Google seems to have an answer for everything, and now the search engine giant will help you find a plumber, a locksmith and even house cleaners at the click of a button. As the Mountain View giant just began rolling out a new search feature that shows listings of qualified service providers when a user searches for queries related to a ‘clogged toilet’ or for that matter a ‘broken lock’.
From now on, search results in Google will provide links to qualified service providers. According to Google, so far the services included are plumbers, locksmiths, handymen and house cleaners, which also includes contact information, along with other relevant info. As these are rather commonly used terms that users enter billion times in a day.
The new service has been developed by Google’s advertising technology team, a part of the company’s AdWords Express. It essentially allows skilled service providers to be displayed among top search results, who’ll in turn have to pay Google. Implying that these are primarily paid ads, tailored around the idea of providing basic home services that people need to get fixed because of the recurring nature of such services.
While in order to qualify, these small enterprises need to undergo a mandatory set of checks such as license, insurance along with background checks. Thus making sure that quality standards of these services are maintained.
Hence, users now will never have to leave the Google, as they can place a call or send requests directly via Google’s search listings, which is apparently the feature that distinguishes Google’s service from other similar service providers such as Yelp or Amazon. However, the service for now has only been rolled out in San Francisco and the Bay Area for now. While there is no official statement from the company as to when the company plans to roll out the service in other parts of the world.
Amazon launched a similar service back in March, though the online e-commerce giant acts as an intermediary, and charges between 10 percent and 20 percent depending upon the service. The online retailer now has a directory which lists qualified home service providers in 41 cities.
