Claim your Google profile — this is the whole ballgame

If you do one thing from this list, do this. It is free, it takes twenty minutes, and it is what decides whether you show up when somebody nearby searches your trade. Most of the businesses you are competing against have either never claimed theirs or filled it in halfway.

Put real photos on that profile

A claimed profile with no photos still loses. Ten photos of finished jobs — not stock, not the logo — is the difference between getting tapped and getting scrolled past. Take them with your phone if you have to.

Ask for reviews out loud, on the day you finish

Nobody leaves a review unprompted. Ask while you are still standing there and the work looks good: “If you were happy with this, would you mind leaving me a review on Google? It helps me more than anything.” Say it every single time. Reviews are the second thing Google ranks on, after distance.

Answer fast — the first to call back usually wins

People asking for an estimate are asking three or four businesses at once. The one who answers within the hour books the job most of the time, and it is rarely the cheapest one. If you cannot answer while working, send a two-line text at lunch.

Post in local Facebook groups — for free

Every city out here has neighborhood and buy-sell groups where people ask for a painter or a cleaner every week. You do not need ads. You need to be in five of those groups and answer when somebody asks, with a photo of a job you did nearby.

Knock on the neighbors after every job

The cheapest lead you will ever get is the house next to the one you just finished. They watched you work all day. Knock on four doors each side before you load up: “I just finished the yard at number 12 — I am in the area if you need anything.”

Put your name on your truck

Lettering or a magnet is a one-time cost that advertises every time you park. It also does something subtler: a lettered truck reads as a real, insured, local business, which matters in a market full of out-of-state lead resellers.

Give them somewhere to land

Once somebody hears your name, the next thing they do is look you up. If what they find is a Facebook page last updated in 2023, you lose them there. A five-page site with your services, your area, your photos and your phone number closes the loop the referral started.

Ask the customers you already have

A customer who was happy will refer you, but almost never on their own initiative — they just do not think of it. Ask directly: “Do you know anybody else who needs this done?” It is the highest-converting sentence in this whole article and it costs nothing.

Go back to people from six months ago

Most service work repeats — yards, cleaning, paint, maintenance. A short text to everybody you served six months ago costs one evening and reliably fills a slow week. Nobody does this, which is exactly why it works.