Home Service Ads and the Future of the Three Pack
If you offer professional home services, you will have noticed that fairly recently Google rolled out their home service ads, and Home Services mobile app.
Home service ads appear in a three pack above and contain sponsored companies. To view unpaid companies, the browser has to click “more listings” to see what other options are available. When customers choose to click on an ad, they can directly contact that service provider or book them through the app.
So, what about those service companies that don’t want to be investing in Google adwords and paying for sponsored posts? How do home service ads affect them, knowing they cannot be included in the now-elusive three pack?
Is it time you got your own home services ad, or can you continue the way you have been?
The Benefits of Home Service Ads
We’ll start off by saying that Google’s move to create home service ads, while partially financially-oriented, is not the worst move they could have made.
Home service ads ensure that legitimate businesses invested in promoting their legitimate services are shown to clients first rather than spam. In the history of spam-battling, home service ads eliminate fake listings quite easily.
Google has also instated the Google Guarantee, in which they will pay for services rendered if an unsatisfactory service was paid for through their app.
Accurate information online is something we can all benefit from.
Will it Affect Me?
Starting to roll out in 2015, not every city has been hit by home service ads yet. Whether your city has been affected yet or not, these are the industries currently targeted:
- • Plumber
• House cleaner
• Locksmith
• Handyman
• Contractor
• Electrician
• General contractor
• Painter
• Garage door pro
• Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
• Roadside assistance service
• Auto glass service
While local map packs still display the three most relevant, local listings along with a map of the area, home service ads are still going to pop up if you search for services in general.
The Future of the Three Pack
Google’s three pack has evolved a lot over the years. Starting out as a seven pack which displayed business name, URL, address and phone number, the new three pack has less than half the listings, no phone number or addresses listed, the Google+ link removed, and when you click the business name you’re taken to a Google Maps page rather than to the business’ website.
Google’s direction seems to be focused on getting in on the local services market, and getting more money by controlling the process. With home service ads, we’re likely to see more ads on the horizon on Google in the future.
Trying out home services ads may not be the worst idea in the world as a service provider. You get to set your own weekly budget that limits the total number of leads you receive in any given week. If you receive invalid leads, you’re also able to dispute them.
For guaranteed recognition online and additional credibility, home service ads may be a necessary evil that home service providers will have to budget for now, and in the future.
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