14 free tools every contractor should set up

Before you pay anyone for leads or software, set up the tools that cost nothing. Most of them come from the same companies whose maps and search results your customers use, and Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools show search data that only those search engines have. Each item below says what the tool is according to the vendor's own pages, what a contractor uses it for, and one thing to do first. We only describe what each vendor states, as read in October 2026. One rule for all of them: create the account with an email address at your own company domain, not a personal or employee address, so the business keeps access no matter who leaves.

1. Google Business Profile

Your Business Profile is the listing that shows in Google Maps and the local results. Google's own Business Profile page says "creating a Business Profile and listing your business on Google is free." For a contractor whose customers never visit the shop, Google's guidelines say to set it up as a service-area business with the address hidden. Pick the most specific primary category, list each service and add real job photos. Our Business Profile guide for contractors covers setup and verification.

2. The review link and QR code in your Business Profile

Inside your Business Profile, Google gives you a link and a QR code customers can use to leave a review. Google's help page suggests asking customers to visit that link or scan the code. Save the link as a text shortcut on every crew phone and print the QR code on invoices and leave-behind cards. Send it after every job, to every customer. Google's review tips call any reward for a review, such as a discount or a free service, fake and misleading content that is strictly prohibited. Our guide to creating a Google review link shows where to find it.

3. Google Search Console

Google describes Search Console as "a free service" that helps you monitor, maintain and troubleshoot your site's presence in Google Search results. It shows which searches your site appears for, which pages are indexed, and alerts when Google finds problems. Google's Analytics help notes that Search Console keeps data for the last 16 months, so the sooner you set it up, the more history you have. Verify your domain, submit your sitemap in the Sitemaps report, and check the search queries report monthly to see which services and towns you already show up for.

The queries report is also free keyword research built on your own site's data. If you appear for "deck staining" in a town where you have no page about deck staining, that is the next page to write. If a page you care about never appears at all, use the URL inspection tool to check whether Google has indexed it, then request indexing once it is fixed.

4. Google Analytics

Google says Google Analytics gives you its tools free of charge. It records visits and actions on your site, such as form submissions and taps on your phone number, once those events are set up. Use it to answer one question: which pages turn visitors into calls and requests? Link it to Search Console, and Google says you can see which queries lead to clicks and how those clicks translate into what visitors do on the site. To see which ad, mailer or listing sent each visit, tag your links with UTM parameters; the steps are in our lead tracking guide.

5. Bing Places for Business

Microsoft calls Bing Places for Business "a free online platform" where businesses create and manage listings for Bing search results and Bing Maps. Its 2025 update improved the option to import listings from Google, carrying over details like name, hours and contact information. If your Google profile is already accurate, importing it saves retyping everything and keeps the two listings matched. Check the result for anything that didn't carry over correctly.

6. Bing Webmaster Tools

Bing Webmaster Tools is Microsoft's counterpart to Search Console, showing clicks, impressions and backlinks for your site in Bing. Bing's own blog says you can import sites from Google Search Console, and imported sites are verified automatically. It also supports IndexNow, which Bing describes as a free, open-source protocol for telling search engines when your pages are added, updated or deleted. Set it up once, right after Search Console.

7. Apple Business (formerly Apple Business Connect)

Apple Business Connect is now part of Apple Business, which Apple announced in March 2026 as a free service launching April 14 in more than 200 countries and regions, including the U.S. It is where you claim and edit how your business appears on Apple Maps. Apple says place card details such as photos, hours and location information display across Apple Maps, Safari, Spotlight and more, so claim the listing and check it against your Google profile. Apple also announced Maps ads for U.S. and Canadian businesses, which it said would begin in summer 2026; the free listing doesn't require them.

8. A claimed Yelp business page

Yelp's business site says "It's free to be on Yelp," and claiming your page lets you update your business information and respond to reviews and messages. Customers find contractors on Yelp, and an unclaimed page with wrong hours or an old number loses calls. Claim it, fix the information and reply to reviews. Yelp Ads are a separate paid product, which Yelp's pricing page listed from $150 a month in October 2026; you can skip them and keep the free page.

9. PageSpeed Insights

Google's PageSpeed Insights reports how a page performs on both mobile and desktop and suggests improvements. It shows lab data for debugging and, where enough visitors exist, field data from real users, including the three Core Web Vitals. Run your home page and your top service page on the mobile tab first, then send the report to whoever maintains your site and ask which fixes they will make.

10. Rich Results Test

Structured data is code on your pages that tells search engines your business name, address, phone and hours in a format they can read. Google's Rich Results Test shows which rich result types it found on a page and any errors. Paste in your home page URL. If it finds no items, the page has no structured data Google can use for rich results; if it shows errors, fix them. Our schema markup guide explains what to add, and our websites ship with this markup in place.

11. Microsoft Clarity

Microsoft Clarity advertises itself as "free forever" with "no limits on traffic." It records visitor sessions and builds heatmaps, so you can watch where visitors tap, how far they scroll and where they give up on a form. Watch ten mobile sessions that ended without a call or request, and look for the same few problems: a phone number buried below the fold, a form field that won't accept input, or a page that is still loading when the visitor gives up.

12. Let's Encrypt

Chrome's help page says a site without a private connection gets an "Info or Not secure" symbol, and that the fix is for the site owner to secure it with HTTPS. That is a poor first impression on a page asking for a customer's address and phone number. Let's Encrypt describes itself as "a free, automated, and open Certificate Authority," run by a nonprofit, that lets site owners get trusted certificates at no cost and renew them automatically. Ask your host whether it supports Let's Encrypt. If your site still loads over plain HTTP, this is the first fix.

13. Google Trends

Google Trends shows relative search interest for a topic over time, scaled from 0 to 100, from worldwide down to city level. It doesn't give search counts, but it shows when interest in "gutter cleaning" or "furnace repair" starts climbing in your state each year. Use it to time your reminder emails, ads and door hanger drops a few weeks ahead of the rise.

14. The IRS's own EIN application

If you need an Employer Identification Number, apply directly with the IRS. Its EIN page warns readers about websites that charge for an EIN, because the number itself costs nothing. Some sites bill you to submit the same free form. The IRS application is completed online in one session, and the page lists the hours it is available. Our EIN guide walks through the application. Keep the IRS confirmation notice with your formation papers. The SBA lists an EIN (or a Social Security number for a sole proprietorship) among the documents banks typically ask for when you open a business account. The same IRS page says you generally need an EIN to hire employees, operate a partnership or corporation, or pay sales and excise taxes, and that an LLC or corporation should be formed with the state before you apply. This is general information, not tax advice.

Where to start

Set up three this week. Finish your Google Business Profile first (item 1), since it feeds Google Maps and the local results. Verify your site in Search Console and submit the sitemap (item 3), so you can see what Google sees. Then import your Google listing into Bing Places (item 5) and claim Apple Business (item 7), so Bing Maps and Apple Maps show the same name, hours and phone number as Google. Once those are live, add Analytics and Clarity to see what happens on the site.

Frequently asked questions