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Free guide · Home & field services

The Home Services Lead Playbook: Get Found, Answer Fast, Book the Job

• Set up Google Business Profile the way Google expects service businesses to

  Use your real business name and precise categories

  Google's guidelines say your profile name should match the real-world name you use on your trucks, website and paperwork. Adding keywords like a city or "best AC repair" to the name breaks those guidelines. Choose the primary category that matches your main line of work, such as Plumber or HVAC contractor, then add the specific services you actually sell. Google says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, and accurate categories and services are how you show relevance.

• Build a website that turns a search into a booked job

  Make the quote form work on a phone with one thumb

  Test your quote form on your own phone. Keep it to name, phone, ZIP code, the service needed and a short description, and put a tap-to-call button with your real number at the top of every page. Tell people what happens next and when, for example: we'll text you during business hours to confirm a time. Add short, descriptive alt text to job photos so screen reader users and search engines both understand them.

• Answer every lead, even when the whole crew is on a job

  Treat response time as a sales number

  In a widely cited Harvard Business Review study of online leads, companies that tried to contact a lead within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify it as those that waited even one hour longer. That research wasn't about home services, but the logic is easy to see when a homeowner with a leaking water heater is calling down a list. Set a target response time for each lead source, name who owns replies during the day, and review the numbers weekly.

• Earn reviews and run Local Services Ads within the rules

  Ask every customer, the same way, every time

  Google lets you encourage genuine reviews, but its policy prohibits offering incentives, discouraging negative reviews, selectively asking only happy customers, and giving staff quotas for a number of reviews or specific wording. The FTC's Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule, in effect since October 2024, also bars incentives conditioned on a review being positive. The simplest compliant system is to send every completed job the same request with your Google review link. This is educational, not legal advice, so ask your attorney about any review program you're unsure of.