Services

Services for trades that work across Alberta

Pick the service that fixes your weakest market first: most multi-city Alberta trades need tracking and local search before they need more ad spend.

Written by Ali Sedighi, MBALast updated:

Every service here answers one question: what should this business do differently in each Alberta city it serves? If you only remember one rule, make it this one: measure each market separately before you spend more in any of them. The sections below explain each service, who it suits and where it usually sits in the order of work.

Local search across Alberta cities

This is the work of appearing in Google's map results and organic listings for every city you genuinely serve. It suits businesses with a real base in one or two cities and regular work in several more.

The honest version has limits. Your Google Business Profile is tied to where you actually operate, so you can't place a pin in Lethbridge because you drive there on Tuesdays. What you can do is build strong city pages with real job photos and local detail, collect reviews from customers in each city, and keep your service areas accurate. The local search service page explains how we set that up, and the guide to city pages without fake offices shows the page structure.

Ads planned city by city

Search and social ads, split into separate campaigns or budgets for each market. This suits owners whose ad spend is currently one pot covering "Alberta", where the most expensive city quietly eats most of the money.

We set a budget, a target cost per booked job and a service list per city. A Calgary campaign might advertise only replacements and installs, while a Medicine Hat campaign also takes smaller service calls because the travel maths works there. Details are on the city-targeted ads page.

Out-of-area referral relationships

A written, disclosed arrangement to hand off calls you can't reach profitably, usually to a business in the same or a related trade in another city, and to receive the calls they can't take. This suits trades with a busy phone and a clear limit on how far they'll drive.

The arrangement is yours, not ours. We help you choose criteria, write the terms in plain language, tell customers about the relationship and track what moves in each direction. See out-of-area referrals for how that works.

Call and job tracking by city

Separate tracking numbers, job tags and a simple monthly report per market. It suits every multi-city business, and it's usually the first thing we do, because almost every other decision depends on it.

Tracking tells you that, say, Airdrie produced 14 booked jobs last month at $95 each in marketing, while a regional city produced four at $310 each. Without those two numbers, every budget conversation is guesswork. The tracking page covers the setup.

Second-city expansion planning

A short, numbers-first project to decide whether to push into a new Alberta market, and how. It suits owners who are already getting calls from a city they don't serve, or who are thinking of hiring a crew there.

We test search demand, estimate travel and staffing costs, check what local competition looks like and set a 90-day trial with a stop rule. The expansion planning page and the second-city maths guide explain the method.

How the services fit together

Most clients follow this order: tracking first, local search second, then ads in the market with the clearest return, with referral relationships set up wherever the phone rings from too far away. Expansion planning comes in when one city is clearly working and you want a second.

Your situation Start with
Calls from several cities, no idea which pay Call and job tracking
Strong in one city, invisible in the next Local search
One ad budget for the whole province City-by-city ads
Turning down far-away calls Out-of-area referrals
Thinking of a crew in a new city Expansion planning

We are a marketing and consulting service, not a contractor, so none of these services involve doing trade work. Prices are on the pricing page, and you can ask about any of them through contact.

Frequently asked questions

Which service should a two-city business start with?

Usually call and job tracking by city, because without it you can't tell which market is paying for itself. Local search usually follows, then ads in the market with the clearest return.

Can I buy just one service?

Yes. Trades.Agency plans bundle several, but we can scope a narrower start in your proposal. Everything included is listed in writing before you agree.

Do you handle the referral partner's side too?

No. We help you plan, document and track your side of a referral relationship. The other business makes its own decisions and keeps its own records.

Do these services work for one-city businesses?

Some do, but this site is built for owners with more than one Alberta market. If you only serve one city, our sister site for Alberta contractors may be a better fit.