Is the free Yoast plugin enough?

For most contractors, yes. The free version covers titles, descriptions, sitemaps, and basic schema, which is the foundation you need.

Where do I submit my sitemap?

In Google Search Console. Yoast generates the sitemap automatically; you paste its address into Search Console once.

No plugin can. Yoast makes sure Google reads your pages correctly, but ranking still depends on your content, reviews, and local signals.

A plain-English Yoast SEO setup for contractors. Titles, meta descriptions, sitemaps, and schema that help local customers find you on Google.