I’ve been building websites and running SEO campaigns for small businesses since 1996. And here’s something I’ve learned that nobody selling you digital marketing software/services wants to admit: the businesses that dominate their local market almost never win on digital marketing alone.
They win because they show up everywhere. In Google, yes. But also on the road, in the community, on the bulletin board at the VFW hall, and in the conversation that happens when somebody asks their neighbor “hey, who’d you use for that?”
The good news for the plumbers, septic designers, roofers, and contractors I work with out here in Kittitas County is that most of this stuff is cheap. A lot of it is free. And almost all of it does double duty: it markets your business to a human and sends a signal Google notices. That second part is where I come in, so I’m going to flag it throughout.
Here are 30 moves that work. Pick five and start this week.
Turn everything you already own into a billboard
You’re already driving around the county all day. You might as well get paid for it.
Wrap your trucks. Put your main keyword and phone number in the biggest letters that’ll fit. Not your logo — your keyword. “Cle Elum Septic Service” beats a clever name nobody can read at 35 mph. You’re passing thousands of people a day for a one-time cost.
Magnet every vehicle your business touches. Your truck, your spouse’s car, your office manager’s rig. Thirty bucks a magnet buys you impressions all over town every single day.
Put your website on the back of company shirts. Every lunch run, gas stop, and grocery trip becomes a walking ad. People read the back of the shirt in line at the Cle Elum Bakery whether they mean to or not.
Yard sign at every job site. “Roof replacement by [Your Company]” sitting in a front yard for two weeks while you work. Every neighbor, dog walker, and Amazon driver sees it. Out here where everybody knows everybody, that sign does more than you’d think.
Sticker every install. Water heaters, AC units, septic risers, electrical panels — put your name and number on it. When it acts up in five years, the homeowner doesn’t Google anybody. Your number is right there on the equipment.
Door hangers after every job. Once you finish, hit the rest of the street. “We just did work for your neighbor — here’s a free estimate.” Social proof from someone’s own block converts better than any ad I can buy you.
Become the helpful local — not the salesperson
This is the one most business owners skip because it doesn’t feel like marketing. It’s the most powerful thing on this list.
Live in your neighborhood Facebook groups. Don’t sell. Don’t pitch. Just answer questions and be useful. Become the person everyone tags when somebody asks for a recommendation. I’ve watched this single habit fill a calendar.
Do the same on Reddit and community boards. I’ve got a client who gives away free advice in his city’s subreddit, chips in on local GoFundMes, and shows up to community events. He doesn’t pitch. The work finds him anyway.
Network without pitching. Go to the events, listen, ask people about their business, and go home. The leads show up weeks later when somebody they know needs what you do. People refer the person who was interested in them, not the person who cornered them.
Partner with a complementary business. Roofer and gutter guy. Plumber and HVAC. Pest control and landscaper. Trade leads — costs nothing. Then put a link on each other’s websites. That’s a backlink from a relevant local business, and Google respects those a lot more than the junk links people pay for.
Sponsorships: goodwill on the front, backlinks on the back
Here’s where my SEO brain takes over. Almost every sponsorship below comes with a link from a local website — and a link from a real Cle Elum, Roslyn, or Ellensburg organization is one of the strongest local ranking signals you can earn. You can’t buy those convincingly. You earn them by being part of the community.
Sponsor a little league team — $500. Your name on 15 jerseys that parents photograph and post all weekend. And the league site almost always links its sponsors. Free local backlink.
Sponsor a 5K or charity run. Banner at the finish line, logo on the shirt, link on the event site. Awareness plus a backlink for a few hundred bucks.
Join the chamber of commerce. The relationships turn into referrals, and the chamber website is one of the most powerful local citations you’ll ever build.
Donate to school fundraisers and auctions. Your name’s in the program, parents and teachers see it, and the school site usually lists donors. Another trusted local link.
Do a free job for a church or charity. Ask them to mention you on their site and socials. Community goodwill plus a link from a trusted local organization. I’ve seen these move rankings harder than paid links ever do — because they’re the real thing Google is trying to reward.
Build the referral machine
You already did the hard work. Make it keep paying.
Run a referral program. “Send a friend, get $100 off your next service.” A $100 incentive to unlock a $10,000 job is the best ROI in marketing. People trust a recommendation from someone they know more than anything you’ll ever say about yourself.
First responder and military discounts. Partner with the fire stations and the VFW, leave a flyer on the bulletin board. These are tight communities that talk constantly — referrals spread fast.
Get on local preferred-vendor lists. Property management companies and real estate agents need reliable people they can hand off to. Every home that closes needs something done to it. Be the name the agent says without thinking.
Coffee and donuts to the real estate offices. Once a month, Monday morning, with a stack of cards. They’ll remember you when a client asks who to call. It’s almost unfair how well this works.
Make leaving a review effortless
Reviews are local SEO fuel, and the only reason people don’t leave them is friction. Remove it.
Put a QR code to your Google Business Profile on everything. Invoices, receipts, cards, email signature. One tap, no searching.
Frame a review QR code where customers stand. Front desk, lobby, or the clipboard your tech hands the homeowner when the job’s done. Ask at the moment they’re happiest — right after you fixed their problem.
Show your face and your work
Film every job. Before and after, time-lapses, walkthroughs. Phone on a cheap tripod. Post to TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts. The algorithms reward a real person doing real work over polished corporate fluff — which is great news for a one-truck operation.
Host a free Q&A at the library or community center. “Everything you need to know before hiring a roofer.” Everyone in that room trusts you more than any search result, and half of them call when they’re ready.
Get on a local podcast or in the local paper. Reporters and podcast hosts are starving for content — pitch them a project you finished or an event you supported. The story becomes a backlink carrying serious local authority, and it runs for free.
Show up to home shows and expos. Cheapest booth available, collect emails, shake hands, be present. The owners who show up in person close deals digital marketing never touches.
Host a customer appreciation event once a year. A BBQ or a happy hour for past clients. Strengthens relationships, generates word of mouth, and hands you a month of content to post.
Tie promotions to local events. “Mention the Kittitas County Fair, get 10% off.” It gets people talking and hooks your brand onto something the whole valley is already paying attention to.
Leave cards at the hardware store and supply house. The people shopping there are either DIYers who’ll eventually give up and call a pro, or contractors with overflow to refer.
The part nobody tells you
None of this needs a big budget. Most of it runs under $500. A good chunk of it is free.
But here’s the thing I want you to take away, because it’s the whole reason I do what I do for a living: almost every move on this list also feeds your SEO. The sponsorships and charity work earn you the local backlinks competitors can’t fake. The reviews and citations build the trust signals Google ranks on. The community presence creates the branded searches — people typing your name instead of “septic near me” — that tell the search engines you’re the real deal.
The business owners doing this stuff alongside a real SEO campaign end up untouchable in their market. They show up in Google. They show up on the road. They show up in the community. And they show up in the conversation at the bar when someone asks who to call.
That’s the whole game. Be everywhere your customer already is.
Ron Dunn runs Ron the Web Guy out of Roslyn, Washington, building websites and running SEO for small businesses across Cle Elum, Ellensburg, and Kittitas County. If you’re doing the legwork above and want the website and SEO side pulling its weight too, get in touch.