Questions and answers
The 20 I hear most, each answered in a few sentences, with a link to the full guide when you want the detail.
Updated
Be in the places a homeowner looks when they search for a new boiler: Local Services Ads at the top of the page, then the map pack, where your Google Business Profile competes. Then answer quickly, quote promptly and track which enquiries turn into installs.
My complete guide to boiler installation enquiries from GoogleIn my experience it is usually one of five things: marketing built only for the emergency caller, a Business Profile set up for the wrong searches, too few or old reviews, missing or badly set up Local Services Ads, or enquiries and quotes that go cold. Each one has a fix you can start this week.
The 5 reasons, and the fix for eachStart with your own Google data before changing anything. Check whether your Local Services Ads are still showing all week, whether calls are being missed while you are on breakdowns, and whether something has changed on your Business Profile.
How to find the cause and fix itIn minutes during working hours, not hours. A homeowner with a shortlist rings down the list until somebody answers, and Google says missed calls may count against your responsiveness in Local Services Ads.
How fast to answer, and who should pick upDirectories can bring work, but the enquiry is often shared with other firms and the reviews live on someone else’s platform. Record where every installation enquiry comes from for three months, and once your own sources bring in the installs you need, the directory becomes a top up rather than a lifeline.
How to win boiler jobs without leaning on CheckatradeNo one can promise that. AI tools draw on the same ingredients as Google, namely your Business Profile, your reviews and your website, so making those clear, consistent and focused on boiler installation gives you the best chance.
Getting your Business Profile rightThey are adverts that put a verified local firm at the top of Google Search and Google Maps, with its reviews and the Google Verified badge. You pay for a lead, such as a call or a message, rather than for a click.
My complete guide to Local Services Ads in the UKFor boiler installations I think the model fits unusually well, because you pay for contacts rather than clicks and homeowners see your reviews and badge before they ring. The firms that do best keep honest settings, a steady budget, fast answers and a constant flow of reviews.
When Local Services Ads pay offOrdinary Google Ads charge each time someone clicks, whether or not they ring, and you choose keywords and write the adverts. Local Services Ads charge for the contact itself, show your reviews and badge up front, and give you fewer controls: your profile, job types, area, hours, budget and bidding.
Local Services Ads and Google Ads comparedIt is the single badge firms earn by passing Google’s checks for Local Services Ads. It replaced the Google Guaranteed, Google Screened and Licence Verified by Google badges, and the money back guarantee that came with Google Guaranteed has ended.
What changed with Google VerifiedGoogle’s help pages say lead credits aren’t available for advertisers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. What you can do is rate each lead through the feedback survey on the Leads page, and keep your job types, area and hours set honestly so fewer poor leads arrive.
What happens to poor leads in the UKPlumbers and heating firms are among Google’s UK categories, but every advertiser has to pass Google’s business checks and send the business, licence and insurance details Google asks for. My free checker walks through Google’s published UK requirements one by one.
Check whether you can use Local Services AdsGoogle says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence. For a boiler installer that means a heating led primary category, boiler installation named in your services, an honest service area and a steady flow of genuine reviews.
How Google picks the map packNo. Google states that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Paid placement at the top of the page comes through Local Services Ads, which is a separate format with its own ranking.
My complete guide to Google Business Profile for boiler installersAsk every customer the same way, using the review link or QR code Google gives you. Google’s policy says you must not offer anything in return, ask only the customers you expect to be happy, or ask for particular wording, so keep the request simple and reply to every review.
How to ask for reviews the way Google allowsIf customers don’t come to you, Google says you should remove the address and set a service area instead. Most boiler installers work from home or a unit customers never visit, so hiding the address and listing the towns you cover is the right setup.
Work through my free Business Profile checklistI won’t give a figure, because it depends on your area, your competition and how many installs you want. Start from your monthly install target, work out how many enquiries that takes, then judge any spend on the booked installs it brings in.
Work out how many enquiries you needCount booked installs per source as well as enquiries, and ask every caller how they found you. With Local Services Ads every lead shows in your own dashboard, and your Business Profile shows its own call figures, so you can check it yourself.
How to measure what turns into jobsNot necessarily. For boiler installation, Local Services Ads and your Google Business Profile are where most of the local calls come from, and many homeowners ring straight from Google without visiting a website.
Marketing for heating engineersAsk whether you can see every lead and booking their work produces, who will have access to your Business Profile and ad account, which job types they aim at, and what leaving looks like. A real client result, with the context behind it, tells you more than any promise.
Seven questions to ask before you hire any agencyTell me your company and the area you cover, and I’ll record you a free 5 minute video plan showing where your boiler installation enquiries could come from. There’s no call and no meeting.
