Where your competition is in Iowa
The largest concentrations of restoration companies in our Iowa data are in Des Moines, Davenport, Cedar Rapids, West Des Moines, Sioux City, Grimes, Waterloo and Marion. Competition for the map pack is heaviest there, and so is the reward: the same review count that dominates a small town is invisible in Des Moines.
The map pack in Iowa
Google shows three businesses in the map pack for a search like "restoration company near me" in Des Moines. In Iowa the shops that hold those spots usually sit near the 90th percentile, 140 reviews, not the median. 21.4% of Iowa restoration companies have passed 100 reviews; the other 78.6% are competing for whatever is left below the fold.
The website gap in Iowa
A website is the clearest marker of a restoration company that is going to compete for the map pack, and 6.8% of restoration companies in Iowa do not have one linked. Across the country the median review count with a site is 22, without one 2. If your shop is in the 6.8%, start there.
Hours and after-hours calls
88.3% of Iowa restoration companies list themselves as open 24 hours. If you take after-hours calls, say so in your profile hours, because Google shows "Closed" in red on a profile that says it is closed. If you do not, list real hours and let missed-call text-back cover the gap, so the caller gets a reply instead of dialing the next name.
How Iowa compares
Of the 50 states in our data, Iowa ranks 34th for the number of restoration companies, 44th for median review count, and 43rd for the share with no website, so a website alone will not set you apart here. The review bar is lower than in most of the country, so a few months of asking every customer moves you up fast.
| State | Listed | Median reviews | No site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa | 103 | 13 | 6.8% |
| Illinois | 489 | 19 | 12.9% |
| Indiana | 224 | 27.5 | 8% |
| Kansas | 105 | 24 | 10.5% |
| Michigan | 420 | 27 | 11.2% |
| Minnesota | 191 | 34 | 5.2% |
| Missouri | 222 | 18.5 | 14.4% |
| Nebraska | 39 | 46 | 10.3% |
| North Dakota | 19 | 24 | 10.5% |
What to do first in Iowa
- Set a review velocity. One review per job day, asked at the door, moves a 13-review shop past the Iowa 75th percentile (73) within a year. The guides have the scripts.
- Finish the Google profile: primary category, every service you offer, real job photos, and hours that match reality. It is free and it is where Iowa customers decide.
- Turn on missed-call text-back. Run the calculator with your own numbers to see what unanswered calls cost.
- Then, and only then, spend on ads. Pointed at a profile with 13 reviews and no website, ads pay for your competitor's education. Pointed at a finished profile, they work.
The full national picture, with percentiles, ratings and hours, is in the benchmark report. The method is on the about page.