Most service owners do not fail at marketing because they lack ideas. They fail because the phone goes to voicemail, the Google Business Profile sits stale, and nobody looks at search terms until the credit card bill lands. This checklist is the operating rhythm. Run it in order. Skip the channel you cannot staff.
It is written for owners of roofing, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, pools, outdoor living, and similar trades. Pest, law, and financial shops can use the same sequence. The jobs and licenses change. The scoreboard does not: answered calls, booked jobs, cost per job.
Daily: protect the leads you already bought
- ·Answer the phone during advertised hours. Missed-call text-back if you cannot pick up.
- ·Return form leads the same business day. After hours, next morning.
- ·Check Google Business Profile messages and Q&A.
- ·If ads are live, glance at spend versus remaining budget so a weekend spike does not drain Monday.
Speed-to-lead beats a clever headline. A $5,000 Google Ads month with a two-hour callback is how shops decide ads do not work.
Weekly: the 45-minute marketing block
Reviews
Count new Google reviews. If the week is zero, the closeout ask is broken. Crew lead on site, office text after. Reply to every review, including the good ones.
"A weekly and monthly marketing checklist for contractors: phone, Google Business Profile, ads, SEO, and tracking. Run the list. Do not collect more tips."
Google Business Profile
Post once. Link the post to a service page, not only the homepage. Upload a handful of real job photos. Confirm hours for holidays and storm closures.
Paid search, if you run it
Download search terms. Add negatives for DIY, employment, and cities you do not serve. Pause ads outside answering hours. Confirm call conversions still fire. Google Ads at $0 agency fee on typical $5,000 monthly spend in a competitive metro only pays if this review happens.
Site and tracking
Click your own click-to-call on a phone. Submit a test form. If the thank-you page or notification failed, fix it before you spend another dollar.
Monthly: the owner review
- 01 Calls and form fills by source: organic, Map Pack, ads, LSA, referral, other.
- 02 Booked jobs from those leads, and revenue attached.
- 03 Cost per booked job for each paid channel.
- 04 Geogrid or at least a handful of incognito phone searches for your top two services.
- 05 Pages published or updated: still missing a page for a job you want?
- 06 Citations: name, address, phone match on the main directories and Apple Business Connect.
Yelp and similar directories matter as citations and review homes. Do not treat buying their ads as the lead plan.
Quarterly: the mix, not a rebrand
Decide whether SEO, ads, or both get the next dollar. SEO campaigns at $3,000 per month target Top-3 Map Pack in 90 days. If you need jobs this month, keep Search ads on. If the calendar is full, put more into the asset. AI SEO at +$1,500 per month only with active SEO, for ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini. ChatGPT Ads are $1,500 setup plus $500 per month when you already track jobs.
OTT and connected TV start around $5,000 per month and brand the name. Nobody calls from the spot. PPQL is a $1,000 deposit credited toward qualified calls if you want pipeline without a media retainer.
Website and speed, on the checklist once
If the site takes more than two seconds on a phone, or hides the number, put a rebuild on the list. Performance websites run $2,500 once or $250 per month for 12 months, live in 30 days, load in under two seconds.
Print this and assign names
Daily items belong to whoever answers phones. Weekly GBP and reviews belong to office or marketing. Monthly numbers belong to the owner. If those names are blank, the checklist is decoration.
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Who owns each box if you have no marketing hire
Owner: monthly numbers and the decision to add spend. Office manager: reviews, GBP posts, hours. CSR or answering service: daily phone and form SLA. If you are a two-person shop, the owner does monthly and office, and the CSR rule still stands. Do not add OTT or ChatGPT Ads until those names exist.
A 90-day version of the same checklist
Month 1: tracking, GBP, review ask, one service landing page, ads or LSAs if you need jobs. Month 2: city pages you can defend, search-term negatives, geogrid baseline. Month 3: compare cost per booked job across channels, decide whether SEO at $3,000 per month, ads, or both get the next dollar. Write the decision down so next quarter you are not guessing.
Print the daily and weekly lists. Hang them where the phone is. Checklists that live only in a blog tab do not get run.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many hours per week should an owner spend on marketing?
The weekly block is about 45 minutes if office staff handles reviews and GBP. The owner owes the monthly numbers. Daily phone coverage is operations, not a hobby.
SEO or ads first on this checklist?
If you need jobs in the next two weeks, start with answered phones and Google Ads or LSAs. Put SEO on the monthly list the same day so you are not renting every lead next year.
What if I have no marketing person?
Keep daily and weekly items tiny: answer, review ask, one GBP post. Hire or retain help before you add OTT, ChatGPT Ads, or a second ad network.
Is social posting on this list?
Optional. Post job photos if it is easy. Do not skip reviews, GBP, and call handling to make Reels.
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