Free resource

The contractor marketing checklist.

Everything worth checking before you spend another dollar on ads — organized the way we'd actually walk through it with you.

Start reading Jump to common questions

The short answer

What's on a contractor marketing checklist?

A complete Google Business Profile, a website that converts mobile visitors into calls, an active review-request system, and a follow-up process that responds to every lead quickly and tracks where it came from. These four areas catch the large majority of what typically limits contractor marketing performance — and they're worth confirming before adding paid spend on top.

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Google Business Profile

Primary category is specific and accurate (not a generic "Contractor" catch-all)
Service area, hours, and phone number are current
Business description states plainly what you do and where you work
Every core service is listed individually
At least 10–15 real job photos, with new ones added monthly
Every review has a reply within a few days
Q&A section is monitored and answered

Website & conversion

Phone number is a tappable tel: link, visible without scrolling on mobile
Page loads quickly on mobile (test it on your own phone, on a real connection)
Homepage states what you do and where you work within the first few seconds
One clear primary action per page — not five competing buttons
Real photos of your crew and completed jobs, not generic stock imagery
Licensing, insurance, and service area stated plainly
Contact form actually delivers and someone is responsible for checking it

Reviews & reputation

Review ask is built into job completion (invoice, walkthrough, or follow-up text)
Review link is one tap away, not a multi-step process
New reviews are arriving consistently, not in isolated bursts
Every review — positive or negative — gets a thoughtful response
No purchased or incentivized reviews (this risks your account and your credibility)

Follow-up & tracking

Every lead lands in one place — a CRM or a disciplined shared spreadsheet
Someone is explicitly responsible for calling back new leads, ideally within minutes
Unanswered leads get a second and third attempt on a schedule
Every lead is tagged with its source
Outcomes (estimate sent, job won, job lost) are recorded against each lead

How to use this checklist

Work through it in order — it's roughly in order of impact for most contractors. Most businesses find several unchecked items in the first two sections alone, and those are usually the highest-return fixes available, free of charge. Once everything here is genuinely in place, that's the right time to evaluate paid channels, because they'll be multiplying a system that can actually convert what they generate.

If you'd rather talk it through, that's what Karen does: a focused conversation about your goals and constraints, and a clear read on what to fix first.

Frequently asked

Checklist questions, answered.

What owners ask most about using this list.

Is this checklist specific to any one trade?

No — it covers fundamentals that apply across contracting trades. For trade-specific guidance, see our marketing guides for roofing, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, restoration, and other trades.

Should I do this checklist before hiring a marketing agency?

Yes. Most of this checklist is owner-doable, and working through it first means you'll understand what good marketing work looks like — and won't be easy to mislead — if you do bring in outside help later.

How often should I revisit this checklist?

Review it quarterly, or any time marketing results feel off. Most of these items need occasional maintenance (new photos, review responses) rather than a one-time fix.

What should I fix first if I don't have time for everything?

Start with Google Business Profile completeness and follow-up speed — these are typically the highest-return, lowest-cost fixes and don't require any budget.

Keep learning

More from the Contractor Growth Library.

Related reading on marketing, positioning, and building a business that can absorb more demand.

When you're ready

Want help prioritizing what to fix first?

Talk with Sage to clarify your constraint, or book a focused consultation with Karen — no pitch, just a clear read on what to build first.

Book a consultation