For US contractors
AptLocal works on the two channels that bring contractor calls: the Google map pack and paid search. Getting the Google Business Profile right, building service and city pages that hold up on a phone, running reviews after every job, and running Google Ads campaigns that do not pay for people who were never going to book.
Built for HVAC, plumbing, roofing, electrical, tree service, landscaping and the trades around them. US service areas only.
Start with the local search checklist, or check the review gap against the top competitor.
The reality
Before a homeowner dials, they read a listing, an answer and a page. Our own Denver metro study measured 319 HVAC contractors on a 25 point grid, and the same few problems accounted for most of the misses.
96.2 percent
307 of the 319 contractors measured held under 20 percent metro visibility, even for their best measured query. Coverage fell away 2 to 3 miles from the shop.
Denver metro HVAC study, 307 of 319 listings.70.1 percent
213 of 304 profiles showed no appointment or booking link in the collected profile data. A homeowner who has to hunt for a phone number is a homeowner who taps the next listing.
Denver metro HVAC study, 213 of 304 profiles with complete data.49.5 percent
147 of 297 contractors had fewer than 50 public reviews. Review count and rating are two of the few signals a contractor can move on purpose, every week.
Denver metro HVAC study, 147 of 297 listings.The study also found 36.5 percent of profiles with no description or one under 300 characters, 36.0 percent with fewer than 10 photos, and 18.8 percent with no website attached to the map listing at all. The full method, the collection date and every denominator are on the case studies page.
How it runs
No work starts on ads or content until the free check says what is actually broken.
You send your business name and website. You get a short email back with what is working, what is missing and the fixes that matter first.
The findings are put in order: what moves calls soonest, what waits, and what is not worth paying for in your market.
Google Business Profile, business details across the site, structured data, tracking and the mobile call path are fixed before anything else is built on top of them.
Service pages, service area detail and Google Ads go up around the trades you actually want more of, in the order you want them.
Calls, forms, map pack positions and spend, in plain numbers, with what changes next month and why.
What happens inside each step, what you get and what we need from you is written out on the process page.
Services
Listings, site, reviews and ads are one system. Split across three vendors, each one can report success while the phone stays quiet.
The listing and the site are the first impression. They have to build trust and carry one clear action, not just look tidy.
Profile, categories, service areas, service pages and reviews, handled together, because the three map pack slots do not respond to one fix at a time.
Google Ads aimed at people ready to hire, with negative keywords that block job seekers and do it yourself traffic.
Assistant answers and AI summaries quote pages they can actually read. Clear service pages and valid structured data make that easier.
Profile claimed and verified, primary category chosen for what you actually sell, services and service areas set, photos added, and a posting rhythm that keeps the profile active.
More detailOne page per service worth selling, with scope, service area, photos and answers to the questions callers ask before booking. No interchangeable city pages.
More detailSearch campaigns split by intent, tight geo targeting, negative keyword lists that block job seekers and do it yourself traffic, call assets enabled and lead tracking that counts calls and forms.
More detailA simple review request after every job, a reply routine for new reviews, and a response process for the ones that go wrong.
More detailCall tracking numbers or call reporting, form submissions, and a monthly view of which work produced enquiries rather than which page got the most visits.
More detailSlow mobile pages, missing structured data, thin service detail and broken call links are fixed first, because ads and listings both pay for a page that cannot close.
More detailWho this is for
Companies that serve a defined area with crews, trucks or technicians, from single-operator companies to multi-crew operations.
Not on the list? If you book jobs from local search, the same approach applies. Ask in the free check.
Proof
Every figure below carries the period it was measured over, the method used to measure it and the count it came from. Revenue totals are left off, because a revenue figure says more about the size of the company than about the work.
Contractors served since 2021
Calls and forms counted across client accounts in the last 90 days
Published records: one market study and three client engagements
Qualified consultations that converted to signed work
Original research
A primary geo-grid measurement of local search visibility across 319 operational HVAC contractors, including the profile gaps that show up alongside low visibility.
