Handyman marketing in Utah: lots of small jobs, one reputation

One of the accounts I run is a Utah handyman business, and I built their website.

You can see the rest of the places I work on the locations page.

Before I write a single ad for a handyman, I need to know what you’re allowed to do. Utah lets people do small jobs without a contractor’s license, but only up to a limit. Here’s how state law draws it:

• The job has to be worth less than $7,000 total, labor and materials included, counting any changes or add-ons.
• If the job is over $3,000, you have to file an affirmation with DOPL (renewed periodically) that you carry liability insurance (and workers’ comp, if you have employees).

The trade work is a harder line. Even on a job under that limit, the same law says work on a plumbing or electrical system has to be done by a licensed plumbing or electrical contractor, and HVAC work by a licensed HVAC contractor.

So I won’t write an ad that sells work you’re not licensed for. That’s not me being picky. A Google ad that promises plumbing repair from an unlicensed handyman is the kind of thing that can get you in real trouble. If a customer needs a plumber or an electrician, the honest move is to say so.

On a small ticket, a paid click can eat most of the profit. A Google Business Profile costs nothing to run, and it shows up right where people search “handyman near me.” So that’s where I’d spend most of the effort:

• The right categories and a service area that matches where you’ll actually drive.
• A services list that says exactly what you do: drywall patches, doors, fixtures, fences, assembly, whatever is true for you.
• Real photos of real jobs, added every week or two.
• A review request after every job. With this many small jobs, reviews can pile up fast.

The review part is where marketing automation earns its keep. I’d set up a text, in a tool you own, that goes out after the job with a direct link to leave a review, only to customers who agreed to get texts. You do the work. The follow-up happens without you remembering to do it.

The marketplaces are crowded. One handyman app shows more than 2,000 active pros in Salt Lake City alone. One big lead marketplace sends each request to up to three pros.

That’s a race to the bottom on a shared lead. When someone finds you on your own Google profile, they called you, not you and two other guys.

“Handyman” is an eligible category for Local Services Ads. You pay per lead, and the ad carries the Google Verified badge. Google screens businesses before they get the badge, and I’d find out what it needs from your business during setup, before promising you anything about it.

Handyman marketing guides point to property managers, real estate agents and brokers as steady referral sources. One landlord with a dozen rentals is worth more than a dozen one-off homeowners. I’d make a simple page for them: how to send you a work order, how you bill, and how fast you get there.