Free Learning Center
Home service marketing, explainedby trade, by problem, by question.
334+ guides, videos, podcast episodes, checklists, and straight answers for 48 trades — written or reviewed by Chris Heidlebaugh, 25+ years inside home service businesses. Pick your trade, tell me what's wrong, get the fix.
How do you want to learn?
Start from your trade, from what's going wrong right now, from a channel, or from side-by-side good vs bad examples.
By industry
Training by trade
Garage doors, HVAC, plumbing, roofing, electrical and more — the marketing that works in your trade, plus good vs bad examples.
Pick my tradeBy symptom
Symptoms & issues
"I don't show up on Google." "How do I know if my website is bad?" "My phone stopped ringing." Start from the symptom, get the causes, a self-check, and the fix order.
Diagnose my issueBy channel
Training by channel
Local SEO, Google Business Profile, Google Ads, websites, reviews, AI search, email — one hub per channel.
Browse channelsBy example
Good vs Bad Marketing
Drag a slider across realistic examples and see the typical version next to the version built to generate leads.
See the comparisonsPrefer to listen or watch?
Listen, watch, or read — same playbook, three formats.
Listen
Podcast
Real strategies and owner interviews — for the truck, the treadmill, or the office.
Explore Podcast
Watch
Videos
Step-by-step tutorials and marketing breakdowns you can implement today.
Explore Videos
Read & ask
Learning Center
Guides by trade and topic, plain-English answers, and the full Q&A library.
Explore Learning Center
HVAC
Service teams keeping the schedule full year-round
Who this is for
Written for real crews, not marketers
HVAC, roofing, plumbing, electrical, landscaping, remodeling and every other trade that lives on calls, estimates, and booked jobs. Every guide, video, and episode here is built around how your business actually runs.
Not sure where to start? Start here.
Three paths, depending on where your business is right now.
Step 1
New to marketing your trade
Learn the channels that actually produce calls for home service businesses — and the order to build them in.
Start with the fundamentals
Step 2
Something is broken
The phone slowed down, rankings dropped, or you're spending with nothing to show. Diagnose it by trade and symptom.
Diagnose my problem
Step 3
Ready to scale
Bring marketing in-house, train your team, and build the system that stops you renting leads forever.
See the in-house path
Browse by your trade
Every trade gets its own marketing guide — what works, what it costs, and what to do first. The number shows how many resources we have for that trade.
- HVAC Marketing10
- Plumbing Marketing10
- Roofing Marketing12
- Electrical Marketing5
- Garage Door Marketing6
- Landscaping Marketing8
- Remodeling Marketing11
- Painting Marketing6
- Pest Control Marketing6
- Cleaning Services Marketing4
- Fencing Marketing5
- Flooring Marketing3
- Foundation Repair Marketing5
- Pool Service Marketing5
- Tree Service Marketing5
- Kitchen & Bath Marketing1
- Countertops & Cabinets Marketing1
- Drywall Marketing1
- Stucco & Tile Marketing1
- Snow Removal Marketing1
- Home Security Marketing1
- Sunrooms & Awnings Marketing1
- Window & Door Replacement Marketing4
- Gutters Marketing1
Browse by marketing topic
Each topic pillar is a deep guide plus every related article, video, podcast episode, and checklist we have on it.
Get Found
Convert Visitors
Advertise
Follow Up & Systems
Measure & Decide
Everything free, in one place
Score
Free Marketing Scorecard
25 questions, 5 minutes — see exactly where your marketing stands today.
Explore Free Marketing Scorecard
Courses
Learning Paths
Multi-lesson paths on lead gen, local SEO, and Google Business Profile — with progress tracking.
Explore Learning Paths
Read
Blog & Tutorials
In-depth written guides on SEO, ads, websites, email, and lead follow-up.
Explore Blog & Tutorials
Self-help
Fix It Yourself
Pick your trade and your problem — get the exact steps to fix it.
Explore Fix It Yourself
Look it up
Glossary & Q&A
Plain-English definitions and cited answers to the questions owners ask most.
Explore Glossary & Q&A
Know your trade and what's wrong? Skip the browsing.
Pick your trade, pick the symptom — "I need more leads," "my phone stopped ringing," "I don't show up on Google" — and get the fix list in priority order.
Questions home service owners ask most
- Why isn't my Google Business Profile getting calls?
The 4 reasons a GBP shows impressions but no calls — and the fastest fixes for each.
- How much should an HVAC company spend on marketing?
Marketing budget benchmarks for HVAC businesses by revenue tier — from startup to $10M+.
- Should I hire an agency or an in-house marketer?
The decision framework for choosing between a marketing agency and an in-house hire for a home-service business.
- Why is my website getting traffic but no leads?
The 5 most common conversion killers on home-service websites that have traffic but zero calls.
- Is SEO dead because of AI?
The honest answer on whether SEO still works with ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews changing search behavior.
- How do I rank in ChatGPT?
The exact schema, content, and authority signals that make ChatGPT and other AI assistants cite your business.
- Why did my Google rankings suddenly disappear?
The 4 reasons a home-service site loses its rankings overnight and how to diagnose which one hit you.
- What is a good cost per lead for home services?
Cost per lead benchmarks by trade — HVAC, plumbing, roofing, remodeling, cleaning, lawn care, and pest control.
Want someone to just tell you what's wrong?
The $497 Marketing Audit reviews your rankings, website, Google Business Profile, and AI visibility — then hands you the priority fix list. No logins needed.
About the Author
Chris Heidlebaugh
Chris Heidlebaugh is a former construction worker turned Digital Marketing Coach with 25+ years of experience helping home service businesses — contractors, roofers, plumbers, HVAC, electricians, landscapers, and remodelers — build in-house marketing systems they actually own. He spent 18+ years on the job site while building a web and marketing company on the side, so he speaks both languages. He's also a former college professor who has taught 20,000+ students, the author of Digital Marketing for DIYers, host of the Digital Marketing Coach Podcast, and creator of the Insourced Marketing Blueprint.
