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Guides for home service owners: Google, Maps, and AI search
Every article starts with the answer, shows when it was published and last updated, and links to the primary sources behind it.
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AI search8 min readAI search for home service companies: who ChatGPT and Google recommend
Where AI answers about local companies get their facts, how that differs from Google Maps, and the evidence a home service company can put in order.
Pillar guide ·
Google & Maps9 min readThe local SEO checklist for home service companies
What decides whether nearby homeowners find you on Google and Maps, in the order we'd fix it, plus what to check each month and what to skip.
Pillar guide ·
Website7 min readWebsite audit checklist for contractors: 12 checks in one afternoon
Twelve checks in four groups, each with how to run it in about ten minutes and what a pass looks like. Then what a paid audit adds, and what it costs.
Checklist ·
All guides
57 guides, newest first
Google & Maps7 min readWhy isn't my business showing up on Google Maps?
You show up when people search your company name, but not for "roofer near me." The causes in the order to check them, one quick check each, all from Google's own help pages.
Explainer ·
Leads & costs7 min readHow to choose an AI search agency for a home service company
Three proposals for AI search work, and they all sound alike. What the work should cover, what to get in writing, who should own what, and the promises that should end the call.
Checklist ·
Google & Maps7 min readAsk Maps: what Google Maps' AI tells customers about your company
A homeowner asks Google Maps which window companies show up on time, and Maps writes the answer. What Ask Maps reads, how to check it, and what to fix.
How-to ·
AI search7 min readAI search for bathroom remodelers: which questions to answer first
A homeowner asks ChatGPT what a walk-in shower costs before she calls anyone. A map of seven bath-remodel questions, which can name a company, and the page that should answer each.
How-to ·
Leads & costs7 min readChatGPT ads for home service companies: what to know first
A rep offers to put you in ChatGPT with ads. Here's what OpenAI's own pages say about who sees them, what they cost to start and what they can't do, plus a small test.
Explainer ·
AI search7 min readAI search for HVAC companies: getting named for replacement jobs
Homeowners ask AI two kinds of questions before they replace an AC or furnace, and only one asks for names. What to publish so an assistant and the homeowner can check you.
How-to ·
AI search7 min readWhat is an AI visibility audit? What it checks and what you get
A plain definition you can repeat to your office manager, the four things a real audit checks, what should land in your hands and how to tell it from a report with just a score.
Explainer ·
- Website7 min read
Website audit checklist for contractors: 12 checks in one afternoon
Twelve checks in four groups, each with how to run it in about ten minutes and what a pass looks like. Then what a paid audit adds, and what it costs.
Checklist ·
Google & Maps7 min readHow to run a local search audit on your own contracting company
One search from your driveway shows one list on one day. Here's how to compare what buyers see across eight phrases and three spots, next to three rivals, and end with a one-page gap sheet.
How-to ·
AI search7 min readHow to run an AI search audit on your own company
A free worksheet: ten questions in a homeowner's words, a sheet that records each answer with its date, five checks on your own pages, and a short fix list. No paid tool needed.
How-to ·
AI search7 min readHow to check what Google's AI says about your company
Google's AI answers change with the searcher, the town and the day. Here's how to check AI Overviews, AI Mode and the Gemini app by hand, what Search Console shows, and what to do with a result.
How-to ·
Leads & costs7 min readHow much does an AI visibility audit cost, and what do you pay for?
What sets the price of an AI visibility audit, what you can do for nothing, what to ask before you pay anyone, and what each of our free and paid options includes.
Explainer ·
Google & Maps7 min readSiding and window SEO: what a homeowner can verify about you
A homeowner can check your license, lead-safe status, warranty, finished jobs and reviews without calling you. Where each proof belongs online, with the EPA and FTC pages behind it.
Checklist ·
Google & Maps7 min readPlumber online visibility: how to check yours in an afternoon
A homeowner searches for a water heater replacement on her phone. Here's how to see what she sees: six searches, the top three profiles, your site, listings, links and reviews.
How-to ·
Website7 min readFive-second test for your website: can a homeowner tell what you do?
Show your site's first screen to three people for five seconds, then ask what you do, where, and what they'd do next. How to score it, what to fix first, and where the test stops.
How-to ·
Website7 min readWhat HVAC website maintenance should include, and how to check it
A weekly phone test, monthly updates and a backup someone has restored, a pre-season look at your pages, a yearly list of renewals and logins, and the questions to ask before you pay anyone.
Checklist ·
Leads & costs6 min readHow to get more foundation repair leads in Texas this winter
What Texas homeowners check before they call a foundation company, the pages and profile details that win the call, and a 30-day plan for this winter.
