I've seen it mentioned multiple times in the last few weeks and it's clear this is something a lot of you are thinking about but not quite acting on yet. Here's why most contractors don't get consistent reviews, and how to fix it. The real reason you're not asking It feels awkward. Like you're asking for a favor right after charging someone money. You're not. You're giving a happy customer a chance to help the next person who needs what you do. When to ask Right there on the job. The moment the customer sees the problem is solved and they're genuinely happy. Not a week later in a follow-up email. What to say "Hey, I'm really glad we could take care of this for you. If you have 60 seconds, a Google review would mean a lot to us. I can text you the link right now." That's it. Four things that make it work consistently 1. Ask in person, not just by email. Face to face conversion is dramatically higher. 2. Have your Google review link saved in your phone. Text it on the spot. 3. Train your techs to ask too. Every completed job is an opportunity. 4. Ask after every job, not just the big ones. A $150 drain cleaning review is just as valuable as a $5,000 install. The math One review a week is 52 reviews a year. That alone puts you ahead of most competitors in your market. The HVAC company we shared yesterday doubled their calls in 6 months. A consistent review system was one of the core pieces that made it happen. What's stopping you from asking right now? Drop it in the comments.

Here's the framework that changes how you think about growth. 👇 Growth is a system between three things: getting customers, keeping them, and maximizing what they spend. Most contractors treat these as separate problems. They're not. They're one system. And it breaks differently depending on your stage. Stage 1: Survival (under $500K/year) The problem at this stage isn't marketing. It's proof. You need to show the market you exist, you're legitimate, and customers trust you. The right strategy here is GBP, reviews, and referrals. Not ads. Your GBP is your storefront. Reviews are your proof. Referrals are free customers with built-in trust. Running paid ads before you have this foundation is paying for traffic that has no reason to trust you yet. Focus here: get into the top 3 locally, build review velocity to 3 to 5 per month, and create referral systems with past customers, complementary trades, and local partners. Stage 2: Growth ($500K to $2M/year) This is where most contractors stall. Revenue is real but growth isn't compounding. They keep adding leads and the business doesn't feel like it's building toward anything. The reason is almost always the same: no retention system. The company with the highest retention in any local market ends up winning it. In home services, retention means repeat business and referrals from past customers. HVAC maintenance contracts. Seasonal follow-ups. Customers who call back and send their neighbors. Without a system to capture this, you're starting from zero every single month. The right strategy at Stage 2: follow-up automation first, then local SEO, then paid ads. In that order. Automate follow-up so no lead falls through the cracks. Build service pages that rank by city and trade. Then scale volume into a system that can actually convert it. Stage 3: Scale ($2M+/year) At this stage the problem isn't leads. It's the owner. Revenue is real but the owner is still the system. Every decision, every job, every customer touchpoint runs through them. That's not a business. That's a job with employees.

Hi everyone, my name is Jay and I’m the owner of JG Web Design. I have been in business for 2 years and I’m still learning a lot which I love. I’m looking to learn about more about AI SEO and SEO in general so I can help home service businesses/contractors get seen. Having a GPB is very helpful to have as well.

Quick question: When a homeowner in your city opens ChatGPT and types "best plumber near me" or "top HVAC company in [city]" — does your business come up? Most contractors have no idea. And that's exactly the problem. AI search isn't coming. It's already here. ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI are already recommending local businesses to homeowners, and if you're not showing up, someone else is getting those calls. So I built a free tool that answers the question in 30 seconds. 👉 The AI Search Visibility Audit Enter your business name, service type, and city. The tool queries ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini simultaneously, the same way a real customer would, and shows you exactly where you stand. You'll see: ✅ Whether you appear when customers search for your service ✅ Whether AI platforms recognize your business by name ✅ Your AI Visibility Score out of 6 ✅ A prioritized action plan to fix the gaps No login. No cost. 30 seconds. Run your free audit here: 👉 https://ai-search-audit-makarios.netlify.app/ Drop your score in the comments. I'm curious to see where everyone lands. 👇