Guides

Marketing Guides and Research for Local Service Businesses

BaaDigi's local business marketing guides answer the questions owners actually ask: how to get recommended by Google and AI engines, what leads really cost by source, which CRM fits your crew, and what to demand from a website. Every guide links its sources, and our original studies state their sample size and the date the data was pulled.

Last updated: October 2026

Original research

What original research does BaaDigi publish?

BaaDigi publishes studies built from data it collects itself: Google Business Profile reviews across the profiles it manages, repeated runs asking ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews which local businesses they name in a trade and city, and a recovered August 2026 audit snapshot of 97 business website records. Each study states its sample size, the date it was pulled and its limits, and the methodology page explains how every dataset is collected.

Lead costs and lead sources

How much do contractor leads cost, and which sources are worth it?

Contractor lead cost depends on the trade, the channel and whether the lead is shared or exclusive. Marketplaces like Thumbtack, Angi and HomeAdvisor charge per lead and often sell the same lead to several contractors, so the number that matters is cost per booked job, not cost per lead. Channels you own, such as your website, Google Business Profile and your own ad accounts, ramp slower but keep working after you stop paying a middleman.

CRM and field service software

Which CRM should a contractor use?

It depends on trade, crew size and how leads arrive. Field service platforms such as Jobber, Housecall Pro and ServiceTitan run scheduling, dispatch and invoicing; roofing and remodeling tools such as JobNimbus and AccuLynx center on the project and the insurance claim; marketing CRMs such as GoHighLevel center on capturing and following up leads. Whichever you pick, make sure it records where each lead came from. Without that you cannot tell which marketing is paying for itself, and most comparisons skip it.

Google Business Profile and local SEO

How do contractors show up in the Google map pack?

Through relevance, distance and prominence: a complete, accurate Google Business Profile in the right primary category, consistent name, address and phone across the web, a steady flow of reviews that the owner answers, and a website that backs up the services and areas the profile claims. Most of it is weekly maintenance, not a one-time setup.

Website maintenance and editing with AI

Can you run your own website with ChatGPT or Claude?

Often, yes, but not from the chat window alone. The editing is done by an AI coding tool, Claude Code from Anthropic or Codex from OpenAI, working on the website’s files, so it depends on what the site is built on and whether the owner can reach those files. These guides cover what each platform allows, what website maintenance includes and costs, which maintenance companies publish prices, and what hosting really costs at renewal. Every outside figure is cited to the company’s own page.

Websites

What kind of website does a contractor need in 2026?

A contractor website needs to load fast on a phone, state services, service areas and prices plainly, make calling or booking one tap away, and be readable by search engines and AI crawlers through clean HTML, structured data and a crawlable page for every service and area. The platform matters less than whether those basics are in place and whether you own the site and domain outright.

Trade playbooks

Where should a contractor in a specific trade start?

With the playbook for that trade, because each one buys and books differently: roofing is storm- and insurance-driven, HVAC and plumbing are emergency-heavy with membership revenue, remodeling is high-ticket with long sales cycles, and landscaping is seasonal. Each playbook below covers the lead sources, costs and follow-up that fit.