Google vs ChatGPT in Local Search and What Actually Ranks in 2026 with Darren Shaw
Service Business Mastery for Skilled Trades: HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical Home Service
Release Date: 12/31/2025
No Fees No Equity Loss: A New Way to Scale Your Business
Service Business Mastery for Skilled Trades: HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical Home Service
Most business owners think they only have two options when they want to scale: Pay expensive consultantsā¦ or give up equity to investors. But what if there was a third option? In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett and Joshua Crouch sit down with Mike Michalowicz and Greg Eckler from The Prosper Group to break down a completely different approach to scaling service businesses. Instead of charging fees or taking ownership, their model focuses on partnering with business owners, executing alongside them, and only getting paid when the business becomes more profitable. What...
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Leadership Skills for Home Service Owners Who Want to Scale
Service Business Mastery for Skilled Trades: HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical Home Service
Most home service business owners start as technicians. But scaling a business requires a completely different skill set. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett sits down with Elise Radawitz, President and Owner of Velocity Leader, to break down the leadership skills contractors need if they want to grow their business. They discuss why promoting your best technician into a management role often fails, how leadership is a learned skill, and what it actually takes to lead people effectively. Elise shares practical insights on developing leaders inside your company,...
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Building a Trades Business Brand That Gets Real Results
Service Business Mastery for Skilled Trades: HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical Home Service
Most home service businesses are posting contentā¦ but not getting results. Why? Because theyāre missing the most important piece: connection. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett sits down with Jen McKee, founder of Kee Hart Marketing, to break down what actually works when it comes to building a brand in the trades. They dive into why personal branding matters, how social media really drives business growth, and why most contractors are overthinking their content strategy. Jen explains why āboringā everyday work is actually powerful content, how authenticity...
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Automation vs. Real AI: What Works, Whatās Hype, and How to Profit
Service Business Mastery for Skilled Trades: HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical Home Service
AI is everywhere right now. But most contractors donāt actually understand how it works. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett and Joshua Crouch sit down with Jeff Torello, founder of Sinjun AI, to break down what AI really is, how it works under the hood, and why so much of the industry is getting it wrong. Jeff explains that AI isnāt some all-knowing system. Itās a probability engine that predicts the next word, with no real memory and no true understanding of context. If youāve been confused, overwhelmed, or skeptical about AI, this episode will give you a...
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Stop Hiding Your Prices: The Real ROI of Transparent Contractor Pricing
Service Business Mastery for Skilled Trades: HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical Home Service
Most contractors are still hiding their prices. But customers are already finding that information somewhere else. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett and Joshua Crouch sit down with Paul Redman, President of Contractor Commerce, to break down the real impact of transparent pricing in home service businesses. They discuss why pricing transparency is no longer optional, how AI search and Google are already surfacing pricing data, and why contractors who donāt adapt risk losing control of the customer conversation. Paul shares how online pricing tools,...
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AI Employee: How Home Service Businesses Are Scaling Without More Staff
Service Business Mastery for Skilled Trades: HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical Home Service
AI is no longer just automation or chatbots. Itās becoming a real employee for service businesses. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, recorded live at AHR Expo 2026, Tersh Blissett sits down with Dennis Steele, co-founder of Podium, to talk about the rise of AI agents and how theyāre transforming HVAC and plumbing companies. From answering calls and booking jobs to handling angry customers and following up on estimates, AI agents are beginning to perform real work that previously required multiple team members. Dennis shares how Podium started by helping contractors get more...
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The Future of Marketing for Home Service Businesses
Service Business Mastery for Skilled Trades: HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical Home Service
Marketing for home service businesses is evolving faster than ever. Rising lead costs, private equity competition, new AI-driven ad platforms, and changing consumer behavior are forcing contractors to rethink how they attract customers. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett sits down with Justin Riley, founder of UpFrog, to talk about what the future of marketing really looks like for HVAC, plumbing, and other home service companies. If you want to understand where marketing for home service businesses is heading and how to stay competitive in the years ahead, this...
