Qualified estimates are the number. Tire-kickers cost you Saturdays.
SEOD builds Bay Area remodeling and ADU marketing that filters the lead before it reaches your calendar, so crew capacity goes to the jobs that actually close.
- 16 years operating
- $54M+ P&L operated
- 128 verified 5-star reviews
15 min. No sales pitch. Direct founder access.
Three things moving under Bay Area remodelers in 2026.
The ADU permit window is compressing, and demand moves with it.
State policy keeps pushing ADU production, and AB 462 streamlines coastal ADU permits, cutting approval timelines that once ran 6 to 12 months down toward 3 to 6. Shorter approvals mean homeowners start searching closer to the decision, and the builder who is visible in that window books the job.
Buyers arrive with no calibration on price, and it burns your estimating hours.
A detached Bay Area ADU commonly runs $250,000 to $350,000 for 500 to 800 square feet, plus 12 to 18% in soft costs, with permit fees on top. Every homeowner who books an estimate expecting half that is a Saturday you will not get back.
AI answers are absorbing the discovery click.
A randomized field study found Google’s AI Overviews cut outbound organic clicks by 39.8% and raised zero-click searches by 34.5%. When a homeowner asks ChatGPT what an ADU costs in San Mateo County, the answer gets assembled from whoever published real numbers. That should be you.
The Sprint is built for this environment. Not the 2019 contractor playbook.
Built by an operator who protects capacity like you do.
Eric ran $54M+ in F&B P&L across BCD Tofu House, Gen Korean Barbecue, Sake2Me Sushi, and Obaba Fresh. Sixteen years running businesses where capacity is finite and every hour spent on the wrong customer is an hour you cannot resell.
A design-build firm runs the same problem. Crew utilization is the labor line. Project gross margin behaves like prime cost. And lead qualification is reservation confirmation: both exist to filter the no-show before it consumes capacity you have already paid for. A booked estimate with an unqualified homeowner is a table held for someone who was never coming.
You get an operator who treats your estimating hours as inventory. Not an agency that celebrates lead volume and leaves you to sort it out.
The Operator Sprint, tuned for remodelers and adu builders.
$750 setup + $250/mo × 6 months · $2,250 total · Cancel anytime after month 6
- Onsite kickoff at your office or a jobsite. 90 minutes with Eric, including a look at how leads currently reach your estimator and where they stall.
- Google Business Profile deep optimization built around completed project galleries, which is what homeowners actually scroll before they call.
- 48 GBP posts across the 6-month Sprint, written to project intent (“ADU permit approved in Redwood City,” “kitchen down to studs,” “garage conversion complete”).
- Google Local Services Ads setup and management, including the screening and badge process that puts you above standard results for contractor intent.
- Lead qualification form built to filter before it books, capturing budget band, timeline, and permit status so your estimator sees a shortlist rather than a pile.
- Published price-range page for your service area. Stating real ranges costs you the wrong calls, which is the entire point.
- AI-answer optimization so your firm surfaces when someone asks an AI engine about ADU cost or permitting in your county.
- Monthly dashboard showing GBP impressions, calls, form fills, and the qualified share of those fills rather than raw lead count.
- Monthly 15-minute operator call with Eric. He reads your numbers and tells you which job type is worth chasing next quarter.
- Text Eric directly at 707-718-3579. 4-hour response window, 9am to 9pm PT.
15 min. No sales pitch. Direct founder access.
What we don’t do for remodelers and adu builders.
No permit expediting.
We do not file, chase, or represent you on permits. That is a licensed relationship with the jurisdiction and a specialist does it better and faster than we would.
No project management software.
Buildertrend, CoConstruct, and their peers own this. We read from your reporting for the dashboard and stay out of the build workflow.
No renderings or architectural drawings.
We market the work, we do not design it. We will happily point you at Bay Area designers who do this properly.
No buying shared marketplace leads.
Angi and Thumbtack sell the same homeowner to four contractors. We build demand that arrives addressed to you, which is a slower and considerably better business.
The tools we actually run for remodelers and adu builders.
Not a logo wall. These are the systems we log into on your behalf during the Sprint.
