For contractors

Marketing for contractors: what actually brings in calls

For most contractors, more work comes from four things: a strong Google listing with recent reviews, a website that says plainly what you do and where, answering every call, and being recommended when homeowners ask ChatGPT.

1. Your Google listing and reviews

When someone searches "contractor near me", the map results come first. Complete categories, services, hours and photos, and a steady stream of recent reviews, decide who gets the call.

2. A website that answers and books

Your website is where people check you out before they ring, and it's what AI search reads. It should name every service and every town you cover, show your reviews, and let people reach you at 9pm.

3. Answer every call

Contractors get their best calls about urgent repairs, quotes for bigger jobs and follow-ups from past customers, mostly around storms, freezes and the spring rush. Invoca found only about half of home-services callers reach a person. A missed call is usually a job for someone else.

4. Show up when homeowners ask ChatGPT

In our own checks, when ChatGPT recommended trade businesses in Washington towns, most of what it cited was the businesses' own websites, not directories. A clear website is how you get named.

What we do

Cakewalk builds and runs all four for you: the website, the answering, review requests and AI search, for one monthly price. Change anything by text.

Questions

How much does marketing for contractors cost with Cakewalk?

Free until we send you your first new customer enquiry, then $197.50/mo for 6 months, then $395/mo.

Do I need to sign a contract?

No contract and no setup fee.

Sources

• Invoca, Home Services Benchmarks 2026 (70 million calls): “52% of callers to home-services businesses speak with a person.”
• Cakewalk's own daily ChatGPT checks, October 2026: “Across 86 answers about trade businesses in Washington towns, 229 of 277 citations were the businesses' own websites, 40 were government sites and 8 were directories.”

More guides: Google Local Services Ads: a plain guide for contractors · Voicemail greetings for contractors: examples you can use today · How to get more Google reviews for a trade business · How to get your business recommended by ChatGPT