Local SEO for Contractors in Minnesota and Wisconsin

Found Locally is Riot Digital's fixed-price local visibility package for plumbers, HVAC, roofing, electrical and other trades in Minnesota and Wisconsin. We clean up your Google Business Profile, set up a compliant review system, fix your listings, and check what AI assistants say about you. One client per trade per town.

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Most local SEO pages for contractors won't show a price or say how reviews get collected. This page shows what you get, when you get it, and how we stay inside Google's and the FTC's review rules.

What is included

Five jobs, done for you, in 30 days:

  1. Google Business Profile cleanup. Categories, services, hours, service area, photos, description and Q&A. You get a before and after audit sheet.
  2. Review freshness system. A simple ask after every job with your Google review link, plus reply templates for good, mixed and bad reviews.
  3. Google Maps ranking basics. We work the three things Google says decide local results: relevance, distance and prominence.
  4. AI-assistant visibility. We ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity three "best plumber in your town" style questions before and after, and fix the public information those tools read. We do not promise any assistant will recommend you.
  5. Citations and NAP consistency. Your name, address and phone number made identical across the major directories, with a report of every site.

What Found Locally does not include: paid ads, guaranteed rankings, guaranteed review counts, a new website, or bought or written reviews.

The 30-day plan

Day 1-7: You get a before audit sheet, a before snapshot of three AI questions, and your first win: categories, hours and service area corrected and live.

Day 8-14: You get updated services, description, Q&A and photos, plus a citation report listing every directory and every mismatch.

Day 15-21: Citation fixes go out. Your review ask goes live after every job. You get reply templates and we post the first replies.

Day 22-30: You get the after audit sheet, the after AI snapshot on the same three questions, a second citation report, and a one-page summary of what changed and what is still open.

After day 30, the monthly Keep Found plan keeps the profile fresh, reviews answered and listings clean.

How reviews are handled (the rules we follow)

Google's policy says contributions "should reflect a genuine experience at a place or business." It bans reviews "paid for, directly or in kind" and content posted because of an incentive such as "payment, discounts, free goods." Google's policy also says businesses should not "selectively solicit positive reviews from customers," which is review gating. Asking every customer through a Google link or QR code is allowed.

The FTC's rule on fake reviews and testimonials, effective October 21, 2024, bans fake reviews, buying reviews, undisclosed insider reviews and review suppression through threats or intimidation.

So every customer gets the same ask. No sorting happy from unhappy. No gifts for reviews. No fake reviews. Bad reviews get an honest reply.

One client per trade per town

We take one Found Locally client per trade in each town. A town means the city or township where your business address sits, plus any named service area we write into your agreement. Plumbers and electricians are different trades, so both can sign in the same town.

You hold the town while you are on the monthly plan. If you cancel, you keep everything we built, and your slot is released 30 days later. Your competitors can join a waitlist. When a slot opens, the first business on the list has 7 days to claim it, and you get first chance to re-sign before they are contacted.

A taken town is shown as taken. Ask us which towns are still open.

Local visibility scorecard: 10 checks in 10 minutes

Open Google Maps on your phone, stand outside your own office if you like, and run these ten checks. Score one point for each pass.

  1. Search your exact business name. Good looks like: your profile is the first result, with your logo, photos and the right phone number.
  2. Primary category. Good looks like: one specific category that matches your main trade (for example "Plumber," not "Home improvement").
  3. Secondary categories. Good looks like: only categories that match services you really sell, and nothing extra.
  4. Service area and address. Good looks like: the towns you serve are listed, and your address is correct or hidden if you work from home.
  5. Hours. Good looks like: right today, and holiday hours set.
  6. Services list and description. Good looks like: each service you sell is listed in plain words, and the description says what you do and where.
  7. Photos. Good looks like: real photos of your trucks, team and finished jobs, added in the last 90 days.
  8. Review recency and count. Good looks like: new reviews every few weeks, and well over 20 in total. (A 2026 BrightLocal survey found 74% of consumers prefer reviews from the last 3 months.)
  9. Review replies. Good looks like: every review answered in your own words, in a few days.
  10. Same name, address and phone on your website, Facebook, Yelp, Apple Maps and Bing. Good looks like: letter for letter the same.

Score 9-10: you are in good shape. 6-8: fixable in a day. 5 or less: you are losing calls to the next plumber, roofer or electrician on the map. Want us to run it for you? Ask for the free audit.

How Found Locally pairs with the Front Desk

Being found is wasted if nobody answers. A homeowner with a burst pipe taps the first call button they see. If your phone rings out, they tap the next listing.

The Riot Digital Front Desk is our AI phone service that answers every call 24/7 and books the job, with missed-call text-back, web form replies and call summaries. Front Desk is $497 setup (or $0 with a 3-month commitment) and $397 per month, as listed on our pricing page.

Found Locally brings the calls. The Front Desk catches them. Ask about the bundle.

Price

Found Locally is a fixed-price package: a one-time 30-day setup, then the monthly Keep Found plan. Ask for the price when you request your free audit, before you pay anything.

No refunds and no guarantees of rankings. Instead, you see proof first: a free scan and free audit before you pay, a first win by day 7, and a before and after report at day 30. After the first 90 days, the plan is month to month.

Frequently asked questions

How much does local SEO cost for a contractor?

It varies a lot. A 2024 SE Ranking survey of 260 agencies found 64% charge under $1,000 a month and 30% charge under $500 (SE Ranking, 2024). BrightLocal lists its managed local SEO service at $1,299 a month (BrightLocal pricing page, 2026). Always ask what you get each month in writing. Found Locally is a fixed 30-day setup plus a monthly plan. Ask for the price when you request your free audit.

Do Google reviews help my business rank higher on Google Maps?

Google says prominence is based on things like how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have, and that "more reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking" (Google Business Profile Help, read October 2026). Google also says relevance and distance count. Nobody can promise a position.

Can I give a customer a discount for a Google review?

No. Google says offering free or discounted goods or services in exchange for posting, changing or removing reviews is "strictly prohibited" (Google Business Profile Help, read October 2026). The FTC's fake review rule, effective October 21, 2024, also bars paying for reviews that express a set opinion (FTC, 2024). You can ask every customer for an honest review through your Google link or QR code.

Will ChatGPT or Gemini recommend my business?

We cannot promise that, and nobody honest can. What we can do is check what the assistants say about you today and fix the public information they read: your profile, website, listings and reviews. In BrightLocal's 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey, 45% of consumers said they use ChatGPT or other AI tools to find local recommendations (BrightLocal, 2026). That is why we measure it.

How many Google reviews does a contractor need?

There is no magic number. In the 2026 BrightLocal survey, 47% of consumers said they will not use a business with fewer than 20 reviews, and 74% prefer reviews from the last 3 months (BrightLocal, 2026). Fresh and steady beats a burst of reviews.

Do I have to reply to every review?

Plan on it. In the same survey, 89% of consumers expect businesses to respond to reviews, and 50% dislike templated or generic replies (BrightLocal, 2026). Our templates are starting points. Each reply should sound like you.

How long until I see results?

You see the first changes by day 7 and the full before and after report at day 30. Rankings and calls depend on your town, your competition and how your customers behave, so we do not promise them.

Ready to get found?

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Riot Digital is a brand of Hive Asset Group, LLC. Serving trades in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Sources

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