From a WeChat group to Google’s first answer.
About 20 problem articles in three weeks, then a handful of jobs a month became 40+. ChatGPT still recommended it while it was closed.
The problem
A two-person repair business: one technician, one person on marketing. In March and April it lived on a WeChat group, a few jobs a month, all from people who already knew someone. Nothing came from Google, because nothing on the site answered what a stranger types when a dryer stops heating.
The decision
People don’t search for a repair company. They search for the problem. So we wrote for the problem: a page per service, per brand and per area, and about 20 troubleshooting articles in three weeks, each one a brand, a fault and a city, with real prices and a clear point where you should call someone.
What happened to search
paused late Aug. the clicks kept coming.
Monthly clicks from Google search rose from under 10 in March and April to more than 300 in August, and stayed above 250 in September after the business paused. Figures are rounded.
- ~100phone calls from the Google Business Profile, May to October
- Page 1average search position in August, up from page 3 in May
- 2 weeksuntil Google’s AI Overview first cited the site
- <$1,000total ad spend, all small tests
What did the work
Problem pages, not service pages
An article on a dryer that won’t heat earned nearly 200 clicks from the first page. One on a washer that won’t drain was shown more than 20,000 times.
A profile that answers the phone
Every Google post matched an article, with a price, same-day service and a phone number. 4,000+ profile views, nearly 100 calls, nearly 200 website clicks.
Reviews that say something
20+ reviews, all five stars, all answered. They keep repeating the same three things: same-day visit, clear prices, no upselling.
The outcome
Jobs went from a handful in May to 40+ in August, almost all from search. In late August the company temporarily closed for a business restructuring. Eight weeks later, ChatGPT still named it first for appliance repair in Halifax (tested October 18, 2026).
What we would tell the next owner
Ads came second
Local Services Ads ran for nine days at about $25 a lead, against an average job of about $120. For a low-ticket trade, the free channels had to work first.
Only promise what you can do
The site had a gas appliance page and the ads brought gas leads, but there was no gas technician on staff. Not one of those leads became a job.
More jobs is not more money
August had about 70% more jobs than July but fewer repairs, and the average ticket fell by about a quarter. Getting found and getting paid are measured separately.
We don’t name the company. It temporarily closed in late August 2026 for a business restructuring, unrelated to marketing. Figures are rounded. Source: Google Search Console, Google Business Profile and the company’s job log.