Should Contractors Spend on Social Media or SEO?
Social media and SEO do different jobs. Social builds interest in your company. Search is where people go when they’re ready to hire. A 2026 Semrush study of 50,000+ websites found organic search (SEO) sends about 11 times more website visitors than organic social, and a 2026 Siege Media study found Google visitors are about […]
SEO for Contractors: The 2026 Guide to More Calls, Not Just Traffic
Most guides on SEO for contractors are written by software companies trying to sell you software. This one is written by someone who has spent 14 years actually ranking contractors in Ontario and watching which rankings turn into ringing phones and which ones just look good in a report. Those are not the same thing, […]
How Trades Businesses Can Build Visibility in AI Search
To show up in AI-generated answers (Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Gemini and others), a trades business needs two things working together. First, genuinely helpful, specific content on its own website, detailed service pages and documented real projects that answer the questions customers actually ask. Second, a credible footprint beyond the website: strong Google reviews, legitimate […]
How Much Should a Contractor Spend on Marketing? (Real Numbers for 2026)
Most contractors should spend between 5% and 10% of revenue on marketing. Newer companies trying to grow fast lean toward 10% or higher; established companies with steady referral work can sit closer to 5%. On a $500,000 business, that’s roughly $25,000 to $50,000 a year, or about $2,000 to $4,000 a month. But the percentage […]
How Do I Get More Leads for My Trades Business?
The most effective ways to get more leads for a trades business, in order of impact, are: (1) optimize your Google Business Profile so you show up on the map, (2) turn on click-to-call so mobile customers can reach you in one tap, (3) make your business name, address, and phone consistent everywhere online, (4) […]
Your Customers Are Searching in Full Sentences Now. Here’s What That Means for Your Website.
Five years ago, someone with a broken furnace typed “furnace repair” into Google. Now they type “why is my furnace running but not heating the house.” That sounds like a small change. It isn’t. It changes what your website has to say to get the call. The numbers A September 2026 analysis of Google Ads […]
Why Isn’t My Business Showing Up on Google Maps? (A Checklist for Trades Companies)
Every week I get some version of the same message from a contractor: “I’ve been in business twelve years, I’ve got great reviews, and when I search for my own trade I’m nowhere on the map. My competitor who started two years ago is right there.” It’s a fair question, and the answer is almost […]
Google Can Now Tell You If Your Website Shows Up in Its AI Answers. Here’s What That Does (and Doesn’t) Mean for Your Business
If you’ve searched for anything on Google in the last year, you’ve seen the AI answer at the top of the page. Until recently, a business had no way of knowing whether its own website was one of the sources feeding those answers. You could guess. You could pay a third-party tool to guess for […]
Did the August 2026 Google Spam Update Hit Your Trades Website? Here’s How to Tell.
Google started rolling out its August 2026 spam update on August 18. If your phone has gone quieter this week, or you’ve noticed fewer form fills and quote requests, you’re probably wondering whether Google is the reason. Here’s the useful part most coverage skips: this update almost certainly can’t hurt a trades website through backlinks. […]