Do I need a storefront to be on Google Business Profile?

No. Google says you can create a profile if you have a physical location customers can visit or if you travel to customers where they are. Service-area businesses should have one profile for the central office or location with a designated service area, and should hide the business address from customers. Virtual offices and remote mailboxes are not eligible.

How big can my service area be?

You can list up to 20 service areas. The overall area should be no more than about 2 hours of driving time from where your business is based. You cannot set the service area as a radius distance around your business.

Can I give customers a discount for leaving a Google review?

No. Google says offering incentives such as free or discounted goods or services in exchange for posting, changing or removing reviews is fake and misleading content and is strictly prohibited. You can ask customers to use a Google link or scan a QR code.

How much does a Google Local Services Ads lead cost?

Google does not publish a price list. Costs depend on location, job type, lead type and bidding mode. As a vendor benchmark, SearchLight Digital reported a blended $53 per lead for February 2026 across 888 contractors: electrical $39, HVAC $51, plumbing $57, drain/sewer $59 and water heater $71. Other vendors quote ranges such as $25 to $150. Your own cost will vary, so track cost per booked job.

Do I pay for every Local Services Ads lead?

You pay for valid leads, which include a text or email, a phone call you answer and speak on, or a booking request. Leads received outside business hours are not credited, and neither are leads where the customer was researching projects or prices.

What does it take to be verified for Local Services Ads?

Checks can include background, business registration (D-U-N-S in the US), insurance and license. The certificate of insurance must be valid for at least 14 days after submission, extra steps must be done within 14 days, and a D-U-N-S application can take up to 30 days.

What are Angi and Thumbtack's lead prices?

Neither publishes dollar amounts on its pro pages. Thumbtack says there is no charge to join, no annual fees and no membership fees. Third-party sources report about $300 a year plus $15 to $100 or more per lead for Angi, and $10 to $100 or more per lead for Thumbtack. These are not confirmed by the platforms.

Do I need special markup or an llms.txt file to show up in AI search?

No. Google's Search Central guidance says you do not need new machine-readable files, AI text files, markup or Markdown to appear in Google Search, and that standard SEO best practices remain foundational. For local, it points to Google Business Profiles.

How to Get More Contractor Customers: Playbook

Demand is not the main problem for most contractors. A Houzz survey of 1,034 homeowners, published December 2025, found 93% plan to work with professionals in 2026. That includes 55% for general contractors, 52% for electricians and 35% for plumbers. The harder question is whether homeowners find you, trust you and reach you before they reach someone else. Roughly 598,000 private specialty-trade-contractor establishments were counted in Q1 2026 (BLS, preliminary), so competition for the same searches is real.

This playbook sticks to what you can check and act on. It covers Google's published rules for Business Profiles, reviews and Local Services Ads. It also covers current consumer review behavior and what lead platforms cost, with a note on which figures come from vendors and not from the platforms themselves. Where a number comes from a vendor or a secondary summary, the play says so.

Some things are not available. Google does not publish Local Services Ads prices, and Angi publishes no per-lead fees. There is also no verified, contractor-specific data on which channel homeowners use most. Treat the costs below as benchmarks to test against your own bookings, not as promises.

How to Get More Contractor Customers: A Practical Playbook for Local Service Owners

How to Get More Contractor Customers: A Practical Playbook for Local Service Owners

What to do next

Set up your Google Business Profile the way Google's rules require

Ask every customer for a review with Google's link or QR code, and never offer a reward

Reply to every review in your own words

Get your Local Services Ads verification paperwork ready before you apply

Answer Local Services Ads calls during business hours and flag bad leads

Judge every lead source by cost per booked job, not cost per lead

Respond to new leads in minutes and track how long it takes you

Skip AI-specific markup, and use the tools Google provides

Plan for capacity before you spend more on demand

Frequently asked

Turn the plays into a plan

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