When They Say 'Hey Google, Find a Plumber Near Me' — Are You Showing Up?

58% of consumers used voice search to find a local business in the past 12 months, according to BrightLocal’s 2025 voice search survey. That number is up from 46% in 2022, and it’s growing fastest among homeowners aged 25-44, the demographic most likely to need a contractor.

When someone says “Hey Google, find an HVAC company near me,” Google returns three results. If you’re not one of them, that homeowner never knows you exist.

Why voice search matters more for contractors

Voice queries behave differently than typed searches. Google’s search data shows voice queries are 3x more likely to have local intent than the same search typed into a browser. Someone typing “plumber” might be researching the profession. Someone saying “find a plumber near me” needs one right now.

76% of smart speaker owners search for local businesses at least weekly, according to NPR and Edison Research. These aren’t casual browsers. They’re people looking for a service provider, often with urgency.

The conversion pattern is compressed too. BrightLocal found that 28% of voice searches for local businesses result in a phone call within 60 minutes. Compare that to typed local searches where the average time-to-call is 4-6 hours. Voice searchers are further down the decision funnel.

An HVAC contractor in Charlotte shared on the Owned and Operated podcast that after optimizing for voice search, his “near me” traffic increased 34% over six months, and those visitors converted to calls at nearly double the rate of his paid search traffic.

How voice search results actually work

Voice assistants pull results from three sources, and understanding the hierarchy determines your strategy.

Google’s Local Pack is the primary source. When someone asks for a contractor “near me,” Google reads the top Local Pack result out loud. On smart speakers with no screen, only the first result gets mentioned. 93% of voice search local results come from the Local Pack, according to SEMrush analysis.

Featured snippets are the second source. For question-based queries like “how much does a water heater replacement cost,” Google reads the featured snippet. If your website has the snippet, you get the voice result.

Organic rankings are the fallback. If there’s no Local Pack or featured snippet, Google reads from the top organic result. But for contractor queries, Local Pack almost always appears first.

What determines voice search ranking

Voice search ranking for local queries comes down to the same factors that drive Local Pack ranking, but with different weighting.

Proximity is weighted more heavily in voice search. When someone uses voice, Google assumes higher urgency and prioritizes businesses closest to the searcher’s location. A plumber two miles away ranks higher than one ten miles away, even if the farther business has more reviews.

Google Business Profile completeness matters more. Google’s algorithm gives preference to profiles with complete information because voice results need to provide an immediate answer. A complete GBP profile makes you 70% more likely to attract location visits, according to Google.

Review volume and recency are critical. Voice assistants often include review information in the spoken result: “ABC Plumbing has 4.8 stars from 247 reviews.” You need at least 40 reviews to consistently appear in voice results for competitive local queries, according to BrightLocal data.

A roofer on ContractorTalk described how he went from invisible in voice search to the top result in his zip code by adding 60 reviews over three months and completing every field in his Google Business Profile, including services, service area, business hours, and weekly posts.

How to optimize for voice search

Match how people actually talk

Typed searches are shorthand: “plumber austin tx.” Voice searches are conversational: “Who’s the best plumber near me in Austin?”

Your website content needs to match natural language patterns. Add FAQ sections to your service pages that answer questions the way people ask them out loud. “How much does it cost to fix a leaking pipe?” performs better in voice search than “pipe repair pricing.”

Long-tail conversational keywords outperform short keywords in voice search by 3-5x, according to Ahrefs analysis. Instead of optimizing for “HVAC repair,” optimize for “who can fix my air conditioner today” and “how much does an AC repair cost.”

Build your FAQ content

Every service you offer generates questions homeowners ask out loud. Build content around those questions.

For HVAC: “How often should I change my air filter?” “Why is my AC blowing warm air?” “How much does a furnace replacement cost?”

For plumbing: “How do I find a water leak in my house?” “What causes low water pressure?” “How much does a water heater installation cost?”

Pages with structured FAQ content using schema markup are 4x more likely to be selected as voice search answers, according to Backlinko research. Use FAQ schema on every service page.

Prioritize mobile speed

Voice searches happen on mobile devices 62% of the time, according to Google. Your website needs to load in under 3 seconds on mobile or you’re losing voice search visibility.

Google’s Core Web Vitals directly impact your ranking in voice results. A slow site with great content loses to a fast site with good content.

Claim every “near me” variation

“Near me” searches have grown 150% over the past two years, according to Google Trends data. Make sure your GBP service area covers every neighborhood and zip code you serve. Add location-specific pages to your website for each major service area.

An electrician on r/sweatystartup created individual landing pages for 12 neighborhoods in his metro area. Within four months, he was appearing in voice search results for “electrician near me” in 9 of those 12 areas.

What most contractors get wrong

They ignore Google Business Profile posts. Weekly GBP posts signal to Google that your business is active. Businesses that post weekly get 7x more profile views than those that don’t, according to Sterling Sky research.

They don’t respond to reviews. Google’s algorithm considers review response rate when ranking for local queries. Responding to every review, positive and negative, signals engagement that boosts your visibility.

They skip service descriptions. Your GBP service list should include every service you offer, with descriptions that match how homeowners search. “Emergency water heater repair” performs better than “water heater services” in voice search because it matches conversational queries.

Read more about optimizing for local search and how we measure search intent.

Voice search is growing whether you optimize or not

Smart speaker ownership continues climbing. Voice assistants are built into every phone, car, and TV. ComScore projects that 50% of all searches will be voice-based by 2027.

The contractors showing up in voice results today are building an advantage that compounds. Every homeowner who says “Hey Google, find a plumber near me” and hears your business name is a customer your competitors never had a chance to reach.

Your Google Business Profile is your voice search foundation. Complete it, maintain it, and build the review volume that puts you in the top result. The homeowners are already searching by voice. The question is whether they’re finding you.