I've spent a lot of time working with tradespeople - general contractors, electricians, the lot. One thing I've found is that the moment you launch a site, the clock starts ticking. They've paid you, and they want leads yesterday. That impatience is understandable, but it'll kill a relationship if you don't manage it from day one.
My approach is similar: get them on Google Local Service Ads straight away. In most US markets, GCs qualify, and those ads convert well. I frame it as the foundation - you're buying today's results so we can build tomorrow's organic rankings without the pressure. The ad spend pays for itself, and more importantly, it buys trust. Once the client sees a positive ROI on the paid side, they relax. That space is what you need to let the SEO work.
It's like planting an orchard. You can't eat the fruit for a few seasons, but you can sell vegetables from the same plot in the meantime. The blue collar guys are brilliant clients once they see a return, but if you leave them staring at empty soil for too long, they'll dig up the whole field and move on.
