TradeOps Consulting vs. iMarket Solutions: An Honest Comparison for HVAC & Plumbing Companies

iMarket Solutions has served contractors, and only contractors, since 2010. Co-founder Gary Elekes brings genuine HVAC industry experience and EGIA faculty standing to the company, and its 4.9/5 Birdeye rating and five Inc 5000 appearances back up that pedigree. TradeOps Consulting respects that track record because the trades-first philosophy behind it mirrors our own.

This comparison is not a hit piece. This page lays out the real differences between iMarket Solutions and TradeOps Consulting so you can decide which model fits your business. The honest framing is simple: both are contractor-focused marketing agencies. iMarket Solutions serves HVAC, plumbing and electrical contractors with websites, SEO, PPC, and LSA. TradeOps Consulting works only with HVAC and plumbing companies and runs those same channels plus AI search optimization and Meta ads, with call tracking tied to booked jobs and published pricing.

The 30-Second Verdict

Choose iMarket Solutions if…

iMarket Solutions fits your business if you’re a residential contractor, especially one already in the EGIA orbit, and you want a proven, trades-only partner for websites, SEO, PPC, and LSA.

Choose TradeOps if…

TradeOps Consulting is the fit if you run an HVAC or plumbing company and want those channels plus AI search optimization measured by mention and citation rates, Meta ads, CRM setup and automations so new leads get answered, and reports that show booked jobs by channel, with published pricing, cancel-anytime terms, and the conditional “Leave in the Green” guarantee.

Side-by-Side Comparison

What iMarket Solutions Does Well

iMarket Solutions does 4 things well: trades-exclusive focus, industry pedigree, a verifiable reputation, and the right core channels.

• Trades-exclusive from day one. iMarket Solutions has never diluted its focus with lawyers or dentists. Fifteen years of serving only contractors builds pattern recognition a generalist cannot buy.
• Real industry pedigree. Co-founder Gary Elekes brings HVAC industry experience and EGIA faculty standing to the company. The partnerships with EGIA, PHCC, and QSC reflect genuine standing in the industry, not logos on a page.
• Strong, verifiable reputation. iMarket Solutions holds a 4.9/5 rating across roughly 98 Birdeye reviews and five Inc 5000 appearances, and clients clearly stick around and speak well of the company.
• The right core channels. Websites, SEO, PPC, and LSA form the correct digital foundation for a residential contractor, and iMarket Solutions covers the fundamentals well.

iMarket Solutions is a credible choice if you want a proven, contractor-only digital marketing shop.

Where the iMarket Model Has Limits

The iMarket Solutions model has limits in scope and transparency, not quality.

• No CRM or follow-up setup on the menu. A CRM buildout and automated lead follow-up sit outside the published menu. If calls get missed or form fills sit overnight, more leads just produce more waste. TradeOps includes CRM setup and automations in every monthly plan so new leads get answered.
• A narrower channel mix. Branding and paid social sit outside the published core offer, so reaching homeowners beyond Google requires adding vendors.
• AI search isn’t the published focus at iMarket Solutions. Homeowners now ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google’s AI answers who to call. TradeOps treats AI search optimization as part of SEO and measures it every month by mention rate and citation rate. It isn’t a headline service on iMarket Solutions’ menu.
• No published pricing appears on the site. Learning the cost requires a sales call. That gap is the norm in this market, but TradeOps believes you deserve the number up front.

What TradeOps Does Differently

TradeOps Consulting is a marketing agency for HVAC and plumbing companies that want booked jobs, not just leads. It works only with HVAC and plumbing companies, so the campaigns, pages and reports are built around repair, replacement, install and emergency work in those two trades.

The Marketing Services

• Local SEO and Google Business Profile. Business Profile work, service and city pages, reviews, citations and links, so you show up in the map pack and organic results for the jobs you want.
• Google Ads. Search campaigns on high-intent repair, replacement and install keywords, with landing pages and call tracking.
• Local Services Ads. Verification, job types, service area, budget, lead credits and reviews for Google’s pay-per-lead ads.
• Facebook and Instagram ads. Replacement and install offers shown to homeowners in your service area.
• AI search optimization. Clear, consistent information about your company across your site and listings, measured every month by mention rate and citation rate against a fixed set of prompts on ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude.
• Websites. Custom, mobile-first sites built for calls and form fills, with call tracking and CRM forms connected.
• Lead generation. Your own lead flow from SEO, ads, LSA and direct mail, so leads come to you alone instead of being shared with other contractors.

Plans can also include a referral system, EDDM direct mail and social media management. The full list by plan is on our plans page.

