FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

Straight answers to the questions home service owners ask us most about getting found on Google and AI search.

Will I see ChatGPT in my website analytics?

Probably not, and that catches a lot of owners off guard. When a homeowner asks ChatGPT or another AI engine for a recommendation, they usually don't click through — they read the answer, close the app, and open a new tab to Google your business name directly. So your analytics won't show "ChatGPT" as a traffic source, even on a day when it sent you the call.

So how do you know it's actually working?

We watch the signal that does show up: a rise in people searching your business name directly on Google. That's someone who got your name from an AI answer and went straight to you instead of shopping around a list of ten links. We check it every week alongside your rankings and AI visibility, so it's not a guess — it's part of your regular report.

Should I stop caring about direct AI traffic then?

No, we still watch for it — it's just usually small, and that's normal, not a red flag. The bigger prize is being the business named in the answer at all. For the full picture of what we check and how often, see how it works.

What's the difference between SEO and 'the AI stuff'?

SEO is getting you found on Google — the ten blue links and the map results. "The AI stuff" is getting you named when someone asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, or Claude who to call instead. They used to be separate jobs. Increasingly they're the same job, because the same homeowner asks both.

Why does this matter more than it used to?

Google now answers a lot of questions above the links, and a growing number of homeowners skip Google entirely and ask an AI assistant directly. An AI assistant doesn't give someone ten options to scroll through — it names two or three businesses and stops. There's no page two to rank on. Being one of the businesses it names is worth more than being the eleventh Google result, and it takes different work to earn.

Do I need to understand the terminology?

No. You'll sometimes see this broken into a handful of three-letter industry terms — if you want the plain-English translation of each, see the three-letter terms, translated on the how it works page. You'll never need the terms to work with us. What you'll see is a weekly check of where you actually stand across Google and the four AI engines, in plain language.

How long until I see results?

Months, not weeks — how many depends on your site's age and how competitive your area is. Anyone who gives you an exact date is guessing. What we can give you instead is the real shape of it, the same milestones we'd walk through on a call.

What's the real timeline?

First signals — new pages live, new questions answered, early movement in what the AI engines say about you — typically show up in months 2–3. Movement in your local map results tends to follow in months 3–6. By months 7–9, the work is typically worth more than what you're paying for it. See the full breakdown on the honest timeline.

Does anything happen right away?

Yes. Daily improvements start in week one — service pages tightened up, business info corrected across directories, technical issues flagged and queued for your OK. That's steady, visible progress from day one. Visibility itself is the part that takes months to build, because it depends on Google and the AI engines trusting what's been built, not just what's been published.

Do you write the content, or do I have to?

We write it. You approve it. Every page, post, and answer to a real customer question is drafted for you — you're not staring at a blank page or briefing a writer. Nothing about your business goes out in public without you seeing it first.

How does the approval work in practice?

Content is released to you one piece at a time, never a pile-up, as a preview by email. One tap approves it and it goes live. One tap sends it back for another draft. If you don't get to something, it waits — it doesn't publish itself.

Does it actually sound like my business?

That's the point of the approval step. Content is written around your trade, your service area, and the real questions homeowners near you ask — not generic filler. Early rejections are useful; they're usually what it takes to settle the voice. After that, most owners find they're editing far less.

What do I actually have to do?

Approve things. That's most of it. Work is paced deliberately — you're reviewing a short queue by email, not facing a backlog — so most owners spend around ten minutes a week on it. Nothing goes out in your name without your say-so.

What does a week actually look like?

An email arrives with something to look at — a page, a post, a fix we're about to make. You approve, reject, or edit. That's the whole loop. There's no dashboard you're required to log into and no meeting you have to sit through to keep things moving.

What happens if I get busy and don't check email for a week?

Nothing goes wrong. Approvals wait for you — they don't expire, and nothing publishes on your behalf without a tap. We're still finding daily improvements to your site (a corrected listing, a tightened-up page) whether you check email or not — content publishes once you approve it, and technical fixes come to you as specific, plain-English recommendations waiting in that same short queue.

Do you need access to my website?

