Reviews, Photos, and Posts: What Actually Moves the Needle in Local Search

Reviews, Photos, and Posts: What Actually Moves the Needle in Local Search

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2093393/fan_mail/new] Everyone tells you to "get more reviews" and "post more photos," but that advice is too vague to act on. In this episode, Meredith and Caitlyn go a layer deeper into the three content types that drive local search performance, reviews, photos, and posts, and break down exactly what works versus what's a waste of time. All three answer the same question Google's algorithm (and increasingly AI search) is asking: is this a real, active, trustworthy business worth recommending? Reviews answer trust. Photos answer "is this a real operation." Posts answer "are they still in business." The algorithm wants to see all three working together, and so does the homeowner making a ten-second decision in the map pack. In this episode: * Why review velocity (the rate of new reviews relative to jobs installed) matters more than your total, and why 30 to 50 percent of jobs converting to reviews is the target * The single biggest lever on velocity: requesting within 24 hours of install, and why text beats email (90 percent+ open rate vs. ~25 percent) * Platform diversity done right: lead with Google, then build a follow-up sequence to Facebook and Yelp * How keyword-rich reviews strengthen your local relevance, and how to prompt for specificity without telling customers what to write * Where star ratings stop mattering (hint: above 4.5), and why response depth is doing more work than you think * Why review gating can get your profile suspended * The photo category strategy, why "at work" and "finished product" convert, and why stock photos may be hurting you * The four post types, why product posts are permanent, and the 70/30 work-to-promo mix * The priority order if you can only fix one thing (spoiler: review velocity) Want help building these systems? Head to fatcatstrategies.com and book a strategy call, or call 919.341.4190. We'll audit your reviews, photos, and posts and show you exactly where your gaps are. Want to find out how we can create a custom digital marketing game plan for your contractor business? Schedule a call with us at fatcatstrategies.com [https://fatcatstrategies.com].

Why Your Google Business Profile Isn’t Generating Calls

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2093393/fan_mail/new] Your Google Business Profile is probably the highest ROI digital channel you have, and it is free, so why isn't it generating calls? In this episode, Meredith and Caitlyn break down the five reasons a GBP underperforms for most replacement contractors, and the exact fixes for each. They start with why the local map pack matters more than your website or your ads for capturing high-intent, bottom-of-funnel calls. Then they walk through the five culprits: an incomplete or outdated profile (categories, services, service areas, hours, and attributes), a weak review strategy (volume, recency, and response), stale photos and unused Google Posts, the proximity problem and how to compete in outlying markets, and the most underrated issue of all, getting GBP calls and never crediting the channel because the tracking and intake questions are not set up. They close with a Good/Better/Best framework so you can prioritize the work, plus three things you can do Monday morning to start fixing it. In this episode: * Why the local map pack drives your highest-intent calls * The five reasons your GBP isn't generating calls (and how to fix each) * Categories, services, service areas, and attributes that actually move rankings * The three review mistakes: volume, recency, and response * Photos and Google Posts as a freshness signal * How to compete in markets where you don't have an office * Why you may be getting GBP calls and not know it, plus how to track them * A Good/Better/Best roadmap and three Monday-morning next steps Ready to find the gaps in your own profile? Head to fatcatstrategies.com and book a strategy call. Want to find out how we can create a custom digital marketing game plan for your contractor business? Schedule a call with us at fatcatstrategies.com [https://fatcatstrategies.com].

Agency Horror Stories

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2093393/fan_mail/new] Season 4 kicks off with the episode we've been wanting to do for a long time. Meredith and Caitlyn walk through four real horror stories from contractors who came to FatCat after getting burned by other agencies — names left out, lessons left in. From the agency that held a contractor's website, ad accounts, and Google Business Profile hostage, to the "lead inflation" reports that counted every wrong number and telemarketer as a win, to the revolving door of account managers, to the agency quietly running a contractor's closest competitor. The episode closes with a lightning round of eight red flags to watch for the next time you're shopping for a marketing partner. What you'll learn: * The four ownership questions to get answered in writing before you sign (website, domain, ad accounts, tracking numbers and data) * Why "leads are up and cost-per-lead is down" can be a mirage — and how to demand real definitions * How account-manager churn quietly erodes your campaigns * Why service-area exclusivity protects you from subsidizing a competitor's education * An 8-point red-flag checklist for vetting any agency Got a horror story of your own? Email us (address in the show notes) and we may feature it anonymously in a future episode. Want to find out how we can create a custom digital marketing game plan for your contractor business? Schedule a call with us at fatcatstrategies.com [https://fatcatstrategies.com].

How AI Search Is Changing the Way Homeowners Find Contractors: A Yelp Conversation

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2093393/fan_mail/new] The way homeowners find contractors has changed more in the last 18 months than it did in the previous decade. Search has become recommendations. Websites have become trusted platforms. Clicking has become asking. And one name keeps showing up in the AI results: Yelp. In this special-format episode, Caitlyn Noble sits down with Phil and Ryan from Yelp's partner team to break down why Yelp has quietly become one of the top citation sources for ChatGPT, Bing Copilot, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Gemini — and what that means for replacement contractors who've been treating their Yelp profile as a listing they claimed once and forgot about. Includes live examples of how Yelp data flows into AI recommendations, what makes Yelp users different from Google searchers, and a free AI Visibility Audit at fatcatstrategies.com/AI. Want to find out how we can create a custom digital marketing game plan for your contractor business? Schedule a call with us at fatcatstrategies.com [https://fatcatstrategies.com].

What Contractors Should Automate First (And What Should Stay Human)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2093393/fan_mail/new] In this episode, Caitlyn and Meredith wrap up a stretch of AI-focused conversations with a practical question every contractor needs to answer: what should you actually automate, and what should never leave a human's hands? They share a simple framework for thinking about it (operational vs. relational moments), then walk through six things you should automate this week, five things to protect at all costs, and four gray zones where the answer lives somewhere in between. The episode closes with a four-question decision tool you can run any new task through when you're not sure which side of the line it belongs on. If you're either nervous about automation or a little too eager to hand things over to AI, this one's for you. In this episode: • The two-bucket framework: operational vs. relational moments • Six things to automate first (and why) • Five moments that should always stay human • The gray zones: follow-up, social media, review responses, and proposals • A four-question decision tool for anything you're unsure about Want to find out how we can create a custom digital marketing game plan for your contractor business? Schedule a call with us at fatcatstrategies.com [https://fatcatstrategies.com].