🏗️ Top 5 Ways Contractors Can Rank Higher on Google

If they can’t find you, they can’t hire you.

Let’s be real: You could be the best plumber, electrician, or general contractor in your city—but if your business doesn’t show up when people Google “contractor near me,” you’re invisible.

97% of people search online to find a local business. If you’re not showing up on Page 1, they’re calling someone else.

The good news? You don’t need to be a tech wizard or spend thousands on ads to rank higher. Here are 5 proven, no-BS ways to get found faster and win more jobs.

1. 📍 Optimize Your Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is the #1 ranking factor for local service businesses. It’s free, it’s powerful, and most contractors barely touch it.

Here’s what to do:

• Claim and verify your listing at google.com/business

• Add your correct business name, phone number, address, and website

• Post weekly updates, photos of your work, and promotions

• Add services and define your service area

• Enable messaging and set your hours of operation

Google rewards businesses that keep their profile active and accurate. Bonus: It also helps you show up in Google Maps.

2. ⭐ Get More (and Better) Google Reviews

Reviews are digital word-of-mouth. The more 5-star reviews you have, the more likely someone is to call you instead of your competitor.

🔧 Quick wins:

• Ask every happy customer to leave a review (text them the link)

• Use automated software to follow up with review requests

• Respond to every review, good or bad (Google likes engagement)

• Include keywords like “kitchen reno in St. Albert” in your replies

Pro tip: Set a goal of getting 2–3 new reviews per week. That momentum builds serious trust—and search visibility.

3. 🔗 Build Local Backlinks

Backlinks = trust in Google’s eyes. When other local websites link to yours, it tells Google you’re a legit player in the area.

🎯 How to get them:

• Submit your business to local directories (Yelp, BBB, HomeStars, etc.)

• Sponsor a local event or sports team and ask for a link back

• Write a short article for your Chamber of Commerce or a local blog

• Partner with a nearby business for a joint promotion (and a backlink)

These small wins compound. The more quality links you have, the better your authority—and the higher you climb in search results.

4. 🌍 Create Service Area Pages on Your Website

Google loves specificity. If you serve multiple towns or neighborhoods, don’t just list them all on your homepage—build dedicated pages.

Let’s say you’re a roofer who serves Morinville, St. Albert, and Spruce Grove. You should have:

• A page called “Roofing Services in Morinville”

• Another for St. Albert, and another for Spruce Grove

• Each page should have 300–600 words, include local keywords, and photos of past jobs in the area

This tells Google exactly where you work—and increases your chance of showing up in local results for each place.

5. 📱 Make Your Website Fast & Mobile-Friendly

Fact: Over 70% of local searches happen on a mobile device.

If your site is slow, clunky, or hard to navigate on a phone, people bounce—and Google notices.

✅ Do this:

• Test your site on Google PageSpeed Insights

• Compress big images (especially job photos)

• Make sure your site looks good on mobile and has a clear click-to-call button

• Use simple, fast-loading layouts (ditch the flashy animations)

Google rewards fast, user-friendly sites with better rankings. Your customers reward them with calls.

🚀 Ready to Get Found and Booked?

Ranking higher on Google isn’t magic. It’s about doing the basics better than your competitors—and doing them consistently.

These 5 steps are your starting point.

But if you’re too busy swinging hammers to worry about backlinks and SEO settings, we’ve got your back.

👉 Book a free 30-minute strategy call with RDMA
Let’s see what’s working (and what’s not) with your online visibility—and build a plan that brings in more leads without more stress.