First I want the app to pick my location for me so I don't have to think. If it can't do that, then either the city name or the first 3 characters of postal code are fine.

City name and the first 3 characters are really not helpful

For those of us in smaller centres, less populated areas, we use the name of the town, city within a distance option

In a less populated area, searching within x km of postal code should work. I just weed out the locations in the States or a ferry ride away that result from the search.

local area, my small town or one half hour away. We have lived here for years, we tend to know who the good contractors/ tradesmen are. Sorry but the ads that come up on Houzz for my area are 6-7 hours away, I don't even glance at them.

City name only. The only time I use a postal code to search is if I'm looking for a local branch of a multi-location company. Closer to me does not always mean easier or faster to get to, so distance by postal code isn't generally helpful.

I use both postal code and city name.

I use city name only.

City name. But the city of Toronto is quite large so often even the name of a suburb so you get someone fairly local. I live in the West end. If I hire someone from the East end, he could be commuting well over an hour to my house daily and back and that would be time I'd be paying for, so I prefer to deal with someone nearby if possible.

I'm sure this would be true of other metropolitan areas as well. Vancouver would be the same, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa etc.

I wouldn't use my postal code for that type of search. Some supplier websites want postal code to direct you to a dealer nearby - that is really the only time I'd search with my postal code.

We use just the city name. Canadian postal codes are kind of "weird."

. E get contracted .

Would refer to a city plus up to 150

I type in my ciy, province (Waterloo, ON), and then distance in km if necessary

City name with distance but it can lead to misleading results. For instance, I'm near Vancouver but often get Victoria pros come up in a search. It may be "close" as the crow flies, but Victoria is on Vancouver Island - 1.5 hours away by ferry. No pro would travel that far unless desperate for work.

I use the Name of the Region...eg Niagara. Sometimes I also add the city name. I live in a rural area so have to widen the search. Postal codes are just that...great for mail delivery but not so much for defining a geographical area.

I use just the city name. Since I live in a smaller city next to larger one, I use the larger cities name instead of mine.

Google maps, street address is best. Most specific. Postal codes are for mailmen - of which there are soon going to be none of!!!!

Or should I have said "mail persons"?

City name + mileage. My entire town is one postal code, but I live closer to two other towns !

Houzz is always showing me adds for companies hours away, I think it might have to do with my internet provider bouncing signals, always different areas of the province!

I live in the bush, outside a tiny village in Northern Ontario. Since Facebook came along, all we have to do is go to our town page and ask folks for recommendations for any job we want done and not only will we get suggested trades people, but what their customers thought of the job they did.

Yes we use postal codes, just like you use Zip codes

I live in a small town. Postal code is useless, word of mouth operates very effectively here! I search for some services by city or area name.