TradeOps Consulting vs. Relentless Digital: An Honest Comparison for HVAC & Plumbing Companies

July 20, 2026 · Updated October 13, 2026 · Yash Singh

Honest Comparison · Updated 2026

Relentless Digital is a local SEO agency that HVAC and plumbing companies often find while researching marketing partners. Founder Josh Crouch spent nine years running HVAC operations before he started the agency in 2020, and that operator background shows in the work. TradeOps Consulting respects that story; one of our co-founders built and sold a home service business before joining TradeOps.

This comparison is not a hit piece. This page lays out the real differences between Relentless Digital and TradeOps Consulting so you can decide which model fits your business. The honest framing is simple: Relentless Digital specializes in local visibility. TradeOps Consulting is a marketing agency that works only with HVAC and plumbing companies across more channels. Both work the map pack. TradeOps also runs Google Ads, Meta ads and AI search optimization, and tracks every call to the job it booked.

The 30-Second Verdict

Choose Relentless Digital if…

Relentless Digital fits your business if you want a focused, trades-native partner for Google Business Profile, local SEO, and map-pack visibility.

Choose TradeOps if…

TradeOps Consulting is the fit if you run an HVAC or plumbing company and want local SEO plus Google Ads, Meta ads and AI search from one agency, with CRM setup and automations so new leads get answered, reports that show booked jobs by channel, published pricing, cancel-anytime terms, and the conditional “Leave in the Green” guarantee.

Side-by-Side Comparison

	TradeOps Consulting	Relentless Digital
Industry focus	HVAC & plumbing exclusively	Trades/home services, founded in 2020 by Josh Crouch, a former HVAC operations leader
What they are	A marketing agency that works only with HVAC and plumbing companies	A local-visibility specialist. Google Business Profile, local SEO, and map-pack rankings form the core of the offer
Marketing services	Local SEO and Google Business Profile, Google Ads, Local Services Ads, Facebook/Instagram ads, AI search optimization (measured by mention and citation rates), websites, lead generation, and call tracking tied to booked jobs	GBP optimization, local SEO/maps, Local Service Ads, websites, Zapier-based automations, Bullseye Pro platform
Branding	Brand identity and social media setup are included in the one-time Full System Build ($25,000 + $497/mo)	Not part of the published service menu
Who owns your website & ad accounts?	You. Your website, Google Business Profile, ad accounts and lead flow are set up on your accounts	Ownership terms aren’t stated publicly. Confirm them before you sign
Pricing transparency	Published plans: retainers from $2,000/mo, custom websites from $3,000, à la carte SEO $2,000/mo, Google Ads or Meta Ads $1,500/mo, LSA $500/mo; see all plans	No pricing published, custom quotes only
Contracts & guarantee	Cancel any time with 30 days’ notice before your next billing date. “Leave in the Green” guarantee: work with us 6+ months and, if you’re unsatisfied, we continue at no cost until you reach break-even, provided you meet its conditions (terms)	Contract terms not stated publicly; no published performance guarantee
Team & scale	A specialist agency for HVAC and plumbing companies, from owner-led shops to multi-location groups	Small, founder-led shop (est. 2020); also produces the Service Business Mastery podcast
Best fit	HVAC and plumbing companies that want marketing tied to booked jobs, published pricing, and cancel-anytime terms	$1M–$10M shops whose main goal is dominating the local map pack

Claims about Relentless Digital above come from public sources: their own website, podcast, and third-party listings, as of July 2026. Service menus change. Verify current offerings and terms directly with Relentless Digital before relying on this comparison.

What Relentless Digital Does Well

Relentless Digital does 4 things well: operator credibility, local SEO depth, trades-native service, and industry presence.

Real operator credibility. Josh Crouch spent nine years in HVAC operations before he founded the agency. He lived the dispatch board and the shoulder-season slump.
Deep local SEO and GBP focus. Google Business Profile, local maps, and the map pack form their specialty, not a side offering. Specialists who go deep on one channel usually execute that channel well.
Trades-native service, not generalist service. Relentless Digital skips the onboarding calls that explain what a maintenance agreement is. The team speaks contractor.
Industry presence. The Service Business Mastery podcast gives back to the trades community and shows genuine investment in the industry, not just sales to it.

Relentless Digital works as a credible, focused choice if local visibility is your one gap.

Where the Relentless Model Has Limits

The Relentless Digital model has limits in scope, not quality. A local-visibility specialist goes deep on one channel, and most HVAC and plumbing companies need more than one.

The engagement centers on visibility. GBP and map-pack rankings get the phone ringing. If calls go unanswered, more visibility just produces more waste. TradeOps includes CRM setup and automations in every monthly plan so missed calls get a text back and new form fills get an instant reply.
Automation runs at Zapier level. Zaps that route form fills help connect tools. They are a different thing from call tracking tied to a CRM, which lets a monthly report show booked jobs and revenue by channel.
Paid media runs thinner than the local SEO core. Relentless Digital offers LSAs, but a dedicated paid-media practice, Google PPC at scale plus managed Meta ads, isn’t the center of the offer the way maps are.
No AI search focus on the menu. AI search optimization isn’t part of the published offer. TradeOps measures it every month by mention rate and citation rate on ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude.
No published pricing and a thin third-party review footprint mark the offer. Learning the cost requires a sales call, and few independent reviews exist to research beforehand. That gap is common 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 Relentless Digital

Choose Relentless Digital if

Relentless Digital fits a $1M–$10M shop whose single biggest opportunity is owning the local map pack with a focused, trades-native GBP and local SEO partner.

Choose TradeOps if

TradeOps Consulting fits an HVAC or plumbing company, from an owner-led shop to a multi-location group, that wants local SEO, paid media and AI search from one agency, every call tracked to the job it booked, its accounts in its own name, pricing before the first call, and the conditional “Leave in the Green” guarantee.

FAQ

Is Relentless Digital good?

Relentless Digital is a focused, trades-native local SEO shop founded by a former HVAC operator who knows the industry from the inside, and by every public signal, Relentless Digital does that job well. The real question is whether local visibility alone is enough. A maps specialist works well if the map pack is your main opportunity. If you also want Google Ads, Meta ads and AI search, a broader agency fits better.

What’s the actual difference between Relentless Digital and TradeOps?

Scope and transparency mark the actual difference between Relentless Digital and TradeOps Consulting. Relentless Digital specializes in Google Business Profile, local SEO, and map-pack visibility. TradeOps Consulting works only with HVAC and plumbing companies and runs that same local search work, plus AI search optimization, Google Ads, Local Services Ads and managed Meta ads, with call tracking and a CRM so the monthly report shows booked jobs and revenue by channel. Unlike most of this market, TradeOps Consulting publishes its pricing.

Doesn’t Relentless do automation too?

Yes. Relentless Digital offers Zapier-based automations that genuinely help route leads and connect tools. TradeOps includes CRM setup and automations in every monthly plan as part of the marketing service: leads from every channel land in one place, missed calls get a text back, and new form fills get an instant reply. The goal is the same on both sides: the calls the marketing produces get answered.

Will I own my website and data with TradeOps?

Yes. TradeOps Consulting sets up your website, Google Business Profile, ad accounts, call tracking and CRM on your accounts from day one, so they stay with you if you ever part ways. Get ownership terms in writing before signing with any partner you choose.

What does TradeOps cost?

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.

Am I locked into a contract with TradeOps?

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.

Get My Free Call Audit

Takes 15 minutes. No pressure.

Related: Local SEO for HVAC companies.