{"id":2118,"slug":"tier-2-hard-local-verticals","title":"Vertical Tier 2 — Hard-local (Dentistry, Trades, Real estate agents)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","candid-team"],"topics":["vertical-competitive-tiers"],"reference_body":"**Verticals:** Dentistry & cosmetic medical, Home services/trades (plumbing, HVAC, electrical, roofing), Real estate agents.\n\n**Why hard:** High local-pack saturation + high review bars + high CPC — BUT geographically bounded, so a well-run local entrant can win.\n\n**Evidence:**\n\n- Dentists CPC $7.85; Home Improvement $7.85 (2025). See [[wordstream-2025-cpc-benchmarks]].\n- Plumbers/HVAC/Pest 200-265 median reviews to rank 3-pack. See [[local-falcon-2025-review-bars-by-category]].\n- Dentists ~180 rural; more in metros (1.5-2x rural).\n\n**Confidence:** Industry-consensus.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"wordstream-2025-cpc-benchmarks","title":"WordStream/LocaliQ 2025 — Attorneys $8.58, Dentists $7.85, Restaurants $2.05 (vendor)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"local-falcon-2025-review-bars-by-category","title":"Local Falcon 2025 — 50M results: review bar to rank in 3-pack by category","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-smb-widget-vertical-difficulty-june-2026","title":"Research brief: SMB widget vertical difficulty — two-axis tiering by industry (June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-23T19:16:04.820Z","updated_at":"2026-06-23T19:16:04.820Z"}