Seasonal playbook ·
Leads & costs7 min readHow to get more pool customers: book next spring's builds this winter
Families plan pools long before the first warm weekend. A month-by-month winter plan for the pages, photos, reviews and profile updates that win those builds.
Seasonal playbook ·
Leads & costs6 min readHow much does local SEO cost for a home service company?
What moves the price of local SEO, what a monthly fee should buy, how to check whether it pays off, and what our own plans cost.
Explainer ·
AI search6 min readHow to get your business recommended by ChatGPT (without gaming it)
Seven steps that make your company easy for ChatGPT to confirm, a simple monthly test you can run yourself, and the shortcuts that get businesses in trouble.
How-to ·
- AI search8 min read
AI search for home service companies: who ChatGPT and Google recommend
Where AI answers about local companies get their facts, how that differs from Google Maps, and the evidence a home service company can put in order.
Pillar guide ·
- Google & Maps9 min read
The local SEO checklist for home service companies
What decides whether nearby homeowners find you on Google and Maps, in the order we'd fix it, plus what to check each month and what to skip.
Pillar guide ·
AI search6 min readWhat is answer engine optimization (AEO), and do you need it?
AEO is the newest line on agency proposals. What answer engine optimization means for a home service company, what Google says about it, and what to fix first.
Explainer ·
AI search6 min readWhat is generative engine optimization (GEO), and is it just SEO?
GEO is about being named when an AI assistant writes an answer, not ranked in a list of links. What it means, how it differs from SEO and which offers to be wary of.
Explainer ·
AI search6 min readWhat is large language model optimization (LLMO)?
LLMO looks at AI search from the model's side. What it learned in training, what it reads when it searches, and how to fix the facts it gets wrong about your business.
Explainer ·
AI search6 min readSEO or AI search optimization: what does a roofer actually need?
One agency pitches AEO, another GEO, a third SEO. For a roofing company they're mostly one job. What each name means, what comes first and what to ask before you pay.
Explainer ·
AI search7 min readHow to get your business ready for AI search in 2027
A plain list: what Google, Bing and OpenAI document today, the dated changes from 2026, and a monthly check you can run yourself without buying anything.
How-to ·
Google & Maps7 min readLocal SEO in 2027: a quarter-by-quarter plan for contractors
The marketing row on next year's wall calendar is blank. Here's what to put in it, quarter by quarter, built only from what Google, Apple and Bing document today.
Checklist ·
Website7 min readHow to write a service page for a home service company
A page for each job, written in the order a buyer asks the questions. What goes on it, what Google's own pages say about it, a sample outline for a water heater job and a ten-minute check.
How-to ·
Leads & costs7 min readGoogle Local Services Ads in 2026: how they work and what they cost
The ads at the top of Google with a badge: who can run them, how a lead is priced and credited, what's changing, and what to work out before you say yes.
Explainer ·
Website8 min readHow to set up Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools in 2026
Add your site to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, prove it's yours, submit a sitemap and learn what the gray indexing statuses mean, using the help pages' own names.
How-to ·
Reviews5 min readHow to respond to a negative Google review, and when to report it
11 p.m. is a bad time to answer a one-star review. Here's what a short reply says, what to leave out, and which reviews you can report to Google, with the steps and what happens next.
How-to ·
Google & Maps7 min readWhich online business listings matter for a contractor?
A 120-directory pitch isn't a plan. Seven free listings are worth claiming first, plus an hour to check where you already show up.
Explainer ·
Website5 min readHow to check if a slow website may be costing you calls
Three numbers from Google show whether a small business site is slow for real visitors. How to read them on a phone, what can cause a bad one, and what to ask your web person.
How-to ·
AI search6 min readWhat Bing's webmaster guidelines ask of a contractor website
Bing's guidelines cover Copilot and AI answers as well as search. What they ask of a small service website, what they say to avoid, and a 20-minute check you can run yourself.
How-to ·
AI search4 min readDoes a contractor website need an llms.txt file?
A plugin flags a missing llms.txt file in red. What the file is, what Google, OpenAI and Bing do and don't say about it, and what to do if you want one anyway.
Explainer ·
Leads & costs7 min readIs SEO worth it for a home service company?
Work out whether an SEO fee can pay for itself from your own profit per job, see which number stays an estimate, and get the questions to ask before you sign.
Explainer ·
Google & Maps5 min readHow to photograph your jobs so the photos help you get calls
Dim, tilted, a ladder in the corner. Here's what Google asks for in a job photo, a shot list that takes a minute, and when to ask a customer before you post their home.
