The Best Services For General Contractors to Add

Hello everyone, and welcome to this lesson on choosing the best services to add to your Google Business Profile as a general contractor.

In the previous lesson, we focused on categories. Categories tell Google what type of business you operate. Your services allow you to get much more specific about the actual work you perform.

This is especially important for general contractors.

A homeowner searching for a contractor usually isn’t simply looking for “construction.” They have a particular project in mind. They may need a kitchen remodeled, a basement finished, a new room added to their house, or an entire home renovated.

Adding the right services to your Google Business Profile helps Google—and potential customers—better understand exactly what your company offers.

Start With Your Most Profitable Services

Before adding services, think about which types of projects you actually want.

General contractors often provide a long list of services, but not every service is equally valuable to the business.

For example, your company might be capable of replacing a few doors or repairing drywall. But if your ideal projects are $30,000 kitchen renovations and $75,000 home additions, those larger projects should receive most of your attention.

Think about your services in terms of business priorities.

Which projects generate the most revenue?

Which projects produce the best profit margins?

Which projects do you enjoy doing?

Which projects would you like to book more frequently?

Those are the services you should emphasize.

Home Remodeling

For many general contractors, home remodeling should be one of the first services added.

This is a broad service that can cover many types of residential renovation projects.

Someone searching for a home remodeling contractor may not yet know exactly how their project should be categorized. They simply know that they want to make significant changes to their home.

If remodeling represents an important part of your business, consider including variations such as:

• Home remodeling
• Whole-home remodeling
• Home renovation
• Residential renovation

Don’t add unnecessary variations simply to repeat keywords. Use terms that accurately describe distinct services you provide.

Kitchen Remodeling

Kitchen remodeling is one of the most important services for many residential general contractors.

Kitchen projects can also represent substantial contracts, making this an especially valuable service to emphasize if it’s something your company does regularly.

Depending on your business, related services might include:

• Kitchen remodeling
• Kitchen renovation
• Cabinet installation
• Countertop installation
• Kitchen flooring
• Kitchen expansion

You don’t necessarily need to list every individual component of a kitchen remodel.

If you’re primarily selling complete remodeling projects, focus on the larger service rather than filling your profile with dozens of small tasks.

Bathroom Remodeling

Bathroom remodeling is another high-value service worth adding for contractors who perform this work.

Potential services could include:

• Bathroom remodeling
• Bathroom renovation
• Shower remodeling
• Tub replacement
• Walk-in shower installation
• Bathroom flooring

Again, choose services based on how you sell your projects.

If you don’t accept stand-alone flooring jobs, for example, don’t create the impression that customers can hire you specifically for bathroom flooring.

Your service list should help attract the right leads rather than simply generating more inquiries.

Basement Remodeling and Finishing

In areas where homes commonly have basements, basement remodeling can be an excellent service to emphasize.

Homeowners often want to transform unfinished or outdated basements into usable living space.

Services might include:

• Basement remodeling
• Basement finishing
• Finished basements
• Basement renovation
• Basement family rooms
• Basement home offices

Some contractors also build basement bedrooms, bathrooms, entertainment areas, or in-law spaces.

Include the services that match the types of projects your company actually performs.

Home Additions

Home additions can be extremely valuable projects for general contractors.

Someone searching specifically for a home addition contractor is often much further along in the buying process than someone conducting a general search for home improvement ideas.

Depending on your company, you might add services such as:

• Home additions
• Room additions
• Bedroom additions
• Family room additions
• Second-story additions
• Garage additions
• Home office additions

If additions are a major part of your business, make sure they’re clearly represented in your services.

Whole-Home Renovations

Whole-home renovation deserves special attention if your company takes on large remodeling projects.

These customers may be purchasing an older home that needs extensive work or completely updating a house they’ve owned for years.

Whole-home renovation projects can involve kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, electrical upgrades, plumbing, walls, windows, and major structural changes.

