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

SearchKings ranks among the biggest Local Service Ads and Google Ads managers in the world. SearchKings serves 5,000+ small businesses on genuinely low-risk terms. So this isn’t a hit piece.

This page lays out the real differences between SearchKings and TradeOps Consulting so you can decide which model fits your business. We give SearchKings full credit where it earns it, and we state the one difference that matters most plainly. SearchKings is a paid-ads specialist across many industries. TradeOps is a full-service marketing agency that works only with HVAC and plumbing companies. TradeOps runs those same paid channels alongside local SEO, Google Business Profile, AI search optimization and your website, and tracks every call to the job it booked.

The 30-Second Verdict

Choose SearchKings if…

SearchKings fits companies that want fast, low-commitment paid leads from Google Ads and Local Service Ads only. You manage your own website, SEO, and lead follow-up yourself.

Choose TradeOps if…

TradeOps fits HVAC and plumbing companies that want paid ads plus the organic assets that compound over time: SEO, AI search, Google Business Profile, and website, with CRM automations so new leads get answered, every call tracked to a booked job, all on accounts you own, and the conditional “Leave in the Green” guarantee.

Side-by-Side Comparison

What SearchKings Does Well

SearchKings does 4 things well: deep LSA expertise, genuinely low-risk terms, a proven track record, and fast paid-ad launches.

• Genuine LSA depth. SearchKings claims to be the largest Local Service Ads manager in the world and has been a Google Premier Partner since 2012. SearchKings has deep expertise in paid Google traffic.
• Genuinely low-risk terms. SearchKings charges a flat monthly fee decoupled from ad spend, month-to-month, with no setup fee. That is an honest, low-pressure way to sell paid-media management, and TradeOps respects it. On contract flexibility, TradeOps and SearchKings are equals.
• Volume and track record. SearchKings was founded in 2009, employs roughly 85 staff, serves 5,000+ customers, and claims 1,000+ five-star Google reviews. That is real staying power.
• Speed to leads. SearchKings manages only paid ads, so SearchKings launches campaigns and starts phones ringing quickly. There is no long build and no wait for SEO to mature.

If all you want is competently managed paid ads on flexible terms, SearchKings is a legitimately reasonable choice.

Where the SearchKings Model Has Limits

The SearchKings model has 5 limits for HVAC and plumbing companies that need more than paid ads. SearchKings built these limits into the business by design, not by oversight. The question is whether a channel alone is enough for what you are building.

• You rent visibility forever. No SEO, no AEO, no content, and no GBP optimization mean every lead costs money every month, indefinitely. Turn the ads off and the leads stop the same day. No organic asset compounds in the background; nothing you own grows more valuable over time.
• No website, no CRO. SearchKings sends paid traffic to whatever site you already have. If your website leaks conversions, you pay premium click prices into a leaky bucket. Fixing the bucket is not on SearchKings’ menu.
• Marketing stops at the lead. SearchKings sets up no CRM and no lead follow-up automation. LSA leads reward the fastest responder, and paid leads that hit a slow reply become expensive missed calls. 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.
• High account loads. With 5,000+ customers and roughly 85 staff, third-party estimates suggest each account manager carries a heavy load. Some reviewers on Trustpilot, where roughly 5% of reviews are one-star, report seeing little in the way of results or data; a minority view, but worth weighing.
• Not trades-exclusive. SearchKings serves other local-service industries beyond HVAC and plumbing. HVAC and plumbing are verticals to SearchKings; TradeOps works only with HVAC and plumbing companies.

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.

Which Should You Choose?

Choose SearchKings if

SearchKings fits small local businesses that want fast, low-commitment paid leads from Google Ads and LSA. You handle your own website, SEO, and lead follow-up.

Choose TradeOps if

TradeOps fits HVAC and plumbing companies, from owner-led shops to multi-location groups, that want paid ads, SEO, AI search and a website from one agency working only in their two trades. You want every call tracked to the job it booked, your accounts in your own name, and the conditional “Leave in the Green” guarantee behind the work.

FAQ

SearchKings is good at paid-media management. SearchKings is a credible, long-standing paid-media specialist: deep LSA and Google Ads expertise, a Google Premier Partner since 2012, and genuinely low-risk month-to-month, flat-fee terms. The question is not whether SearchKings is good at paid ads; the question is whether paid ads alone are enough. Without SEO, a website, or lead follow-up, every lead is rented, and what happens after the phone rings is entirely on you.

The actual difference between SearchKings and TradeOps is one channel versus several. SearchKings manages paid ads only, for many industries: Google Ads, LSA, Microsoft Ads, and CTV. TradeOps works only with HVAC and plumbing companies and runs Google Ads, LSA and Meta ads alongside local SEO, AI search optimization, Google Business Profile, and a website you own, with call tracking and a CRM so the monthly report shows booked jobs and revenue by channel.

TradeOps is also month-to-month. TradeOps clients cancel anytime with 30 days’ notice before the next billing date. On flexibility, TradeOps and SearchKings are even. TradeOps goes further with the guarantee. TradeOps’ “Leave in the Green” guarantee means TradeOps keeps working at no cost until you reach break-even if you have worked with TradeOps 6+ months and are unsatisfied (conditions apply). SearchKings publishes no comparable performance guarantee.

TradeOps manages Local Service Ads alone. LSA management is available à la carte at $500/month, and Google Ads management costs $1,500/month. Many clients pair paid ads with SEO so leads keep coming when ad spend changes, but TradeOps offers a single channel if that is where you want to start.

Paid ads get results faster than SEO in the first weeks. That is why TradeOps often runs paid ads from day one. Paid-only means renting visibility forever: stop paying and the leads stop. SEO, AEO, and GBP build an owned asset that compounds and lowers your cost per booked job over time. The strongest position combines both: paid ads for speed, organic assets for compounding, and fast lead follow-up so every call gets answered.

TradeOps publishes its pricing. 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 costs $25,000 plus $497/month. À la carte pricing includes SEO at $2,000/mo, Google Ads at $1,500/mo, Meta Ads at $1,500/mo, and LSA at $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.

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: Google Local Services Ads for HVAC and plumbing companies.