# Debut Marketing Contractor Search Study 2026. Debut Marketing, October 1, 2026. https://debutmarketing.ca/contractor-seo-statistics. Please credit Debut Marketing and link to the page.
question,answer,percent_of_homeowners,base
Where homeowners look for a contractor (more than one answer),Google Search,76,"1,113 homeowners"
Where homeowners look for a contractor (more than one answer),"Local directories (HomeStars, Houzz, Yelp and others)",31,"1,113 homeowners"
Where homeowners look for a contractor (more than one answer),A referral from friends or family,27,"1,113 homeowners"
Where homeowners look for a contractor (more than one answer),"AI tools (ChatGPT, Gemini, Google's AI Overviews)",26,"1,113 homeowners"
Where homeowners look for a contractor (more than one answer),Social media,23,"1,113 homeowners"
Where homeowners look for a contractor (more than one answer),"Other search (Bing, Apple Maps)",9,"1,113 homeowners"
Contractors considered before hiring,1 contractor,38,"1,113 homeowners"
Contractors considered before hiring,2 contractors,16,"1,113 homeowners"
Contractors considered before hiring,3 contractors,11,"1,113 homeowners"
Contractors considered before hiring,4 to 5 contractors,12,"1,113 homeowners"
Contractors considered before hiring,6 or more contractors,23,"1,113 homeowners"
What homeowners look at before hiring (top three),Reviews (rating and count),87,"1,113 homeowners"
What homeowners look at before hiring (top three),Price,71,"1,113 homeowners"
What homeowners look at before hiring (top three),How fast they reply,42,"1,113 homeowners"
What homeowners look at before hiring (top three),Location,30,"1,113 homeowners"
What homeowners look at before hiring (top three),Licence and insurance,24,"1,113 homeowners"
What homeowners look at before hiring (top three),Website quality,19,"1,113 homeowners"
What homeowners look at before hiring (top three),Photos of past work,15,"1,113 homeowners"
What homeowners look at before hiring (top three),Years in business,7,"1,113 homeowners"
What homeowners look at before hiring (top three),Company size,5,"1,113 homeowners"
Fewest Google reviews needed to feel comfortable,1 to 10,7,"1,113 homeowners"
Fewest Google reviews needed to feel comfortable,11 to 25,31,"1,113 homeowners"
Fewest Google reviews needed to feel comfortable,26 to 50,33,"1,113 homeowners"
Fewest Google reviews needed to feel comfortable,51 to 100,20,"1,113 homeowners"
Fewest Google reviews needed to feel comfortable,101 to 249,8,"1,113 homeowners"
Fewest Google reviews needed to feel comfortable,250 or more,1,"1,113 homeowners"
What makes a contractor website trustworthy (top three),An easy way to get in touch,65,"1,113 homeowners"
What makes a contractor website trustworthy (top three),Photos of the real team or owner,53,"1,113 homeowners"
What makes a contractor website trustworthy (top three),Pricing information,39,"1,113 homeowners"
What makes a contractor website trustworthy (top three),Photos of real projects,34,"1,113 homeowners"
What makes a contractor website trustworthy (top three),Warranty and insurance,26,"1,113 homeowners"
What makes a contractor website trustworthy (top three),Customer reviews,21,"1,113 homeowners"
What makes a contractor website trustworthy (top three),Detailed service information,15,"1,113 homeowners"
What makes homeowners leave a contractor website (top three),No reviews,33,"1,113 homeowners"
What makes homeowners leave a contractor website (top three),Looks outdated or unprofessional,31,"1,113 homeowners"
What makes homeowners leave a contractor website (top three),Slow to load,26,"1,113 homeowners"
What makes homeowners leave a contractor website (top three),Can't find a phone number,22,"1,113 homeowners"
What makes homeowners leave a contractor website (top three),Doesn't explain the services,17,"1,113 homeowners"
