GBP optimization, review generation, and building agent relationships. His lead cost dropped by 60%. His close rate went up because more leads came pre-qualified through referrals and reviews.
Simple scales. Complex collapses.
Your Monday Morning Checklist
Do this before the week starts:
- Text your last three happy clients asking for a Google review
- Upload two project photos to your GBP with captions
- Write one GBP post about a recent project
- Respond to any unanswered reviews
- Check Nextdoor for recommendation requests in your area
- Call one real estate agent you have not connected with yet
Thirty minutes. Every Monday. In three months you will wonder why you ever spent money on door hangers.
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