Reviews
How to get more Google reviews without breaking Google's rules
When and how to ask customers for Google reviews, what Google's policy forbids, and how to make asking automatic after every job.
Articles
Practical marketing for local service businesses.
Short, plain-English guides on topics such as: Google reviews, fewer missed calls, faster replies, websites that book jobs and a stronger showing in local search. No jargon, and no figures we can't source.
Local search
Does WCAG compliance help your Google ranking? Where accessibility and SEO overlap
Accessibility isn't a Google ranking signal in its own right, but much of the work behind WCAG also helps search engines understand your site. Here's where the two overlap, and what to fix first.
Websites
Why your website's contact form loses jobs, and what to use instead
Contact forms that land in an email inbox are a slow way to answer someone who wants help today. How to turn website questions into text conversations instead.
Texting
WhatsApp for local trades: when it's worth adding, and the rules that come with it
Some customers would rather WhatsApp than text or call. When WhatsApp makes sense for a trades business, how it can run on your office number, and Meta's messaging rules.
Websites
What a trades website needs, and what it doesn't
A checklist for a contractor or home-service website that turns visitors into calls and bookings, plus the features to skip and the upkeep nobody mentions.
Missed calls
What a missed call really costs a trades business, and how to catch it
Most callers won't leave a voicemail. Work out what missed calls cost your business, compare the ways to catch them, and see what an instant text-back should say.
Websites
Website accessibility for local businesses: what WCAG 2.2 means and why it matters
What the WCAG 2.2 accessibility guidelines ask of a website, what Ontario's AODA requires and of whom, and a practical checklist and free tests for a small business site.
Social & ads
Turning Facebook and Instagram comments into booked jobs
What trades businesses should post on Facebook and Instagram, how to answer "how much?" comments quickly, and the limits Meta puts on automatic messages.
Texting
Texting customers from your business landline: what Ontario trades need to know
How a business landline can send and receive texts, why it beats texting from a personal cell, and the Canadian anti-spam (CASL) basics to follow.
Reviews
Why your website should show your latest Google reviews
Old testimonials don't convince anyone. Why showing your newest Google reviews on your website builds more trust, and how to do it honestly.
Websites
Should customers book online? A practical guide for trades
Which jobs suit online booking, which don't, and how to set up buffers, notice times and reminders so an online calendar fits the way a trades business really works.
Running the business
One inbox for every customer message: how trades teams stop losing leads
Customer messages scattered across personal phones, email and voicemail get lost. How a shared inbox and a few simple habits keep every conversation answered.
Social & ads
Running ads? Send the clicks to a landing page, not your homepage
Why ads for trades businesses work better with a dedicated landing page, what a good one includes, and how to track which campaigns bring in jobs.
Websites
Quote request forms that bring you better leads
How to design a website quote form for a trades business: step-by-step questions, what to ask for each trade, where contact details go, and what should happen after Submit.
Texting
Can customers message your business from Google? What changed in 2024
Google retired its Business Messages chat in July 2024. What replaced it, how the Chat option on your Business Profile works now, and how to make sure those messages get answered.
Local search
Local search and AI: why your Google profile and listings matter more than ever
More people now ask AI tools which local business to call. Those tools draw on what's already published about you, so your profile, listings and reviews count for more.
Local search
Is your website readable by AI? Structured data, plain text and llms.txt explained
How AI assistants and search engines read a local business website, what structured data does, what the proposed llms.txt file is, and the simple fixes that help most.
Reviews
How to respond to Google reviews, with examples for trades
What to say to five-star reviews, how to handle a bad one, and what never to put in a public reply. A practical guide with examples for trades.
Websites
How fast should you reply to a website lead? Faster than you think
Why the first hour matters for website leads, what an instant automatic reply should say, and how to make a fast personal follow-up part of the routine.
Local search
How to set up a Google Business Profile for a service-area business
Most trades go to the customer, so Google treats them as service-area businesses. How to set up your profile's address, service area, name, category and phone the right way.
Local search
Duplicate business listings: why they hurt and how to clean them up
How duplicate and outdated listings end up on Google and directory sites, what they cost a local business, and a step-by-step way to find and fix them.
Local search
What should a trades business blog about? 25 local article ideas
Blog topics for contractors and home-service businesses in Niagara and the Golden Horseshoe, by trade and season, plus how to write them so they help customers and local search.
Websites
AI chat on your website: what it should and shouldn't do for a trades business
An AI assistant can answer questions and book jobs around the clock. What it's good at, where it needs limits, and why a business is responsible for what its chatbot says.
Want this running for your business?
Traction puts review invitations, website chat and texting on the landline you already have. A 30-day free trial, set up for you.