"Near Me" Is Dead: Why SEO Strategy Is Making Your Trades Business Invisible

You're paying for SEO. Your Google Business Profile is optimized. You've got 4.8 stars and 200 reviews. But the phone isn't ringing like it used to.

Here's why: People stopped searching for "plumber near me."

They're asking ChatGPT, "Who's the most reliable emergency plumber for a slab leak in Boca Raton?"

And if your website is just a digital brochure listing "Plumbing • HVAC • Electrical," you're invisible to the AI answering that question.

The era of proximity-based SEO is over. Being the closest shop doesn't protect you anymore. A competitor 20 miles away can steal your local job if the AI thinks they're more authoritative on the specific problem.

The good news?

You can now win jobs in neighborhoods you used to be invisible in, if you build what I call an "Authority Moat."

Why doesn't proximity protect me anymore?

The old rule was simple: Rank for "HVAC repair [City]" and show up in the map pack. You won because you were physically closer.

That's not how AI search works.

When someone asks ChatGPT or Google's AI Overview for help, the algorithm doesn't just look at distance. It cross-references three things:

Content specificity: Do you have a page answering this exact question?

Review sentiment: Do customers mention this specific service in their reviews?

Structured data: Can the AI easily extract your pricing, service area, and expertise?

If a competitor 20 miles away has a detailed article on "Cost to replace a cast iron sewer line in [Neighborhood]" and you don't, they get the lead. Geography is now a tiebreaker, not the deciding factor.

Key takeaway: Proximity used to be your moat. Now it's just one data point. Authority is the new moat.

How do I build authority that AI can't ignore?

Start answering the specific questions customers ask right before they call. Here's the three-step blueprint.

What questions should my HVAC website answer to generate leads?

AI models are answer engines. They don't look for keywords. They look for the best answer to a specific problem.

Most trade websites are invisible because they're just digital brochures. "AC Repair Services" tells the AI nothing. It's generic, vague, and unhelpful.

The fix: Create content that answers the specific questions customers ask right before they call.

Bad: "AC Repair Services"

Good: "Why is my AC blowing warm air in Scottsdale during summer?"

Good: "How much does it cost to replace a water heater in Tampa?"

Good: "What causes a slab leak in older homes in Coral Gables?"

Each specific page becomes a citation source. When someone asks ChatGPT about emergency AC repair costs, your detailed article is the perfect data source. You get referenced. You get the call.

This is called Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). It's the practice of structuring your content to directly answer the questions AI models are trained to solve. Instead of optimizing for keyword density, you optimize for question relevance.

Action step: List the 10 most common questions customers ask before booking. Write a 400-word answer to each. Use real pricing ranges, local context, and your actual process.

Key takeaway: AI doesn't rank websites. It cites answers. If you don't have the answer on your site, you don't exist.

How do I optimize my FAQ page for AI search?

90% of FAQ pages are wasted space. "Do you offer financing? Yes." This gives the AI nothing to work with.

The blueprint: Rewrite every FAQ to be specific, local, and detailed.

Before:

Q: How much does it cost?

A: It depends, call us.

After:

Q: How much does an emergency AC repair cost in Phoenix during peak summer?

A: Emergency AC repairs in Phoenix typically range from $200 to $600, depending on the issue. Common problems include capacitor failures ($150-$300) and refrigerant leaks ($300-$600). We offer same-day service and upfront pricing before we start any work.

You just fed the AI pricing data, location data, service types, and your process in one paragraph. That's exactly what it needs to recommend you.

This is part of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), the practice of feeding AI models the structured, detailed data they need to generate accurate recommendations. GEO goes beyond traditional SEO by focusing on how AI synthesizes and presents information to users.

Action step: Audit your FAQ page today. If any answer is under 30 words, rewrite it with specifics.

Key takeaway: Generic FAQs are invisible to AI. Detailed, local FAQs become citation gold.

How do I get ChatGPT to recommend my plumbing business?

AI doesn't just count stars. It reads the text to understand sentiment and context.

If 50 reviews say "Great leak detection in Boca Raton," the AI learns you're the authority for that specific query, even if you aren't the closest shop.

The problem: Most businesses just ask, "Please leave us a review." That gets you generic praise: "Great service, very professional."

The fix: Prompt customers to mention the specific job and their neighborhood.

New review request:

"Would you mind mentioning the type of job we did (e.g., emergency leak repair) and your neighborhood in the review? It helps other homeowners find us when they need the same service."

The payoff: You're training the AI to associate your brand with specific keywords and locations. That's how you win queries you never used to rank for.

This is HVAC lead generation in 2026. You're not chasing leads. You're building a reputation that makes the AI chase you.

Action step: Update your review request template today. Send it to your next 10 customers and track the difference in review quality.

Key takeaway: Reviews aren't just social proof. They're training data for AI recommendation engines.

How do I make my website readable to AI?

Your website text is for humans. Schema markup is the code language that translates that text for robots. Without it, the AI has to guess. AI hates guessing.

What technical changes help with HVAC SEO and AI search?

You need three types of schema markup:

LocalBusiness Schema: Hard-codes your service area, hours, and phone number so the AI never gets it wrong.

Service Schema: Explicitly tells the AI, "We offer [Service X] at [Price Range Y]."

FAQ Schema: Tags your detailed FAQs so Google can pull them directly into "People Also Ask" boxes.

If you're not using schema markup, you're making the AI work harder to understand you. It won't bother. It'll recommend the competitor who made it easy.

Action step: Ask your web developer to implement LocalBusiness, Service, and FAQ schema. If they don't know how, find someone who does.

Why does the AI fact-check my business against third-party sites?

AI doesn't trust what you say about yourself. It cross-references your claims against Yelp, BBB, Reddit, and industry forums.

The audit:

Search for "Is [Your Company] legit?" or "[Your Company] reviews reddit." What comes up? If it's negative or nonexistent, that's what the AI sees.

The consistency rule:

Your Name, Address, and Phone (NAP) must be identical on every directory. If Google sees "Bob's Plumbing" on Yelp and "Bob's Plumbing LLC" on Facebook, it gets confused. Confusion equals invisibility.

Action step: Audit your top 10 directory listings (Google, Yelp, Angi, BBB, Facebook). Fix any inconsistencies in your NAP within 48 hours.

Key takeaway: AI trusts third-party validation more than your own claims. Clean up your digital footprint.

What's the difference between traditional SEO and Answer Engine Optimization for home service businesses?

Traditional SEO focused on ranking for keywords. You optimized for "plumber near me" and hoped to show up in the map pack.

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) focuses on being the source AI models cite when answering questions. You optimize for "How much does emergency plumbing cost in [City]?" and become the authority the AI references.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) takes it further. You structure your data so AI can easily extract, synthesize, and present your information in conversational responses.

The shift: Keywords got you visibility. Authority gets you recommendations.

Key takeaway: Stop optimizing for search engines. Start optimizing for answer engines.

The algorithm changes every day. Authority lasts forever.

Stop trying to outsmart the robot with tricks. Start feeding it the specific, high-quality data it craves.

The trades businesses winning in 2026 aren't the ones gaming the system. They're the ones who:

Answer specific questions with detailed content.

Structure their data so AI can read it.

Train the algorithm through review sentiment.

You don't need a bigger marketing budget. You need a smarter strategy.

Your next move: Pick one action step from this article. Do it today. Then move to the next one tomorrow.

The phone will start ringing again. But this time, it'll be the right customers, the ones who already trust you before they dial.