Websites & local marketing for contractors and home services in New York
When a pipe bursts or the heat goes out, people call the first company that looks real and picks up. We build the site and the Google profile that make that company yours, and we set up the ads.
Home service searches come in two kinds. Emergencies like “no heat Bronx” or “emergency plumber near me” get a call within minutes, usually to someone near the top of the results. Planned jobs, like a bathroom remodel or a new boiler, get research. People look at photos and reviews and check your license, then get two or three quotes.
In an emergency they tap the first phone number that looks local and open right now.
They check that you cover their borough or neighborhood before they bother calling.
They look for your license number, and careful ones look it up with the city.
For bigger jobs they study before-and-after photos and reviews that mention the same kind of work.
Landlords and building managers look for someone who handles several units and sends clean invoices.
Plenty fill out a form late at night and hire whoever calls back first in the morning.
Your website must-haves
Service-area pages that are actually different
A page for each borough or area you cover, with real jobs, the kinds of buildings you work in there and response times you can stand behind. Not twenty copies with the town name swapped.
License and insurance in plain sight
Your DCWP Home Improvement Contractor number, or your Department of Buildings license for plumbing or electrical work. Put it in the footer and on the contact page. It answers the trust question before anyone asks it.
Emergency calls first
A big tap-to-call button on every phone screen. Show your hours, and whether you do nights and weekends. If you don’t take emergencies, say so. It saves everyone a call.
A quote request that fits the job
A short form that asks for the job type and the neighborhood, with a spot for photos. A picture of the leak or the old water heater can save a site visit and helps you price faster.
Before-and-after photos
Real work with a sentence on what was done and in which area. Leave out names and house numbers to protect your customers’ privacy.
Each service on its own page
Boiler repair, water heater installs, drain cleaning, panel upgrades. People search for the job they need, not for a page called “Services.”
Financing only after a legal check
Payment plans can help sell big jobs, but NYC limits how licensed home improvement contractors deal with financing. We add any payment offer only after your lawyer confirms what you’re allowed to say.
Getting found when it matters
Most home service calls come from the map results and the Local Services Ads at the top of Google. Your Business Profile has to say exactly where you work and what you fix, and your site has to back that up.
Set up as a service-area business: list the boroughs and neighborhoods you serve, and hide your home address if customers don’t come to you.
Use the most specific category, like “Plumber,” “HVAC contractor” or “Electrician,” and add every service you offer.
Ask for a review after every finished job, with a direct link, and reply to each one.
Post photos of recent jobs often; a profile with fresh work looks like a busy, real company.
Keep your business name exactly as it appears on your license. Stuffing keywords into it can get the profile suspended.
Ads that make sense
For plumbing, HVAC, electrical, roofing, locksmith and cleaning work, Local Services Ads are often the best first spend. You pay for leads instead of clicks. And the ads usually sit at the very top of the results.
Local Services Ads with the Google Verified badge, which Google gives after screening your business. It replaced the old Google Guaranteed badge in October 2025.
Google search ads for planned jobs like “boiler replacement Queens,” scheduled for hours when someone can answer.
Call tracking that shows which calls came from which ad, and which became booked jobs.
Ad text that follows DCWP rules: your license number on it, and no savings claims you can’t prove.
AI that answers when you’re on a ladder
You can’t pick up the phone with both hands in a boiler. AI can answer and pass the details to you, so the customer doesn’t call the next company on the list.
An AI receptionist that answers your line and asks what’s wrong and where. You get a short summary right away.
Instant replies to web quote requests by email, or by text when the customer checks the box to get texts. Business texting is registered with the carriers, a step called A2P 10DLC.
Estimate visits booked straight into your calendar or a field service tool like Jobber or Housecall Pro.
Gentle follow-ups on quotes that went quiet, so good jobs don’t slip away.
Rules to respect
Contractors who repair, remodel or improve homes in NYC need a Home Improvement Contractor license from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP). That covers work on basements, driveways, fences, patios and porches, and installing storm windows or central heating and air conditioning.
DCWP says all advertising must include your license number, so it goes on the website and in your ads.
Licensed plumbers and electricians working within their trade don’t need the DCWP license. Their licenses come from the NYC Department of Buildings, and customers can check them in DOB’s license search.
DCWP’s rules bar licensed home improvement contractors from arranging financing or helping customers get it, and its guide lists advertising home improvement loans as prohibited. Talk to your lawyer before any payment-plan offer goes on the site.
Claims must be provable. DCWP’s own example: don’t say new windows cut energy bills by a set percentage unless facts back it up.
You must do business under the name on your license, so the website, Google profile and ads all use that exact name.
Not legal advice. These points come from DCWP’s published guidance for home improvement contractors. Ask DCWP or your lawyer what applies to your trade and your jobs.
Common contractor website mistakes
No license number anywhere on the site.
One page listing every service, so Google can’t tell what you do best.
Copy-paste town pages that say the same thing twenty times.
A contact form that lands in an inbox nobody checks on weekends.
Stock photos of smiling models in hard hats instead of your crew and your trucks.
Are Local Services Ads better than Google Ads for contractors?
For emergency trades they’re often the place to start, since you pay per lead and appear at the top. Planned, higher-value jobs can do well with regular search ads too. Many contractors run both and let call tracking decide where the money goes.
What is the Google Verified badge?
It’s the badge Google shows on Local Services Ads once it has screened your business. In October 2025 it replaced the Google Guaranteed and Google Screened badges, and Google ended the money-back guarantee that came with Guaranteed. We help you get through the screening.
Do I need my license number on my website?
If you hold a DCWP Home Improvement Contractor license, DCWP says your advertising must include the number, and your website is advertising. Plumbers and electricians should show their DOB license number too; customers look for it.
Should I list my home address on Google?
Not if customers don’t come to you. Set up as a service-area business, list the areas you cover and hide the address. Google allows it, and your home stays private.
Can I advertise financing for bigger jobs?
Be careful. NYC’s home improvement rules bar licensed contractors from arranging financing or helping customers get it, and DCWP lists advertising home improvement loans as prohibited. Ask your lawyer before adding any payment plan to the site.
How do I get more reviews as a contractor?
Ask right after the job, while the problem is fixed and the customer is relieved. A text or email with a direct link is the easiest for most people. Don’t offer discounts for reviews; Google doesn’t allow it.
Get a free website review
Send us your website address. We’ll look at it the way your customers do and tell you, in plain English, what to fix first.
