Google and the map, explained

Google Business Profile (GBP)

What it is: Your free business listing on Google. It is what shows up with your name, hours, phone, photos and reviews when someone searches for you or for a pool service near them.

What it does for you: It is the single most valuable thing you own online, and it costs nothing. It puts you in Google Maps and in the map results on a phone.

Without it: You are not in the map pack. You cannot run Local Service Ads. You have no review profile. There is no workaround and no way to buy your way in.

It used to be called Google My Business. Google retired that name years ago. If a marketing company still says GMB, that tells you something.

Claimed vs unclaimed listing

What it is: A claimed profile is one where the owner has verified with Google that they own the business. Unclaimed means Google built the listing from other data and nobody ever verified it.

What it does for you: Claiming it means you control what it says and you get notified when somebody suggests a change.

Without it: Anyone can suggest edits to your hours or your phone number and you would not know. Unclaimed listings also rank worse.

The map pack (local 3-pack)

What it is: The three businesses shown with a small map and call buttons at the top of a local search.

What it does for you: This is where the phone calls are. On a phone it takes up most of the first screen.

Without a profile: You are not eligible. There is no other door into this box.

NAP consistency

What it is: Your Name, Address and Phone number as they appear across the internet. Directories, your website, your social profiles, everywhere.

What it does for you: When they all match, Google trusts your data and ranks you higher locally.

Without it: Mismatches quietly drag your map ranking down. It is boring work and it matters more than most people expect.

Citation

What it is: Any place online that lists your business name, address and phone. Directories, chambers of commerce, trade associations.

What it does for you: Citations confirm to Google that you are a real business in a real place. They feed local ranking.

Service area business

What it is: A business classification on Google for companies that go to the customer rather than the customer coming to them. Pool routes are service area businesses.

What it does for you: Set up correctly, it lets you hide your home address while still defining where you work.

Set up wrong: This is one of the most common causes of a Google Business Profile getting suspended. It happens to pool operators constantly.

Geo grid

What it is: A map of a service area split into points, where the same search is run at every single point to see where you rank at each one.

What it does for you: It shows you the truth. Your ranking is not one number, it is different on every street, because Google factors in how close the searcher is to you.

Without it: You search your own name on your own phone, Google shows you a flattering answer, and you think you are fine. Ours uses 49 points across a nine mile span. That is the Route Rank Report.

Local Service Ads (LSA)

What it is: Google's pay-per-lead ads for local businesses. They sit at the very top of the page, above regular ads. You pay per call, never per click.

What it does for you: The highest-intent placement on the page, and you only pay when the phone actually rings.

What it requires: A Google Business Profile, plus your license, your insurance, and a background check submitted to Google.

Google Verified (formerly Google Guaranteed)

What it is: The green checkmark badge on Local Service Ads. Google verifies your license, insurance and background, and backs the job up to a limit.

What it does for you: It moves trust more than almost anything else on the page. Verification takes one to three weeks, so we apply on day one.

Google Search ads

What it is: The sponsored results that appear when someone searches. You choose the keywords, write the ad, and pick the page they land on.

What it does for you: Demand capture. Somebody typing "pool service near me" is a buyer right now, not a browser.

Without a website: You cannot run them. Google will not run an ad with nowhere to send the click.

Performance Max (PMax)

What it is: Google's automated campaign type. One setup runs across Search, Maps, YouTube, Gmail and Display, and Google decides where to spend.

What it does for you: Reach beyond what you would target manually, once there is enough data to steer it.

Turned on too early: It is expensive guessing. We do not turn it on until 30 tracked conversions have landed in 30 days.

Keywords and match types

What it is: The search terms you bid on, and how loosely Google is allowed to interpret them. Exact means close to what you typed. Phrase allows extra words around it. Broad lets Google interpret freely.

What it does for you: Tight match types spend your money on buyers. Broad reaches more people, most of whom are not buyers.

Done wrong: Broad match on a small local budget is the fastest way to burn money in this business. We start exact and phrase, and only widen when the data earns it.

Negative keywords

What it is: A list of terms you refuse to show up for.

What it does for you: Blocks pool tables, pool builders, above-ground pools, pool supplies, swim lessons, DIY guides, and people looking for a job.

Without them: You pay for every one of those clicks. This list is never finished. We prune it weekly, forever.

Search terms report

What it is: The list of what people actually typed before your ad showed. Different from your keyword list.

What it does for you: It is where negative keywords come from, and where new keyword ideas come from. Reading it is a weekly job.

Quality Score

What it is: Google's 1 to 10 rating of how relevant your keyword, your ad and your landing page are to each other.

What it does for you: A higher score means Google charges you less for the same click position. This is why landing pages matter and sending everything to your homepage is expensive.

Bid strategies

What it is: How you tell Google to spend. Maximize Clicks buys traffic. Maximize Conversions buys results. Target CPA buys results at a price you set.

What it does for you: Getting this right is the difference between cheap clicks and actual customers.

The trap: Maximize Clicks is the default and it feels great. Lots of traffic, low cost per click, no calls. We start there only because the automation needs data first, then move to conversion bidding as soon as there is enough.

Ad extensions (assets)

What it is: The extra pieces attached to an ad. Call buttons, sitelinks, callouts, location, price.

What it does for you: More of the page, more reasons to click, and a call button so somebody can dial you without visiting anything.

Dayparting

What it is: Choosing which hours and days your ads run, or run harder.

What it does for you: Weights your spend toward the hours your phone actually gets answered. Though with missed-call text back running, off-hours traffic is worth more than it used to be.

Landing page

What it is: A single page built for one purpose, which someone lands on after clicking an ad.

What it does for you: One message, one offer, click-to-call above the fold, no navigation to wander off into. It converts several times better than a homepage.

Without it: You send paid clicks to a homepage and hope. That is how do-it-yourself accounts burn money.