How-to ·
AI search6 min readWhat to do when ChatGPT or Google AI gets your business details wrong
A customer says ChatGPT got your hours or services wrong. You can't edit the answer, but you can find the page behind it, fix it in the right order and report the answer.
How-to ·
Google & Maps6 min readHow to set your service area on Google and hide your home address
If customers never come to your house or garage, Google wants the address hidden and a service area listed instead. The steps, the limits and what verification asks for.
How-to ·
Website6 min readDoes schema markup help a contractor website, and what's worth adding?
What schema markup is, what Google, Bing and OpenAI say it does, the one block a contractor site can use, what to skip, and how to check your site for free.
Explainer ·
Leads & costs7 min readHow to get more kitchen and bath remodeling jobs without buying leads
A kitchen or bath remodel takes months to decide. What homeowners check first, the pages and profile that answer them, how to ask for reviews within Google's rules, and when a bought lead helps.
How-to ·
Website6 min readCan you use ChatGPT to write your website, according to Google?
Google says AI help isn't against its guidelines, and it doesn't earn a page any special credit either. Where ChatGPT helps a contractor, where it makes things up, and what to check first.
Opinion ·
Leads & costs6 min readHow to find out where your contractor leads really come from
A lead log you can keep in a notebook, the free Google numbers worth reading, and a fifteen-minute monthly check that shows which marketing brings in jobs.
How-to ·
AI search6 min readHow to get on local "best of" lists without paying for a spot
Some local lists are earned and free. Others are ads with a nicer name. How to tell them apart, find the ones your buyers see, and apply without paying for a spot.
How-to ·
Google & Maps6 min readHow to check your Google Business Profile in 20 minutes
Search your trade and town like a stranger, then go through each field, your reviews and Google's own numbers. Twenty minutes, a phone and a pen, and a short list of what to fix first.
Checklist ·
Reviews6 min readHow to ask for Google reviews: scripts that sound like you
You know you should ask for a Google review, and you don't want to sound needy. Here's when to ask, scripts for a text, an email and a quick chat, and the rules that protect your profile.
How-to ·
AI search5 min readHow to check if your website is blocking ChatGPT in two minutes
An old robots.txt rule, a security plugin or a firewall setting can quietly turn away the crawler behind ChatGPT's search. Here's how to check, and what to do if it has.
How-to ·
AI search6 min readHow to show up in Google AI Overviews and AI Mode as a local business
There's no form to fill in for Google's AI answers, and Google says nothing special is needed. Here's what a home service company can fix, what to skip and how to check.
How-to ·
Website4 min readDoes domain authority matter for a local contractor?
Domain authority, domain rating and authority score are tool estimates, not Google's numbers. What they're fair for, what to ask anyone selling one, and what to track instead.
Explainer ·
Website7 min readHow to get backlinks for a contractor website without buying them
Where a contractor's best backlinks come from: the manufacturer's find-a-pro page, your association, the chamber, local news. A plan for this week, and what Google's spam policy rules out.
How-to ·
- Google & Maps3 min read
Found Clearly audits Found Clearly: our visibility baseline
A dated baseline of our own crawl access, redirects, sitemap, metadata and structured data, and the fixes we made from it.
Field notes ·
- Website3 min read
Do you need a named expert on every article for E-E-A-T?
A real name helps readers judge your advice. It doesn't have to cost you your privacy: your role, license and real job photos do most of the work.
Explainer ·
- Google & Maps2 min read
Bing says your page is a redirect. Is that actually a problem?
Usually not. Bing is describing the one URL you inspected, not rejecting your whole site. The page that matters is where the redirect lands.
Explainer ·
- Google & Maps3 min read
Should you build a page for every city you serve?
A location page can help. A grid of pages with only the city name changed usually doesn't. Here's where the line sits.
Explainer ·
- AI search6 min read
Why ChatGPT mentions competitors and leaves out your business
An AI answer isn't a fixed leaderboard. It does show which businesses are easy to find and confirm online, and what you can fix to be one of them.
Explainer ·
- Google & Maps4 min read
Why your website still doesn't show up on Google
You searched your business name and found a directory, a social profile or nothing at all. Before you change any keywords, check whether Google has indexed the right page.
Explainer ·
Research
Looking for the methods behind the articles?
The research section publishes the protocols and reference catalogues in full — free to run, quote, and adapt.
Wondering which problem your site has?
See what's holding your site back. Your free check starts with a hand review of your website and Google Business Profile.