Local SEO for contractors, in priority order.

1. Google Business Profile primary category

The single biggest lever, and the one most often set wrong. Use the most specific category that describes what you actually do, not the broad parent. An HVAC company that files under "HVAC contractor" is invisible to the far larger number of people typing "furnace repair" or "AC repair." A roofer is a "Roofing contractor," not a "Contractor."

Check what the three businesses currently in your map pack use. That is your answer, and changing it is free.

2. Proximity to the searcher

Largely outside your control, and the reason you cannot rank in a town 40 minutes away. Worth understanding precisely because it tells you which promises are lies.

3. Review signals — volume, recency, rating, content

Recency has become the dominant part of this. Steady velocity reads to Google as an active business; a large but stale review count does not. Ask every customer on every job rather than blasting your list twice a year, and coach them to mention the service and the town in the text.

4. Profile completeness and freshness

Every service item filled in, a full 750-character description, true attributes, real hours, and 15+ real photos. Then keep it moving — a profile left idle for 30 days starts to slip. Weekly posts and a monthly photo refresh are load-bearing, not decoration.

5. On-page: service plus city

One H1 per page, the service and the city in the title tag, and a page that genuinely covers that combination. Not one "Services" page trying to cover nine trades across six towns.

6. Prominence — links and brand mentions

Real, relevant sources. A handful of genuine local mentions beats a spreadsheet of 500 directory submissions, which is a product sold to people who cannot tell the difference.

7. Behavioural signals

Clicks, direction requests, dwell time. You influence these by being the obvious choice once someone lands — good photos, real reviews, a phone number they can tap.