Google Business Profile Manager
Project galleries, service areas, and posts. The first thing a homeowner scrolls.
Google Local Services Ads
Screening, badge, and budget management for contractor intent.
Google Ads
Capture on ADU and named-remodel searches when paid is in scope.
Meta Business Manager
Neighborhood-radius targeting around completed projects.
Buildertrend exports
Read-only. We work from your reporting, we do not touch the build workflow.
Yelp Business Manager
Still consulted for contractor selection locally. Response and velocity managed.
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude
Tracked monthly for how often your firm gets cited in AI answers.
What this looks like in practice.
A typical remodeling client sees weekly GBP impressions rise 2 to 3x within 30 days of Sprint kickoff. The change owners tend to notice first is not lead volume, it is that the estimator stops driving to appointments that were never going to close, because budget band and permit status get captured before the calendar opens.
These are the patterns we build toward, not a promise. Actual outcomes vary by city, your project mix, and how fast your team responds to an inbound form. We publish named client results only with the client's permission and real numbers attached.
Sprint vs the two alternatives you're weighing.
Most Bay Area design-build owners weigh a part-time marketing coordinator, buying leads from a marketplace, or running the Sprint. Here is the honest comparison.
| SEOD Operator Sprint | In-house marketing coordinator | Angi or Thumbtack lead marketplace | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost over 6 months | $2,250 total | $24,000 to $36,000 (part-time salary plus burden) | $6,000 to $30,000 in lead fees |
| Lead exclusivity | Yours, they came to you | Yours | Shared with 3 to 5 competitors |
| Bay Area onsite | Yes, 90 min with Eric | Yes, they work at your office | No |
| Qualification before booking | Budget, timeline, permit status captured | If they build it | Minimal, volume is the product |
| Google Local Services badge | Set up and managed | If they know the process | Not included |
| AI-answer optimization | Baked in | Rare | No |
| Who you actually talk to | Eric, by text, 4-hour window | Your employee | Account support |
| Commitment | 6-month bundle, cancel anytime after | Ongoing employment | Pay per lead, indefinitely |
Coordinator cost assumes a $40K to $60K Bay Area part-time salary plus roughly 25% burden, prorated to 6 months. Marketplace range assumes Bay Area remodeling lead prices at a modest monthly volume. Marketplaces are not useless, they are just rented demand. If you need volume this week, buy leads. If you want a pipeline that compounds, build one.
Questions Bay Area remodelers and adu builders owners ask.
Do you set up the Google Guaranteed badge?
Yes. We handle the Local Services Ads profile, the license and insurance documentation, the screening submission, and ongoing budget management. The background check itself is between you and Google's vendor, and we will tell you up front if something in your file is likely to slow it down.
Is ADU marketing different from remodel marketing?
Yes, and treating them the same is the common mistake. ADU searches carry permit and financing questions that a kitchen remodel search does not, and the homeowner is often earlier and more anxious. We build separate pages and separate ad intent for each.
Will publishing price ranges cost us leads?
It will cost you the wrong ones, which is the point. Homeowners who bounce off a real range were never going to sign. The ones who stay arrive calibrated, and your estimator stops donating Saturdays to conversations that end at the number.
Do we need professional project photos?
It helps more here than in almost any other niche, because the gallery is the pitch. Phone photos in good light beat nothing, and we will tell you which completed projects are worth a real shoot rather than sending you to photograph everything.
Do you buy leads for us?
No. We build demand that arrives addressed to you. If you also want to run marketplace leads, that is a reasonable parallel channel, we just will not manage or mark it up.
Do you work with firms under $1M in revenue?
Yes, if you have crew capacity to absorb work. Below roughly $500K the free 3-Point Visibility Audit is the better starting point, and the Sprint makes more sense once a second crew exists.
What if we already rank well locally?
Then the Sprint is probably about qualification and AI-answer visibility rather than rankings. Eric will say so on the call. Paying us to improve something already working is not a good trade for you.
Three ways to start.
Not ready yet? Start with the free 3-Point Visibility Audit. 48 hours. No sales call. Get the audit →