Local Services Ads
Google Guaranteed
Top of the page, paid by the lead.
Local Services Ads sit above everything else on the results page, including paid search. You pay per lead rather than per click.
Why photography moves this channel
profile quality signals Google names for Local Services Ads ranking is use of high quality images. Video is not among them.
Source: Google Local Services Help, About ad rankings
Google states higher quality profiles, including those with images, may rank higher and may also pay lower costs per lead
Source: Google Local Services Help, About ad rankings
Three companies, one tap
A homeowner searching at 6am sees three verified companies with similar ratings. Nothing inside the listing separates them. Photos are the only creative Google gives you room for, which is why the shoot matters here even though the video itself never appears.
What this channel is
The Google Guaranteed placement at the very top of local results. Screening, licence and insurance verification, and a lead-based model rather than a click-based one. For home services it is often the highest intent placement available.
How we run it
- Verification and Google Guaranteed setup handled end to end
- Service categories and areas configured to the jobs you actually want
- Leads disputed where they are out of area or out of category, so you are not paying for waste
- Reviews fed in continuously, since ranking here leans on them
- Real crew photography kept current on the profile, which Google names as a quality signal
- Response time watched, because missed calls count against you here
Where the photography comes in
Google gives you no headline here, no body copy, and no video. Photographs are the only creative surface the listing hands you, and Google names image quality directly as a profile quality signal. That makes the shoot matter to this channel even though the film itself never appears on it.
- Faces, not facades. A homeowner choosing between three verified companies is deciding who they will let into their house. The crew reads as an answer to that question. A photo of the building does not.
- Real work beats stock every time. Stock photography is the fastest way to look like the two listings either side of you, which is the opposite of what this placement is for.
- Recency is part of the signal. A gallery shot two years ago quietly says the company has not done anything since. Photos captured alongside each production keep it current.
- One shoot covers every surface a homeowner checks. The same crew photography fills this profile, the Google Business Profile gallery, the website, and the ads, so all four look like the same company.
- Video still earns the tap, it just does it elsewhere. Recall built on streaming, social and search is what decides which of three near-identical listings gets chosen, and your site is what carries them after.
The rest of the system
Put video at the center
Book a free 30-minute strategy session. We will show you what this channel looks like with a real asset behind it.
Book a 30 minute call