Client work, cabinetry
A workshop with no website, an unverified map listing and referral-only enquiries, carried through profile work, a mobile-first site and quote forms, then tracked for 6 months.
Client work, Denver metro
A 14-truck HVAC company with a claimed profile, no suburb pages and a booking path three taps deep. Profile rebuilt, six pages added, ads restructured by intent.
Client work, Fort Wayne
A roofing company working from a Facebook page and a door-knocking calendar. First website, corrected map category, review routine, and ads on storm and repair intent only.
Figures are reported as they were recorded for each measured or documented period. Individual markets vary by competition, trade and service mix, and local rankings move with proximity, competitor changes and algorithm updates.
Client words
Six people running crews, trucks and a schedule. Every quote names the person and the business, and the market they work in.
We had paid another company for two years and I could not have told you what they did each month. The first email after the check listed four things that were genuinely broken.
What changed was the phone. The site looks better, but the phone is the part I care about, and we are not chasing work through the winter any more.
I asked for a tracking number so I could see which jobs came out of search, and I got one. Every report since has carried numbers I can check myself.
The profile work paid for itself. Six weeks in we were in the three pack in two suburbs we had never appeared in before.
Nobody has tried to sell me a bigger package. When I asked to pause the ads for the slow season, they were paused the same week.
The monthly email is one page and takes a minute to read. That is more than the last two companies ever sent me.
Our promise
Most of what goes wrong in contractor marketing is a promise nobody could keep. These are the ones that do not get made here.
Pricing
Four pieces of work, priced separately, so you pay for the part you actually need. Scope is agreed in writing after the free check, and nothing starts before that.
$1,500 per month
Google Business Profile work, service and service area pages, reviews and structured data.
$1,000 per month, plus ad spend
Search campaigns built by intent, with negative keyword lists and call tracking that counts calls.
$4,800 one time
The page the map pack and the ad both land on. Built or fixed so it closes on a phone.
$250 per month, included with local SEO
Calls, forms, map pack positions and spend, in one monthly view, so work is judged on leads.
More on what each piece covers, what drives the price and how the monthly work is billed is on the pricing page.
Free resources
Both are free, need no email, and stay on your screen.
Nine steps covering the Google Business Profile, services, service areas, reviews, service pages and tracking, with the source for each claim about how Google works.
Enter your review count and rating next to the top competitor in your map pack. See how many reviews it takes to pass them and what that does to your average rating.
Questions
A hand check of your Google Business Profile, your map pack position for a few service searches in your area, your site basics on a phone, and how you are tracking calls and forms. You get the findings by email.
Scope sets the price. The free check comes first, then a written scope with a number attached before any work starts. The pricing page lists what each piece of work covers.
Three months, then rolling monthly. The first month is set-up: profile work, tracking and the page fixes that have to happen before ads or content can be judged. The review point is stated in the scope so it is not a surprise.
Profile fixes can move visibility in weeks. Content, service pages and reviews build over months. The three map pack slots are competitive, and nobody can promise a position, including us.
No. The work is built around Google Business Profile, US service area behaviour and US search demand, so AptLocal stays with US contractors.
Google Ads search campaigns are part of the work. Local Services Ads are run and vetted by Google, including licence and insurance checks, so the honest answer is that Google decides eligibility, and we can help you get the profile ready.
Drafts are produced with AI tools and then reviewed and corrected by a person. Facts, prices and claims get checked against a source before they are published, because thin AI text does not help a contractor rank.
Access to your Google Business Profile, your website, and Google Search Console, plus one call about your services and service area. That is enough for the first fixes.
Free local search check
Send your business name and website. You get a short email back with what is working, what is missing, and the two or three fixes that matter most for calls in your service area. No obligation, no retainer talk on the first reply.
Prefer email? Write to info@aptlocal.com.