The 5-step checklist
The 5 things every contractor website needs to rank locally.
In plain English. No jargon. You can do every step yourself if you have the time and the patience to learn each piece.
- 01
Get Google to actually trust your website
Right now Google has no idea if you're a real, legit contractor or some guy who built a site last weekend. There are technical signals — your site loading fast, being mobile-friendly, having a real address, a real phone, and clear ownership. Without those, Google won't rank you no matter how good the rest is.
What this is called: Schema markup, EEAT signals, technical SEO basics, mobile Core Web Vitals.
- 02
A page for every service in every city you cover
If you do roofing, HVAC, and plumbing across 4 towns — that's 12 pages, not 3. One page that says "we serve the Hudson Valley" doesn't rank for anything. One page that says "Roof Replacement in New Paltz" can show up #1 within 90 days.
What this is called: Service+city cluster pages, internal linking from a main services hub.
- 03
Review velocity — not just total reviews
100 reviews from 2 years ago is worse than 20 reviews from the last 90 days. Google watches the pace. A contractor getting a fresh review every week beats one with a giant pile of old ones. The fix is a system that asks every customer for a review the day after the job — not a once-a-year push.
What this is called: Review request automation, recency signals, review pace as a ranking factor.
- 04
Get listed on 50+ directories
Yelp, BBB, Angi, HomeAdvisor, the local Chamber, your trade association directory, and 40 more you've never heard of. Each listing tells Google "this contractor is real and operates here." Most contractors are on 3 or 4 — the winners are on 50+.
What this is called: Citation building, NAP consistency across the local citation ecosystem.
- 05
Get other relevant websites to link to yours
When a local news site, a supplier's website, or a trade association mentions you with a link — Google reads that as a vote. Five good local links beat 500 garbage links any day. Most contractors have zero of these and have no idea how to get them.
What this is called: Local backlink building, supplier relationships, PR + sponsorships.
Honest reality check.
You can do all 5 yourself. Some contractors do. But here's the math: steps 2 and 4 alone are about 60–80 hours of work for one trade in one city. Step 3 needs to happen every single week, forever. Step 5 takes relationships you have to build over months.
If you have the time — go run it. Seriously. The information is out there and the book covers most of it in detail.
If you don't have the time — that's where we come in.