Yes, in most cases — daily improvements and publishing approved content both mean working inside your website and your Google Business Profile. What we don't do is take those accounts over. Access is set up through your own logins, in your name, from day one.

What exactly do you need access to?

Typically your website (or CMS), your Google Business Profile, and Google Search Console. Those three cover the daily fixes, the content that publishes, and the ability to track what's actually happening. If a fix needs something outside that — your host, your domain registrar — we'll ask for it specifically rather than requesting broad access up front.

Can I take access away?

Any time. Because the accounts are yours, not ours, revoking access is something you do in your own settings — you're not asking us to hand anything back. See what happens if you leave for the full picture.

Do I keep everything if I leave?

Yes. Your website, your Google Business Profile, your Search Console, and everything published along the way are set up in your name from day one — not held in an account we control. If you ever leave, you leave with the whole thing, not a copy of it.

Why does it matter whose name the accounts are in?

Because it's the difference between switching providers and starting over. Some agencies set accounts up under their own logins so the work — and your rankings — stay leverage to keep you paying. That's not how this is built. There's no long-term contract either; see the questions worth asking any agency, including us, before you sign anything.

What actually stops if I leave?

The work does — daily improvements, new content, and the weekly tracking across Google and the AI engines stop being maintained. What's already live stays live: published pages, corrected listings, and any ranking progress you've built don't get pulled down or handed back.

Which trades do you work with?

Plumbing, HVAC, electrical, and roofing are the core trades we're built around. We also work with landscaping, painting, garage doors, pest control, cleaning, and remodeling businesses.

What do these trades have in common?

They're local, they're searched for by name and by problem ("water heater replacement," "AC not cooling"), and the jobs are worth chasing — a homeowner picking a plumber is picking someone they'll let into their house, which is exactly the kind of decision people now ask AI assistants to help with.

What if my trade isn't on the list?

Ask. The system isn't hard-coded to a handful of trades — it's set up around your services, your area, and the questions your customers actually ask. The list above is where we have the most pattern to draw on, not a fence.

What cities or service areas do you cover?

We work with home service businesses anywhere in the U.S. There's no city list to check yours against — what matters is your own service area, the towns and neighborhoods you actually work in, since that's what local search and AI recommendations are built around.

Do I need to be near you?

No. The work happens on your website, your Google Business Profile, and the third-party pages that mention you — none of that depends on where we're sitting. What we set up is built around your service area specifically: the free audit checks how you show up for the searches homeowners in your actual towns are making, not a generic national query.

What if I serve more than one town?

That's normal for most home service businesses, and it's handled the same way — content and local search work get built around every area you serve, not just your main address.

How much does it cost?

The AI visibility audit is free — no card required, no obligation to continue. From there, paid plans run month-to-month with no long-term contract. See the pricing page for the exact numbers and what's included at each tier.

Why isn't there a cheaper option?

Under about $500 a month, nobody can put real hours into your site — that's how contractors end up burned by "SEO" that's really just a monthly invoice with no work behind it. Pricing is set to cover daily, real work on your business, not a bot running on autopilot.

Is there a contract?

No. Month-to-month, cancel any time. If the work isn't earning it, you shouldn't be locked into paying for it — see the questions worth asking any agency before you sign anything, including us.

Do you guarantee rankings?

No. Nobody controls Google's algorithm, and nobody controls what an AI engine decides to say — including us. Any provider promising you a specific ranking or a specific number of leads is either guessing or lying, and Google itself calls a ranking guarantee a red flag worth walking away from.

How does not guaranteeing anything protect me?

A guarantee that can't actually be kept gets kept on paper instead — with thin, repetitive, or spammy work built to hit a number rather than build real visibility, then walked back with fine print when it doesn't land. We'd rather tell you the honest, months-long shape of the work up front than sell you a promise we can't control and have to explain away later.

So what do you actually stand behind?

The work itself: a real fix shipped every day, content you approve before it goes anywhere, and a weekly check across Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude so you can see exactly what's moving. For the full list of questions worth asking any agency before you sign anything — including us — see choosing an agency.

Book your free strategy call.

Thirty minutes, no pitch. We'll show you exactly what we'd run for your business — and what it would cost.