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How Dual Fuel Heat Pumps Are Changing the Game for HVAC Contractors
Service Business Mastery for Skilled Trades: HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical Home Service
Electrification is accelerating across North America. Rebates are expanding. Regulations are tightening. And HVAC contractors are being asked to deliver higher efficiency, lower emissions, and better comfort all at the same time. So where does dual fuel fit in? In this episode of Service Business Mastery, recorded live at AHR Expo, Tersh Blissett sits down with Matt Schlegel and Charles Hurd to break down how dual fuel heat pumps are becoming a powerful solution for commercial and residential contractors. If youāre trying to navigate electrification, cold climate performance, rebate...
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How HVAC Contractors Are Making More Money with Duct Sealing Technology
Service Business Mastery for Skilled Trades: HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical Home Service
Most HVAC contractors focus on equipment upgrades, but one of the biggest opportunities for better installs and higher profit is hiding in the ductwork. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, recorded live at AHR 2026 in Las Vegas, Tersh Blissett sits down with Jarrod Scott from Aeroseal to explain how duct sealing from the inside works, why it is different from traditional mastic and tape, and how contractors can use it to improve comfort, increase system efficiency, reduce callbacks, and create a real competitive advantage. They also discuss commercial and multifamily applications,...
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How Service Businesses Can Use AI to Convert More Leads
Service Business Mastery for Skilled Trades: HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical Home Service
AI is moving faster than most service businesses can keep up with. Voice agents. Text automation. Follow-up systems. AI sales emails. Predictive messaging. But hereās the real question: How do you use AI to convert more leads without losing the human touch? In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett and Joshua Crouch sit down with Ryan Fenn, CEO at CHIIRP, to break down whatās actually working in AI-driven lead conversion right now. They dive into: Why speed to lead still wins (and why seconds matter) How one word in your follow-up could be killing 90 percent of your...
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Welcome to the Service Business Mastery Podcast!
Visit our website for more episodes and insights! https://www.servicebusinessmastery.com
In this episode of the Service Business Mastery podcast, Tersh Blissett and Josh Crouch talk with Darren Shaw. He is the founder of Whitespark, a company specializing in local SEO software and services, and a recognized local SEO educator with more than 45,000 newsletter subscribers, 10,000+ YouTube subscribers and 3,000+ email course sign-ups. He leads the annual Local Search Ranking Factors Survey, one of the most frequently cited resources in local SEO, and regularly speaks at local search conferences worldwide while contributing to leading SEO publications. With 27 years of experience in web development and SEO, his career began well before Google existed.
In this episode, here's what you can expect to learn:
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How Darren helped businesses improve local search rankings through reviews and content.
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Why customer reviews and video content are essential for standing out online.
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How AI tools are transforming local SEO and saving time on content creation.
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Why backlinks are becoming less important and reviews are gaining more focus.
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Practical tips for using smart marketing strategies to boost your businessās growth.
Timestamps ā°
[00:00] - Recap
[02:11] - Episode Introduction & Meeting Darren Shaw
[03:02] - Darren Shaw's Background and 25+ Years in Local SEO
[06:79] - Importance of Review Recency in Local SEO
[09:69] - The Decline of Backlinks in Local SEO
[10:71] - Review Diversification and Googleās Role in Reviews
[18:10] - The Future of Search: Google vs. AI-driven Tools
[20:47] - Content Relevance in the Age of AI and Google AI Integration
[22:61] - The Role of YouTube in Local Search and Content Strategy
[27:42] - Using Content, AI, and Videos for Effective Local SEO
[35:67] - The Role of Email Marketing and Lead Magnets in Local SEO
[46:20] - The Future of Local Search and Google's AI Integration
If you found this conversation with Darren Shaw helpful, please leave us a review (5 stars would be greatly appreciated š).
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