Plan leads around your seasons. Keep your Business Profile current all year, turn on paid ads before the spring rush, and sell maintenance plans so fewer jobs depend on new leads. Never trade a discount for a Google review, because Google bans it even though the FTC allows some incentives.
What Changed
- Google ranks local results on relevance, distance and prominence, and you cannot pay for a better spot.
- Landscaping, lawn care, tree services and snow removal are all Local Services categories in the US.
- Local Services charges per valid lead and stops showing your ad once you hit your monthly max.
- The FTC allows review incentives with no strings on what people say. Google bans them outright.
- BLS says some grounds work is seasonal and some crews switch to snow removal in winter.
The Calls Follow the Weather
A landscaping company does not get the same number of calls every month. The phone rings in spring when lawns wake up, stays busy through summer and slows down after the fall cleanup. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says it plainly. Grounds workers may be busier or work longer hours in the spring, summer and fall, some jobs are seasonal and some crews switch to snow removal in winter.
It is also a big trade. The same BLS page counts 1,299,200 grounds maintenance jobs in 2025, with median pay of $40,080 a year in May 2025. In most towns, that means several crews chase the same homeowners on the same street.
Most lead advice treats every month the same. It tells you to pick channels, set a budget and wait. For a landscaper, that is how you end up paying full price for ads in July when you are already booked, then sitting idle in January with no list to call. The better plan has three parts. Keep your free listing sharp all year. Turn paid ads up and down with the season. Sell maintenance plans so next year's work does not depend on next year's leads.
We already covered shared and bought leads in detail in our pest control lead piece, and the same questions apply to a lawn crew. This piece sticks to what is different about landscaping.
Your Business Profile Works All Year
Your Google Business Profile is the one channel that never shuts off. Google says local results are ranked on relevance, distance and prominence. Relevance is how well your profile matches the search. Distance is how far you are from the person searching. Prominence is how well known you are, and Google says more reviews and good ratings can help. The same page says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.
For a landscaper, a few settings matter more than the rest.
- Service areas. Most crews work at the customer's house, not at a shop. Google lets you list up to 20 service areas, and it says the whole area should not be more than about two hours of driving from your base. If customers do not come to your address, Google says to remove it from the profile.
- Categories and services. Pick the main category that fits the work you want most. A design and build company and a weekly mowing route are not the same business, so do not let the profile say you are both if you are only one.
- Photos. Landscaping is a visual trade. Post real before and after photos of real yards, with the town in the caption. Stock photos of perfect lawns tell a homeowner nothing.
- Seasonal hours. If your hours change for a short time, Google lets you set special hours without changing your regular ones. If you close for seven days or more in a row, the same page says to mark the business temporarily closed.
Update the profile as the seasons turn. In late winter, post photos of spring cleanups and aeration. In fall, post leaf removal and winter prep. If you plow, add it as a service before the first storm, not after. Our guide to claiming your Google Business Profile covers the first steps if you have never set one up.
Turn Paid Ads Up Before the Rush
Paid ads are the part of the plan you can turn on and off. That is their real value for a seasonal business. Start them a few weeks before your busy season, not when the phone is already ringing.
Google's Local Services Ads are open to landscapers in the US. Google's getting started page lists landscaping services, lawn care services, tree services and snow removal among the eligible categories. That means a crew that mows in summer and plows in winter can run the same kind of ad all year with a different service list.
Local Services bills per lead, not per click. Google says you are charged for each valid lead, and leads judged invalid or low quality are not charged. Once you reach your monthly max, your ad stops showing for the rest of the month. That max is your season dial. Raise it in March and April. Lower it in August if your routes are full. There is also a newer cost to watch on missed calls, which we covered in our missed call story. A crew out on mowers all day misses a lot of calls.
Regular Search ads are the other paid option. They charge per click, booked or not. They make more sense for bigger jobs like patios, retaining walls and full yard redesigns, where one booked job pays for a lot of clicks. Send those clicks to a page about that exact service, with photos of finished projects and a short quote form.
