How to get more landscaping leads in Ontario

Landscaping in Ontario runs on a short season. Most of the year’s work gets booked in a few busy weeks, so the companies that are easy to find, and quick to answer, when people start looking get the best jobs. Here’s where the leads come from, in the order we’d work on them.

1. Your Google Business Profile

When someone searches “landscaper near me” or “interlock in Burlington”, the map results usually come first. Your Google Business Profile is what shows there. Set it up as a service-area business, choose the right primary category, list every service, add the towns you cover and post photos of real jobs. Our Google Business Profile guide for contractors walks through it step by step.

2. Reviews, steadily

Reviews are what make someone pick you from the map results. Ask every customer once the job is done, by text or email, with the direct link to your review page. A few new reviews every month beat a burst of them once a year. Never pay for reviews or offer a discount for one; it’s against Google’s rules.

3. A website that matches what people search

People don’t search for “landscaping services”. They search for “interlock patio Oakville”, “spring clean-up St. Catharines” or “sod installation Hamilton”. A website with a page for each main service, and for the towns you want more work in, has a chance to show up for those searches. Each page needs something real to say: photos from that kind of job, what it costs to get started, and the towns you cover.

Make the phone number tappable at the top of every page, and keep the quote form short. If you’re not sure your site is pulling its weight, our checklist for contractor websites takes about ten minutes.

4. Ads, timed to the season

Search ads on Google can fill gaps fast, but they cost the most when everyone’s bidding in spring. A few things help:

• Run them in the weeks before your busy season, when people are planning, not just during it.
• Target only the towns you actually want to drive to.
• Send the ad to a page about that service, not your homepage.
• Track which calls came from the ads, so you know what each job cost you to win.

Google also runs Local Services Ads, the listings with a “Google Verified” badge at the very top, where you pay per lead rather than per click. They’re available in parts of Canada for some trades, and the categories open in each area change. Start the sign-up in Google’s Local Services Ads tool to see whether your category is open where you work.

5. Plan around the seasons

• Late winter: spring clean-ups, lawn programs and big projects get booked. Your profile, reviews and website should be ready before the first warm weekend.
• Spring and early summer: the busy season. Answer quickly; a lead that waits a day has often called someone else.
• Late summer and fall: fall clean-ups, and the window to sign snow contracts. If you plow, this is when property managers and homeowners line up their contractor. See snow removal.

6. Past customers and referrals

The cheapest lead is a customer who already knows you. Keep a list of every past customer, with what you did and when. A short message before each season (“Booking spring clean-ups now, want your usual spot?”) brings back work you’d otherwise lose to whoever knocks first. Ask happy customers to pass your name on, and thank them when they do.

7. Answer fast, and follow up

More leads only help if you catch them. Answer calls during the day or call back within the hour. Follow up on every quote you send, more than once. A lot of landscaping work is won by the company that simply got back to people first. Our free lead leak calculator puts a number on what missed calls cost you.

Where to start

If you only do three things this season:

1. Finish your Google Business Profile.
2. Ask every customer for a review.
3. Message last year’s customers before your busy season starts.

If you’d like a plan for your own business, the free diagnostic is where we start. We’ll look at your profile, your website and who shows up above you, and tell you plainly what we’d do first. Or see how we do local SEO for contractors.