Every Call Tracked to a Booked Job

Call tracking and a CRM are set up on your account before any ad spend starts, so every lead is counted from day one. Every monthly plan includes CRM setup and automations to make sure new leads get answered: missed calls get a text back and new form fills get an instant reply.

The monthly report goes past clicks and impressions. It shows calls and form fills by source, booked jobs and revenue by channel from the closed sales in your CRM, and cost per lead and cost per booked job for each paid channel.

Your marketing stays yours. Your Google Business Profile, website, ad accounts and lead flow are set up on your accounts, so they stay with you if you stop working with us.

The Results Our Clients See

These numbers are read from clients’ own Google Business Profile and Search Console dashboards. Screenshots are in the results section of our homepage.

• A/C Man Heating and Air: 94 calls from its Google Business Profile in August 2026, up 40.3% on August 2025.
• One HVAC client’s Business Profile: 521 calls from May to September 2026, up 20.0% on the same months of 2025.
• One client site: Search Console clicks rose from 45 to 1.47K over three months against the same three months a year earlier, and average position moved from 59.8 to 10.8.

Results depend on your market, where you start and how quickly your team answers new leads.

The “Leave in the Green” guarantee. You can cancel any time with 30 days’ notice before your next billing date, and every month you get a report of the work done and the results it produced. If you work with us for at least six months and are unsatisfied with the results, we continue our service at no cost until you reach a break-even result. That applies when you complete our onboarding course, follow the advice and warnings we give about our services, and keep your CRM updated with lead value and closed sales data, verified by third-party software and accounting data. Read the full guarantee terms.

Choose TradeOps Consulting or iMarket Solutions

Choose iMarket Solutions if

iMarket Solutions fits a $1M–$10M residential contractor, especially one in the EGIA orbit, that wants a proven trades-only shop for websites, SEO, PPC, and LSA.

Choose TradeOps if

TradeOps Consulting fits an HVAC or plumbing company, from an owner-led shop to a multi-location group, that wants SEO, PPC, LSA, Meta ads and AI search from an agency working only in those two trades, every call tracked to the job it booked, published pricing before the first call, and the conditional “Leave in the Green” guarantee.

FAQ

iMarket Solutions is one of the most established trades-exclusive digital shops in the market, with 15 years serving only contractors, real industry pedigree through EGIA, PHCC, and QSC, and a strong 4.9/5 Birdeye rating, so yes, iMarket Solutions is good at that job. The question is fit: whether you want published pricing, AI search and Meta ads in the same engagement, and reports that tie calls to booked jobs.

Both are marketing agencies for contractors. iMarket Solutions serves HVAC, plumbing and electrical contractors with websites, SEO, PPC, and LSA. TradeOps Consulting works only with HVAC and plumbing companies and runs those channels plus AI search optimization and managed Meta ads. Every TradeOps monthly plan includes call tracking, CRM setup and automations so new leads get answered, and the monthly report shows booked jobs and revenue by channel. TradeOps also publishes its prices.

AEO (answer engine optimization) is the work of getting a company named when homeowners ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, or Google’s AI answers who to call. Those answers name only a few companies. TradeOps treats it as part of SEO: structured data, consistent business information, answer-ready pages, mentions in trusted sources and reviews. It is measured every month by mention rate and citation rate against a fixed set of prompts on ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude. It isn’t a headline service on iMarket Solutions’ menu.

TradeOps includes brand identity and social media setup in its one-time Full System Build ($25,000 plus $497/month). It is not sold as a standalone branding service. iMarket Solutions’ published offer is digital marketing, not brand identity.

TradeOps Consulting publishes its pricing, unlike most of this market. Retainer plans start at $2,000/month (Minimum), $4,000/month (Growth), and $6,500/month (Hyper Scaling). Custom websites start at $3,000 one-time, and a complete Full System Build is $25,000 + $497/month. À la carte: SEO $2,000/mo, Google Ads $1,500/mo, Meta Ads $1,500/mo, LSA $500/mo. See our plans. Every engagement starts with a free 15-minute Call Audit, so you see the roadmap and the math before you spend anything.

No. You can cancel your TradeOps Consulting engagement anytime with 30 days’ notice before your next billing date, and you receive a monthly report of the work done and the results generated. If you have worked with TradeOps 6+ months and remain unsatisfied, the “Leave in the Green” guarantee keeps TradeOps working at no cost until you reach break-even (conditions apply).

Get Your Free Call Audit

TradeOps Consulting offers a free 15-minute Call Audit. We look at your website, Google Business Profile, call tracking and follow-up, and you leave with a written roadmap of where calls are leaking, whether you hire us or not.

Takes 15 minutes. No pressure.

Related: AI search optimization for HVAC companies.