Sell the Second Visit
A maintenance plan is the cheapest lead you will ever get, because it is the same customer again. Every weekly mow, monthly bed cleanup or spring and fall aeration deal you sign is work you do not have to find next year.
- Offer a plan at the end of every one time job, while the yard still looks good.
- Price it by the season, so the homeowner knows the total up front.
- Call last year's plan customers in late winter, before other crews knock on their door.
- Use the slow months to sell spring plans to anyone who booked a single job last year.
This changes how you read your lead numbers. If half your spring is already booked from renewals, you need far fewer new leads. Ads can go after the higher value jobs instead of filling every route.
The Review Rule Where Google Is Stricter
Reviews feed prominence, so every crew wants more of them. Many owners have heard it is fine to offer a small thank you for a review. That is half right, and the wrong half can cost you your reviews.
The FTC rule on reviews took effect on October 21, 2024. It bans fake reviews and bans tying a reward to a positive review. The FTC's question and answer page says the rule does not prohibit giving incentives for reviews, as long as you do not require a certain tone. It also bans threats or false claims used to get bad reviews taken down.
Google goes further. Its Maps policy bans offering payment, discounts, free goods or services in exchange for posting any review. It also bans asking only your happy customers. So a ten dollars off your next mow card for a review may pass the FTC test and still break Google's rules. Since your reviews live on Google, follow Google.
- Ask every customer, not just the ones who smiled.
- Ask the day the job is done, with a direct link.
- Reply to every review, good or bad, in plain words.
Our free review link generator makes the direct link in a few seconds.
What to Do This Week
It is early October. For most landscapers that means fall cleanup now and a long quiet stretch ahead. Use it.
- Check your Business Profile. Fix the service areas, add fall services and post five real photos from the last month.
- If you plow, add snow removal to the profile now.
- Make a list of every customer who booked a single job this year. Plan to offer each one a spring plan before February.
- Pull your review request card or text. If it promises anything in return for a review, rewrite it.
- Give each paid channel its own tracking number before you turn it back on in spring.
Judge every channel on cost per booked job, from your own tracked calls. A cheap lead that never books is not cheap. If calls come in and jobs do not, look at how fast you call back before you blame the source. Our piece on sites that rank but never ring walks through the usual leaks.
Sources
Every number in this story comes from one of these. If a figure is ours, the paragraph says so.
- Google Business Profile Help, tips to improve your local ranking
- Google Business Profile Help, manage your service areas
- Google Business Profile Help, how to set special hours
- Google Local Services Help, getting started in the United States
- Google Local Services Help, how leads work
- Google Maps, prohibited and restricted content (fake engagement)
- FTC, Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule questions and answers
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, grounds maintenance workers
One story a day on what changed in search, ads, AI and local marketing, and what it means for a business that lives on the phone ringing. Written by the team that runs marketing for service businesses at Clickflame. More from the desk.
Common Questions
How do landscapers get more clients?
Start with a full Google Business Profile, real job photos and a steady flow of honest reviews. Add paid ads before your busy season, answer every call fast and turn one time jobs into maintenance plans so each new client stays longer.
Is Local Services worth it for a landscaping company?
It can be, because landscaping and lawn care are both eligible categories and you pay per valid lead instead of per click. Test it with a set monthly max during your busy season and judge it on booked jobs, not lead count.
Can I give customers a discount for leaving a Google review?
No. The FTC rule allows incentives as long as you do not require a positive review, but Google's own policy bans discounts, free services or payment in exchange for any review. Since the review sits on Google, follow Google's rule.
What should a landscaper do about leads in winter?
Keep your Business Profile hours honest, add winter services like snow removal if you offer them and use the quiet months to sell spring maintenance plans to past clients. If you close for a week or more, Google says to mark the business temporarily closed.
Should I buy shared landscaping leads?
Only after your own channels work, and only in a small test. Ask the seller how many other companies get the same lead and what the customer agreed to before they sent their details.
