Welcome to Digital Marketing for Contractors, a podcast for home improvement contractors who want to crush their lead goals and take their business to the next level. Each episode, we share powerful insights and practical tips on the best digital marketing strategies to help you grow. Let’s get started.

Caitlyn Noble (0:30)

Welcome back to Digital Marketing for Contractors. I’m Caitlyn Noble.

Meredith Medlin (0:34)

And I’m Meredith with Fat Cat Strategies. What are we talking about today?

Caitlyn Noble (0:38)

Today we’re talking about why Google isn’t enough anymore—what that really means for home improvement contractors and what you should be doing instead. We get this question all the time: “What are you going to do besides Google?”

Meredith Medlin (0:52)

It’s a super relevant question, because homeowners—your potential customers—aren’t finding businesses the same way they used to. Because of that, your strategy needs to change so you stay visible and booked out through 2026.

We’re going to dive into that today, starting with what’s changed with Google search.

Caitlyn Noble (1:15)

A lot. Everything has changed.

Meredith Medlin (1:17)

If you’ve been listening, you’ve probably heard us mention how frequently Google changes its algorithm—something like 13 changes a day.

Caitlyn Noble (1:30)

Yep, around 13 changes a day.

Meredith Medlin (1:33)

So the algorithm is always changing. And search still matters—absolutely. We still use Google all the time, not just for organic search but also for paid search and Google Business Profile. Google is a massive platform—it’s more than just “let me Google that.”

Google isn’t gone. That’s not what we’re saying. It’s just not the only way people are finding your business anymore. Things have shifted dramatically. We’ve talked about AI in a couple episodes, but there’s also more weight in social platforms and new discovery tools.

Caitlyn Noble (2:17)

Today, Google often doesn’t even show a traditional list of links. If you pull up Google on your phone or your desktop and search anything—let’s say “pet groomers near me”—you’ll see auto-generated answers. And it’s like, I don’t want an auto-generated answer. I just want to know where a pet groomer is.

AI overviews can also be unhelpful, especially when they aren’t relevant to your location. And Google pulls results from other Google services before showing organic listings—so that means ads, right?

Meredith Medlin (3:01)

Yep. Google Ads, and often the Map Pack. And it’s not just traditional Google Ads—you’ll see Google LSA too. There are so many things that can appear before what you’d think of as the traditional organic SEO listing.

And beyond Google, people are turning to social platforms—TikTok, Instagram, Reddit—and AI search tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity are gaining popularity. I know I use ChatGPT to search things all the time.

Caitlyn Noble (3:47)

And we see this in the data too. If you’ve looked at your analytics in the last year—which you should—you’ve probably seen users and sessions to your website from Google drop significantly. People are fatigued by the Google landscape.

Personally, I don’t use Google nearly as much anymore unless I’m trying to find directions—then I’m using Google Maps. What else are people doing?

Meredith Medlin (4:30)

There are a lot of shifts. Even personally—my husband and I went out of the country recently.

Caitlyn Noble (4:40)

Perfect example.

Meredith Medlin (4:40)

We were figuring out the best road trip route, and sure, I Googled it—but I also went to ChatGPT. And it gave me a full itinerary with stops and things to do.

So I can only imagine as a homeowner: if you search “best roofing contractors near me” on Google, you might get overwhelmed with information. But if you ask ChatGPT, it can spit out a ranked list with pros and cons already sorted out for you.

And if you’re a roofer and you’re not trying to show up on that list—what are you doing? You’re missing out. We’re going to talk in a minute about how to show up in those AI search results.

Caitlyn Noble (5:33)

AI isn’t going anywhere. But beyond AI, if you’re listening and thinking, “I have no idea how to get listed in those AI results,” social media matters too.

Social can definitely be a double-edged sword—there’s a lot of misinformation out there—but a lot of people lean on social media for answers, especially in neighborhood Facebook groups.

Meredith Medlin (6:17)

Totally. The number of times I hear someone say, “Oh my gosh, I read this article about X,” and then they admit it was actually TikTok… it’s constant.

But if you’re showing up where people are going to get updates or “read the news,” it matters. I’ve been scrolling TikTok and I’ve seen home improvement contractors pop up on my Explore page—and I’m not even searching for them.

Fun fact: my husband is a home inspector, and I get home inspector TikToks on my feed all the time. Organic presence is critical. And the content I see is usually low production—just the owner or installer on the job site, someone recording on a phone, pointing out what to look for, what questions to ask, mistakes to avoid.

It’s really effective—and it builds trust because you’re seeing a real person, not just reading a page full of SEO content. SEO still has a place, but lean into social.

Caitlyn Noble (7:54)

Lean into social as a search platform. Get involved in local community groups on Meta.

In my neighborhood group, every single day someone is asking for recommendations—painters, roofers, you name it.

Meredith Medlin (8:13)

Nextdoor is like that too. And when you get into those neighborhood groups, think about your team—what communities do they live in? Can they join those groups? It’s worth exploring.

Caitlyn Noble (8:30)

And if you can’t join the group, encourage your customers: when you’re asking for reviews, also ask them to mention your business in neighborhood groups when someone asks—maybe even offer referral rewards.

So what does all this mean? Ranking high on Google still matters. That’s not going away. But visibility is fragmented across multiple platforms now. Contractors can’t depend on local SEO alone.

And there are fewer clicks to websites overall. Data shows a growing percentage of Google searches result in zero clicks—because people get the answer right on the results page.

Meredith Medlin (9:28)

Exactly. Homeowners get what they need from AI overviews or generated answers at the top, without ever clicking into your website.

Caitlyn Noble (9:38)

That’s why impressions have gone down—and clicks have gone down too. People are getting their answers directly on the search page.

