How to Get More Customers as a Chimney Sweep
Forget the marketing hype. For most chimney sweep business owners, more customers comes from doing one thing well: showing up at the top of Google when someone searches for "chimney sweep near me". Here's how.
14-day free trial · No setup fees · Cancel anytime
Where Chimney Sweep Customers Actually Come From
Most chimney sweep business owners overestimate social media and underestimate Google. The honest breakdown for a typical chimney sweep: roughly 60% of new customers come from local Google search, 20% from word of mouth, 10% from directories like Checkatrade, and the remaining 10% is everything else combined.
Local Google search
Someone types "chimney sweep near me" and clicks one of the top 3 results in the map pack. Owned, ranking-driven, compounds.
Word of mouth
A friend, neighbour, or family member recommends you. Often they'll still Google-check you before calling.
Directories
Platforms like Checkatrade send paid leads. Useful for top-up — terrible as a primary channel.
Everything else
Social media, leaflets, vehicle wraps, Google Ads, and your existing customer database all combined.
Why Google Reviews Bring You Customers
60% of your customers come from Google search. Chimney sweeping is an annual trust purchase. Customers want someone reliable, clean, and thorough. Reviews about tidiness, professionalism, and helpful fire safety advice ensure they rebook next year — and recommend you to neighbours. Reviews are the bridge between someone typing your search term and someone calling your number — the higher you rank and the more reviews you have, the wider that bridge gets.
"chimney sweep near me"
Google shows the top three results for this search based heavily on review count, rating, and recency. Most clicks go to those three.
Trust signal
For a chimney sweep business, reviews are the first social proof potential customers see — long before they ever talk to you.
Permanent asset
Unlike Checkatrade, Google reviews are free, owned by you, and don't disappear when you stop paying.
Why You're Not Getting Enough Calls
It's almost never because you're bad at the work. It's one of these four reasons — and they're all fixable.
Annual sweeps are routine — customers don't think to review routine services
Your busiest months are September-November — no time to chase reviews
Customers forget you exist until next year's sweep
Insurance certificates are expected, not differentiating
Top-ranking chimney sweeps typically have 25-50 Google reviews.
The Acquisition Engine Behind the Calls
Customer acquisition for a chimney sweep business is mostly a review collection problem in disguise. Fix the collection and the calls follow. Grow Our Reviews handles the collection automatically, so the acquisition takes care of itself.
Finish a sweep
Wrap up the work the same way you always have. Nothing changes in how you operate.
Add the customer
Drop their name and mobile into the app — fifteen seconds, from your phone.
Reviews land
Happy customers post directly to Google. Unhappy ones give you private feedback first.
Examples — From Search to Customer
Three real journeys. A homeowner searching for a chimney sweeping, someone urgently needing a bird nest removal, a referral checking your profile before they call. Each one is a customer won or lost on what they see.
chimney sweeping
A customer who's just had a chimney sweeping from you is the easiest review you'll ever ask for — when the moment is right. The system catches that moment.
bird nest removal
A customer who's just had a bird nest removal from you is the easiest review you'll ever ask for — when the moment is right. The system catches that moment.
chimney CCTV survey
A customer who's just had a chimney CCTV survey from you is the easiest review you'll ever ask for — when the moment is right. The system catches that moment.
stove installation
A customer who's just had a stove installation from you is the easiest review you'll ever ask for — when the moment is right. The system catches that moment.
Seasonality note: Peak season August through November — bank reviews in your quiet months so your profile is strongest going into the busy season.
Pricing to Get You More Customers
14-day free trial on the plan you choose. Card required. Cancel from the dashboard anytime.
Lite
Enough credits for around 30 sweeps a month.
- Up to 30 message credits per month
- SMS review requests
- Automatic follow-up nudges (can enable/disable)
- Sentiment gate (review filtering)
- Analytics dashboard
- Email support
Starter
Enough credits for around 150 sweeps a month.
- Up to 150 message credits per month
- SMS review requests
- Automatic follow-up nudges (can enable/disable)
- Sentiment gate (review filtering)
- Analytics dashboard
- Email support
Growth
Enough credits for around 300 sweeps a month.
- Up to 300 message credits per month
- Everything in Starter
- Priority support
Common Questions
What's the fastest way to get more customers as a chimney sweep?+
Improve your Google ranking. Reviews are the fastest lever — typical lift in 4-8 weeks of consistent collection. Paid ads are faster but don't compound, so the moment you stop paying, the customers stop.
Should I advertise on Google or build organic ranking?+
Both, in that order. Organic ranking via reviews is the long-term asset. Paid ads make sense once your profile converts — they don't make sense to a profile with 12 reviews.
Do directories like Checkatrade still work?+
For chimney sweeps they can — but the ROI rarely beats Google. A pound spent on review collection compounds for years. A pound spent on Checkatrade stops working the moment you stop paying.
How many extra customers can I expect from better reviews?+
A typical chimney sweep business moving into the top three local results sees enquiry volume roughly double. From there it compounds — more customers mean more potential reviewers, which means even better ranking.
Your next customer is already searching.
They typed "chimney sweep near me" five minutes ago. The question is whether your chimney sweep business shows up in the top three or the third page. Reviews decide which.
Get More Customers14-day free trial · No setup fees · Cancel anytime
Other Trades we work with
The same approach works for adjacent trades — same automation, different defaults.
More for chimney sweeps
Same topic, different angles — useful if you're researching how reviews fit into your wider chimney sweeping business.
Further reading
Articles from the blog that go deeper into the topics on this page.