What makes homeowners leave a contractor website (top three),No pricing,12,"1,113 homeowners"
What makes homeowners leave a contractor website (top three),No local address,8,"1,113 homeowners"
Extra they would pay the more trusted of two equally qualified contractors,Always the cheapest,10,"1,113 homeowners"
Extra they would pay the more trusted of two equally qualified contractors,Up to 10% more,12,"1,113 homeowners"
Extra they would pay the more trusted of two equally qualified contractors,11% to 15% more,22,"1,113 homeowners"
Extra they would pay the more trusted of two equally qualified contractors,16% to 20% more,31,"1,113 homeowners"
Extra they would pay the more trusted of two equally qualified contractors,21% to 25% more,11,"1,113 homeowners"
Extra they would pay the more trusted of two equally qualified contractors,26% or more,14,"1,113 homeowners"
Trust in Google AI Overviews when researching a contractor,Very much,15,about 289 homeowners who used an AI tool
Trust in Google AI Overviews when researching a contractor,Somewhat,37,about 289 homeowners who used an AI tool
Trust in Google AI Overviews when researching a contractor,Not very much,11,about 289 homeowners who used an AI tool
Trust in Google AI Overviews when researching a contractor,Not at all,37,about 289 homeowners who used an AI tool
AI tool most likely to use (not counting Google),ChatGPT,63,"1,113 homeowners"
AI tool most likely to use (not counting Google),Gemini,21,"1,113 homeowners"
AI tool most likely to use (not counting Google),Claude,16,"1,113 homeowners"
How soon they expect a reply,Immediately,34,"1,113 homeowners"
How soon they expect a reply,1 to 15 minutes,10,"1,113 homeowners"
How soon they expect a reply,16 minutes to 1 hour,15,"1,113 homeowners"
How soon they expect a reply,1 to 24 hours,41,"1,113 homeowners"
How they first contact a contractor,Phone call,63,"1,113 homeowners"
How they want to hear back,Phone call,59,"1,113 homeowners"
How they first contact a contractor,Website form,21,"1,113 homeowners"
How they first contact a contractor,Email,10,"1,113 homeowners"
How they want to hear back,Email,31,"1,113 homeowners"
How they first contact a contractor,Text,5,"1,113 homeowners"
How they want to hear back,Text,9,"1,113 homeowners"
How they first contact a contractor,Social media,1,"1,113 homeowners"
How they want to hear back,Social media,1,"1,113 homeowners"
Single questions,Used more than one place to research a contractor,68,"1,113 homeowners"
Single questions,Would hire the first contractor to answer in an emergency,84,"1,113 homeowners"
Single questions,Skip contractors rated 4.0 stars or lower,86,"1,113 homeowners"
Single questions,Skip contractors rated 4.5 stars or lower,34,"1,113 homeowners"
Single questions,Expect the latest review to be from the last 60 days,39,"1,113 homeowners"
Single questions,Do not care when the last review was posted,28,"1,113 homeowners"
Single questions,Have searched for negative reviews of a contractor,85,"1,113 homeowners"
Single questions,Would drop a contractor over one or two negative reviews,18,"1,113 homeowners"
Single questions,Draw the line at three to five negative reviews,47,"1,113 homeowners"
Single questions,Plumber choice: 4.6 stars with 200 reviews (vs 4.9 stars with 20),68,"1,113 homeowners"
Single questions,Custom home builder choice: 5.0 stars with 10 reviews (vs 4.6 stars with 50),55,"1,113 homeowners"
Single questions,Used an AI tool to research a contractor in the last 12 months,26,"1,113 homeowners"
Single questions,Would not hire a referred contractor rated 4.0 stars or lower,69,"1,113 homeowners"
Single questions,Would hire a contractor nobody they know has used,72,"1,113 homeowners"
Single questions,More likely to hire after an immediate reply,97,"1,113 homeowners"
Single questions,Would contact someone else after no reply within 24 hours,58,"1,113 homeowners"