Meredith Medlin (9:57)

Another big discovery platform: YouTube.

Caitlyn Noble (10:10)

And YouTube is Google.

Meredith Medlin (10:11)

Right—YouTube is a Google entity. A lot of homeowners start on YouTube thinking they might DIY something, then quickly realize they need a professional.

Even if you’re not running YouTube ads, organic video content matters. And it’s also a way to diversify your channels.

If you film one video, your agency—or whoever handles your marketing—should be able to repurpose it into multiple pieces: the long video, short clips for social, and even a written blog post. And spoiler alert: AI results love question-and-answer content. Most homeowner searches are phrased as questions.

Caitlyn Noble (11:40)

Exactly. Google isn’t enough anymore—so how do you adapt?

Meredith Medlin (12:04)

You need a multi-channel search and discovery strategy. Yes, have an ad budget and run Google Ads—that’s still important. But if you haven’t explored TikTok or creating video content, try it. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Set up your phone on a job site and record. Authentic content performs really well.

And for business profiles: Google Business Profile is essential, but there are other directories too.

Caitlyn Noble (12:44)

This is huge for AI. One of the first things we do for clients is make sure your NAP—name, address, phone number—is consistent across directories you may not even realize you’re listed on. AI search engines want to see accurate information across the web.

Meredith Medlin (13:14)

Think Yelp (not necessarily paid Yelp), BBB, and more.

Caitlyn Noble (13:23)

Exactly—Yellow Pages, and plenty of others. The key is: diversify your presence. You can’t put all your eggs in the Google basket anymore.

Another major tip is structured, AI-friendly content. Let’s talk about that.

Meredith Medlin (13:48)

ChatGPT, Perplexity, and even Google AI overviews crawl the internet to find information that best answers a query. If your website already includes the exact question a homeowner is asking—and a clear, expert answer—you’re much more likely to show up.

One simple trick: open Google and start typing a question. Google will autocomplete with the popular searches people are actually making. That’s a great way to find FAQ topics.

For example, I started typing “Does James Hardie…” and got all kinds of real prompts like:

• “Does James Hardie siding need to be painted?”
• “Does James Hardie make shutters?”
• “Do they make vinyl siding?”

Caitlyn Noble (14:50)

Those were real prompts, by the way.

Meredith Medlin (14:59)

Exactly—those are real prospects searching real questions.

Caitlyn Noble (15:05)

And think about “cite” like citations from school—Google wants to use your website as its citation source. Your site needs to be something Google can confidently pull from.

Meredith Medlin (16:09)

Right. Your website should be like the encyclopedia of everything homeowners in your area want to know—especially about the products and services you offer. The more meaningful, helpful content you have, the more likely Google, ChatGPT, and Perplexity are to point homeowners to you.

Caitlyn Noble (16:33)

And you’ve probably heard this term lately: GEO—Generative Engine Optimization. Not geography. GEO is about optimizing for AI search results. Make your website something Google and AI tools can cite.

Meredith Medlin (17:08)

Low-hanging fruit: build an FAQ page.

Caitlyn Noble (17:11)

Literally the lowest-hanging fruit.

Meredith Medlin (17:13)

Grab a bunch of real questions, use Google autocomplete for ideas, and answer them. If you want to record a video answering them, that’s even better—then turn it into a blog post.

And while we’re talking about this: local SEO still matters.

Caitlyn Noble (17:39)

It has to.

Meredith Medlin (17:40)

We recently did a rewind episode on Google Business Profile and what’s changed—go back and listen to that one. Local SEO is still key, and being connected to your community is a big part of that.

Caitlyn Noble (18:02)

Reviews, visual content, and a presence across multiple platforms—keep local SEO, don’t drop it.

And Meredith, you haven’t hammered this one enough yet.

Meredith Medlin (18:20)

Video and social content. If you’ve heard about it, do it. Seriously—do it.

Caitlyn Noble (18:29)

Please do it.

Meredith Medlin (18:29)

I’m going to peer-pressure you into it.

Caitlyn Noble (18:30)

If you’re building out blog topics, go ahead and record yourself talking through those topics too. Even a phone stand works. Fat Cat has some—if you want one, reach out and we’ll send it.

You don’t have to read off a script, but if you’re answering the questions Google and AI want to see, say it out loud. You’re the expert.

Want to level up? Record the video first, then use a transcription tool to generate the blog post.

Meredith Medlin (19:20)

Boom. Record the video—drop the mic. Actually, don’t. We need to keep recording.

Caitlyn Noble (19:24)

We’re almost done.

Meredith Medlin (19:25)

Almost done.

Caitlyn Noble (19:27)

If your digital strategy still revolves solely around Google rankings, you’re missing huge opportunities for visibility and growth this year.

Meredith Medlin (19:39)

And that’s what we help contractors do at Fat Cat: build modern digital discovery systems—not just marketing.

From AI-ready content to local visibility, social, video, and multi-platform discovery tactics—we’ve got you.

Caitlyn Noble (20:02)

And if you visit fatcatstrategies.com/brand—that’s brand, B-R-A-N-D—you can request a free phone stand to start recording your own content. Girls, it’s on that page too.

Meredith Medlin (20:22)

Oh my gosh.

Caitlyn Noble (20:23)

You can’t make this up.

Meredith Medlin (20:25)

I love it.

Caitlyn Noble (20:26)

Thanks for listening.

Meredith Medlin (20:28)

Make sure you subscribe and follow us on your favorite podcast platform, and we’ll talk to you soon.

Caitlyn Noble (20:34)

We’ll see you next time.

Call Note Links:
Request a Brand Audit or Free Phone Stand