# How to Optimize Google Business Profile & Local Service Ads for Home Service Marketing

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/humans-of-growth-stories-strategies-behind-business-growth-business-development-7523269/how-to-optimize-google-business-profile-local-service-ads-for-home-service-marketing
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/humans-of-growth-stories-strategies-behind-business-growth-business-development-7523269/how-to-optimize-google-business-profile-local-service-ads-for-home-service-marketing.md
Podcast: [Humans of Growth: Stories & Strategies Behind Business Growth & Business Development](https://stenobird.com/podcast/humans-of-growth-stories-strategies-behind-business-growth-business-development-7523269)
Published: 2026-05-21T09:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://perisson.podbean.com/e/how-to-optimize-google-business-profile-local-service-ads-for-home-service-marketing/
Audio file: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/jkzi6xjmm85qq4up/MeganBedford_HomeServiceMarketingHub.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/humans-of-growth-stories-strategies-behind-business-growth-business-development-7523269/episodes/how-to-optimize-google-business-profile-local-service-ads-for-home-service-marketing
Duration seconds: 2703

## Resource

During COVID, a lot of home service businesses got fat and happy. The phones were ringing, the leads were rolling in, and marketing budgets quietly disappeared into other line items. Now those same companies are watching their leads dry up and wondering what changed. Their competitors didn't get lazy. In this episode of Humans of Growth, I sit down with Megan Bedford, co-founder of Home Services Marketing Hub, to break down what actually works for home service marketing in 2026 — Google Business Profile, Local Services Ads, the review strategy most contractors are botching, the comeback of direct mail, and how AI search is changing the way customers find local plumbers, HVAC techs, and contractors.In this episode, we cover:✔ Why home service businesses that "got fat and happy" during COVID are struggling now✔ Google Business Profile optimization: categories, descriptions, posts, and the "treat Google like a kindergartner" rule✔ Local Services Ads strategy: budgets, cost per lead, and why LSAs outperform paid search✔ "LSA purgatory" — the mistake that gets your Google ads silently throttled✔ Why direct mail is returning 15–30X for home service companies right now✔ Review strategy: why job type and location matter more than star count alone✔ How AI search is changing local SEO for plumbers, HVAC companies, and contractors✔ Why your website needs to mention the towns you actually serve (and why most don't)✔ Price transparency, "good, better, best" quoting, and what belongs on your website✔ How to start marketing a home service business from scratch in 90 daysIf you're a home service owner, contractor, or local business marketer trying to figure out why your phone isn't ringing the way it used to — or you're starting from scratch and need a real playbook — this conversatio…

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