The Lighthouse Blog

Marketing advice for contractors.

Straight answers about social media, video content, and getting found online — written for people who run a trades business, not a marketing department.

·8 min read

How Fast Should You Respond to a Lead?

Most of the jobs you lose, you lose before the estimate. What the research on response time actually shows, and a reply system that works from a truck.

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·8 min read

Media Production for Plumbing Companies: What You Actually Need

A three-thousand-dollar quote and a nephew with a camera are answers to different questions. Here is what each piece actually does for a plumbing shop.

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·8 min read

How to Split a Contractor Advertising Budget

You have a fixed monthly number. Here is where it goes first, what gets the rest, and a worked split for three budget sizes.

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·7 min read

Google Ads for Contractors: Is It Worth It?

Home improvement is the second most expensive category on Google, behind lawyers. Here is what a click and a lead actually cost, what a realistic monthly budget looks like for one truck, and when paid search is the wrong move.

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·8 min read

Are Angi and Thumbtack Worth It for Contractors?

The marketplaces are not a scam and they are not free money. Here is the cost-per-job math, using numbers Angi and Thumbtack publish themselves.

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·7 min read

How to Film a Job Site Without Slowing Down Your Crew

Stopping to point a phone at something feels like throwing sand in the gears. Here is how to walk off a site with usable footage without slowing anyone down.

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·7 min read

Is Google Business Profile Worth Setting Up for Contractors?

The map box at the top of local search is filled from free Google Business Profile listings. What to fill in, what actually moves the ranking, and the parts you can skip.

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·7 min read

How Contractors Get More Google Reviews (Without Being Awkward)

Your happiest customers are also your quietest ones. The fix is not better work — it is asking at the right moment, in plain words, with a link that takes one tap.

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·7 min read

Do Contractors Need Professional Video, or Is a Phone Enough?

A videographer costs real money and a phone clip can feel amateur, so which one actually books work? The honest comparison, plus where each one genuinely wins.

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·7 min read

How Much Does a Contractor Website Cost in 2026?

Real 2026 numbers — DIY builders, freelancers, and agencies compared — plus the hidden costs nobody puts in the quote and what a fair deal actually looks like.

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·7 min read

Why Your Contractor Website Isn't Getting You Calls (and the 5 Fixes)

The site exists, the phone doesn't ring. It's almost always one of the same five problems — and every one of them is fixable.

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·7 min read

Do Contractors Need a Website If They Have Facebook?

An honest breakdown of what a Facebook page does well, the three places it quietly costs you jobs, and when a website pays for itself.

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·7 min read

What to Put on a Contractor Website: The 5 Pages That Matter

Skip the 20-page sitemap. Five pages, each with one job — exactly what goes on each to turn a website into a lead machine.

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·7 min read

Why Video Beats Photos for Contractor Marketing

Your finished-job photo scrolls past in half a second and lands nothing. Video holds attention, shows how you actually work, and gives a homeowner a reason to trust you before they ever call.

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·6 min read

10 Short Video Ideas Any Contractor Can Use

Standing on a job with your phone out and no idea what to point it at? Ten prompts you can pull from on any ordinary day — no script, no setup, no filming day.

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·7 min read

What Should Contractors Film on the Job Site?

You pull out your phone on a job you have done a hundred times and draw a blank. The moments worth filming are already in front of you — here is how to spot them.

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·6 min read

The Best Times for Contractors to Post Online

Sitting on a finished video because you are not sure it is the right hour to post? Here are the windows that work — and why consistency matters more than the clock.

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·7 min read

How Often Should a Contractor Post on Social Media?

One week you put up four videos, then a busy stretch of jobs hits and you go dark for a month. Here is a posting schedule you can actually sustain.

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·7 min read

Facebook for Contractors: Is It Still Worth It?

The feed looks like ads and marketplace listings, but the homeowners who actually hire contractors are still on Facebook every day — especially in local groups.

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·6 min read

Instagram for Contractors: What to Post and What to Skip

Posting a finished-job photo every few weeks and hearing nothing back? Here is what actually belongs on a contractor's feed — and what to leave off.

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·6 min read

Should Contractors Be on TikTok? An Honest Answer

TikTok stopped being a dance app a while ago. Where it genuinely helps a contractor, where it falls flat, and how to test it without blowing up your week.

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·7 min read

Why Contractors Lose Jobs to Competitors Who Do Worse Work

A sloppier competitor is booked out for weeks while you wait on the phone to ring. Homeowners hire on visibility and trust signals, not craftsmanship they can't see yet.

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·6 min read

How Much Should a Contractor Spend on Marketing?

Most contractors should plan on 5% to 10% of revenue — but the percentage matters less than spending it consistently on things that reach local homeowners.

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·6 min read

Word of Mouth vs. Online Marketing: Why Contractors Need Both

Referrals are still the best leads you will ever get, but they only travel as fast as your past customers happen to talk. The busiest contractors run both channels.

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·7 min read

Marketing for Contractors: Where to Actually Spend Your Time

There are dozens of marketing things you could be doing and maybe two hours a week to do them. Here are the three that actually move work toward you.

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·6 min read

How Much Does Contractor Video Content Cost?

From filming it yourself to hiring a full agency — the real numbers behind contractor video content in 2026, what drives the price, and what each budget buys.

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·6 min read

Why Your Contracting Business Isn’t Getting Found Online

Your work is solid and your customers are happy, so why doesn't your business show up when someone nearby searches? The small, fixable gaps that add up to invisibility.

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·6 min read

How Contractors Get More Local Jobs From Social Media

While you are on the job site doing the work, your potential customers are at home scrolling. How social media video turns your everyday work into more local jobs.

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