Get Found, Get Hired - Online Marketing Essentials for Trade Businesses

This presentation was delivered at the Ford PRO Accelerate event in Detroit and it focuses on the foundational elements that service and trades businesses need to grow their visibility online.
Get Found, Get Hired - Online Marketing Essentials for Trade Businesses bridges the gap between tradespeople who have the skills to do the job and getting noticed and hired for that job. Additional details can be found at https://blacktruckmedia.com

Transcript

1. Get Found Get Hired Marketing essentials for your trade business Jason Dodge Founder & CEO
2. 17+ Years in Business Performance Google, Bing, Meta, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Reddit, TikTok Discoverability SEO/GEO, Digital PR + Analytics Trusted by brands to improve their visibility online. From traditional search to AI-driven discovery — we help brands show up where their audience is looking today and tomorrow. Focused Expertise. Deeper Questions. We're not a full-service agency — and that's by design. As search evolves and generative AI reshapes how people find and engage with brands, the gap between noise and signal is growing. We go deep where it matters — asking the questions that connect your marketing strategy to the conversations happening in the boardroom. The result is marketing aligned with where your business is actually going. C L IEN T S & PAR T NE RS
3. You already have the hard part
4. THE PROBLEM Skill is one thing. Getting hired is another. Watch what comes back. Are these names here because they’re the best at the work?
5. HOW TO SORT ALL OF THIS Rented or owned RENTED OWNED A bay in somebody else's building. The landlord sets the rules, raises the rent and can tell you to be out. Your truck. Your tools. Your craft. Nobody else holds the title, and you paid for it with years. Four doors. Four foundations. The right order.
6. PART ONE Four doors 1 2 3 4 Search AI Assistants Social + Video Referrals Mostly the map Answers, not links Proof that travels Still the best one You do not get to pick which one they walk through.
7. 49 Percent Of local searches end at the map, without a click to anybody's website Source: SteadyDemand 7
8. DOOR ONE Search, and the map pack • The first thing they see is not your website • Rating, photos, hours, call button • Your new local homepage • It sits on Google's property RENTED
9. 45 Percent Of adults now ask an AI assistant for local business recommendations Source: brightlocal – local consumer review survey
10. DOOR TWO AI enters the chat It names you It names someone else and points people to you the job goes down the road It mentions you You are not there but sends nobody your way nothing exists to pull from These answers are built from SOURCES that already exist about you.
11. DOOR THREE Social and Video • Before-and-after work travels in the trades • Some people build real businesses here • The platform decides who sees your posts • Your followers are not your list Worth your time. Just not the only place you exist. RENTED
12. DOOR FOUR Word-of-mouth gets checked Referrals open the door. Their findings decide whether they walk through it.
13. GROUNDING Every door leads back to the same place Search AI assistants Social + video Referrals Something real about you, that you control
14. 50 PERCENT More likely to consider purchasing from a business with a complete Business Profile. Source: Google And it is free.
15. FOUNDATION ONE · GOOGLE BUSINESS PROFILE Two routes business.google.com Storefront Service area business Customers come to you You go to the customer
16. ROUTE ONE Storefront • Your address shows, people get directions • Real location, staffed during your hours • No P.O. box, no virtual office • Name on the profile matches signage Pitfall: Keyword stuffing the name is how listings get suspended.
17. ROUTE TWO Service area business • Verify with a real address • Hide the address from public listings • Set the service regions • Don’t list areas you cannot serve Pitfall: Listing your home address for the entire Internet to see. . .
18. GETTING VERIFIED RENTED Six steps, then you exist 1 2 3 Claim the profile Pick your route Category Selection 4 5 6 Phone, website, hours Request verification Photos and services Unverified means invisible.
19. 49 PERCENT Of people trust online reviews for local businesses as much as personal recommendations. Source: brightlocal – local consumer review survey
20. FOUNDATION TWO · REVIEWS A system, not luck Happy customers are quiet. Unhappy ones are loud. They are busy, and nobody asked. Review doesn’t reflect your work. Job done Relief Respond to every review, good or bad. Ask
21. BEFORE YOUR FIRST CUSTOMER Your ask "Glad we got your brakes fixed. If you've got a minute, a quick Google review really helps a small shop like mine. It only takes a minute: Review Us" • Never pay for reviews • Never trade a discount for one • Never write fake ones
22. FOUNDATION THREE · PROOF OF WORK Start today. It costs nothing. Every job. Before, during, after.
23. WHY IT PAYS One photo, four jobs Google profile Social Reviews Service page Created Once. Use it everywhere.
24. FOUNDATION FOUR This one you hold the deed to Your website is the one place nobody can throttle, suspend or change the rules on overnight. OWNED RENTED
25. BEFORE YOU BUILD ANYTHING Lock down your name 1 2 Domain available? Social names available? 3 Anyone local using it? Do it before you letter a truck, print shirts or order cards. One name, spelled the same way, everywhere.
26. WHAT YOUR WEBSITE IS NOT A business card on the internet hvacbyjason.com Furnace Repair Mini-Split Installation Maintenance Plans Air Conditioning Repair Six services buried in one paragraph means one weak page competing for all six. You show up for none.
27. FOUNDATION FOUR · YOUR ANCHOR Everybody can generate words. Almost nobody can generate your record. Your name and face Years in the trade Where you trained Licenses and certs Specific beats polished. Every time. Real photos of real jobs
28. YOU DO NOT NEED TO HIRE ANYBODY YET You can build this yourself Wix Squarespace 1 Looks right on a phone 2 Tappable number on every page 3 Name, address and phone match your profile Hire help later, when the work pays for it. GoDaddy
29. BE THE ANSWER This is how you become a source Social Google Profile Your Website Reviews AI Answers All pointing back to the same real business, with the same name.
30. TIMELINE Take Action Today Name Register Customer Then Photos Videos Domain Social Profiles Claim/Verify Business Listing Review Habits Website Growth Ads send people somewhere. Make sure there is somewhere worth going.
31. GETTING REAL Rented vs. Owned RENTED OWNED • Your Google profile • Social platforms • Your name and reputation • Your craft • Whatever comes next • Your proof of work • Your website Only one side answers to you.
32. The tools move. The demand doesn't. 34
33. WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK Three Things 1 Start photographing your work QR CODE checklist landing page 2 Pick your name and lock it down Resources & Checklist 3 Claim/Verify Google Business Profile bit.ly/fpa26
34. Let's Connect Jason Dodge Founder & CEO jason@blacktruckmedia.com blacktruckmedia.com @dodgejd Slides & Resources: bit.ly/fpa26 Good marketing starts with the right conversation. Serious about the visibility of your brand online? We’d love to hear what you’re working on.