If these are the types of projects you’re trying to attract, don’t bury this service underneath smaller jobs.

Use clear terminology such as:

• Whole-home remodeling
• Whole-house renovation
• Complete home renovation

This immediately communicates the scale of projects you’re prepared to handle.

Decks and Outdoor Construction

Some general contractors also perform exterior construction.

If these projects represent a meaningful portion of your business, services might include:

• Deck construction
• Deck replacement
• Porch construction
• Covered porches
• Patio construction
• Exterior remodeling

Be selective.

If you build two decks a year as part of larger renovation projects but don’t actively want stand-alone deck customers, there’s little reason to make deck construction a major focus of your profile.

Garage Remodeling and Conversions

Garages are increasingly being converted into offices, workshops, gyms, bedrooms, and additional living spaces.

If your company performs this type of work, consider adding services such as:

• Garage remodeling
• Garage conversions
• Garage additions
• Garage finishing

These can attract highly specific searches from homeowners who already know what type of project they want.

New Home Construction

Some general contractors also build new homes.

If that’s a substantial part of your business, make sure your services reflect it.

Possible services include:

• New home construction
• Custom home construction
• Residential construction
• Custom home building

However, don’t emphasize new construction simply because you’re capable of doing it.

If 95 percent of your business is remodeling existing homes and you rarely build a house from the ground up, your profile should reflect where your business is actually focused.

Commercial Construction and Remodeling

Some general contractors work with both homeowners and commercial customers.

If you actively pursue commercial work, appropriate services could include:

• Commercial remodeling
• Commercial renovations
• Office remodeling
• Retail renovations
• Tenant improvements
• Commercial build-outs

If your company is strictly residential, leave commercial services off your profile.

The more accurately your services represent your ideal customers, the better your profile communicates what you do.

Use the Language Customers Use

One of the easiest ways to improve your service list is to stop thinking like a contractor for a moment and start thinking like a homeowner.

Industry terminology and customer terminology aren’t always the same.

A contractor might describe a project using a technical construction term, while the homeowner searches for something much simpler.

For example, homeowners are far more likely to search for “bathroom remodeling” than complicated industry terminology describing the same project.

Use clear, natural service names that customers immediately understand.

Add Service Descriptions When Appropriate

When Google provides the option to add descriptions to your services, use them to clarify exactly what’s included.

Keep descriptions short and useful.

For example:

Kitchen Remodeling

Complete kitchen renovations including cabinetry, countertops, flooring, lighting, layout changes, and related construction.

Or:

Home Additions

Design and construction of room additions, expanded living spaces, bedrooms, offices, and other residential additions.

These descriptions aren’t the place for aggressive sales language.

Their purpose is to make the service clear.

Don’t Turn Your Services Into a Keyword Dump

Adding more services doesn’t automatically mean better Google Maps visibility.

Avoid creating dozens of nearly identical services simply to insert keyword variations.

For example, you don’t need:

Kitchen remodel

Kitchen remodeling

Kitchen renovation

Kitchen renovations

Remodel kitchen

Kitchen remodeling contractor

These all communicate essentially the same thing.

Choose the clearest terminology and move on.

A focused service list is easier for both Google and potential customers to understand.

Prioritize Your Ideal General Contracting Projects

When you’ve finished adding your services, review the entire list from a customer’s perspective.

Within a few seconds, someone should be able to understand the kinds of projects your company handles.

More importantly, the profile should emphasize the work you actually want.

If kitchen remodeling, bathroom remodeling, basement finishing, home additions, and whole-home renovations are your five most valuable services, make sure they’re clearly represented.

Your Google Business Profile isn’t simply an online list of everything your company is capable of doing.

It’s a marketing tool.

Use your services to help Google understand your specialties and to help homeowners quickly determine whether you’re the right contractor for their project.

In the next lesson, we’ll take this one step further by creating an effective Google Business Profile description specifically for general contractors.