Google Home Services are rolling out. They hit Phoenix Locksmiths yesterday. If you have a home services company, get ready.
Google’s locksmith category has been fighting large syndicates engaged in switch and bait scams.
Legitimate locksmiths suffer and customers get scammed. Google has played whack-a-mole delisting the fake listings, but they just pop up a new site.
Look at the new box at the top of the search results for Locksmith:
Locksmith Home Services Box
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This box shows three businesses, their Reviews score and a new green shield labeled Google Guaranteed.
My locksmith client says "Good news, they are all real locksmiths, not scammers."
If you click through to the "More locksmiths" listing you find a whole new page:
The Home Services List For Locksmiths
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In this case, the top 5 have a Google Guaranteed sticker, a review score, their city and hours, and a phone number. That’s not the businesses phone number, it’s a tracking number so Google can track the number of calls the listing gets.
You didn’t see the “Sponsored” in the top right of the results listing? Somebody has to pay for the process of verifying businesses and checking licensing. Google says they’ve hired the Pinkerton Detective Agency to do the background checks.
It’s for any home service: Plumbers, Electricians, Garage Door Repair, HVAC are all live in Phoenix. General Contractors, Handymen, Auto Glass, Painters, even House Cleaners are on the way.
Google has a signup form so you can hear about this before it reaches you. Go here:
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Brock McGee, Master Blaster Pressure Washers & Master Burn Heating via Google