[ge96]

Minor rant: I can't seem to contact an actual towing company directly, it's usually some external entity that ranks top in Google then they charge you more to find the actual local towing company. It says "Towing company in city name" but it's not local.

[mynameisash]

This was my experience last year when I wanted to find a locksmith. EVERY result on GMaps that was shown as being in my city was, in fact, some centralized company that seemed to contract out to guys working out of their cars. Every one took my name and said they'd get back to me (which they did).

This is certainly a problem with the locksmith companies, but I think there's also a Maps problem, too: Google enables this kind of commerce, especially businesses that apparently have a physical location but explicitly stated on the phone that I can't stop by there. It reminded me of all of the thousands of Delaware corps housed in a single building.

If Google made it so that you're only listed on the map if you actually have a physical commerce location, that would help a lot -- at least for those kinds of businesses that need it. Towing companies and the like may be an exception?

[btilly]

Oh locksmiths are a fun one.

The type of people get into locksmithing are like those who do computer security for fun - they like to figure out how things work and how they can be broken. Which means that every locksmith wants to figure out how to game the system. And the first thing that they all figured out is that people tend to select whatever locksmith is closest. So they all went and pretended to be in a million places around the neighborhood in hopes that THEY would get selected.

That was the case a decade ago. And it was a nightmare. Glancing at a locksmith search now, Google somehow cleaned that up a lot. But it doesn't surprise me that whoever is on top now is someone who figured out how to game the current system.

[jjoonathan]

Does Google get paid more if they link you directly or if they link you to the middleman?

> The goals of the advertising business model do not always correspond to providing quality search to users. - Backrub paper

[saghm]

> This was my experience last year when I wanted to find a locksmith. EVERY result on GMaps that was shown as being in my city was, in fact, some centralized company that seemed to contract out to guys working out of their cars. Every one took my name and said they'd get back to me (which they did).

I had the same thing happen just last week! The locksmith who came for me gave me his personal phone number though and said if I needed help again, I could call him directly and he could give a better rate due to not needing to pay the centralized company a portion. Despite often having social anxiety with strangers, I've still found that just being friendly and treating people well (in this case still giving a tip alongside the cancellation fee after my super finally arrived just moments before the locksmith) ends up getting me better services than any research I've been able to do online. I ended up making a similar connection with the people we hired to install our curtain rods just after we moved in; I was talking to them about how the movers that brought my girlfriends things over to the apartment ended up damaging her desk in transit, and they said that they also do moving as well as installation/assembly, so next time we end up moving, we also will be able to hire people we know and trust (we ended up hiring them again for a few odd jobs since the first time, and we almost always end up getting one of the same three people we've met and made connections with).

[alar44]

Not sure what the problem is here? You require that a locksmith sits in a brick and mortar store waiting for phone calls? Their tools fit in a backpack, there's literally no need for a physical location. I guess unless you're getting keys copied but any hardware store can do that.

[yencabulator]

If it's a Google Maps hit, street view and look for an actual storefront? Many mom-and-pop locksmiths have stores with safes etc on display. Though that won't work so well with tow companies.

[AlbertCory]

This is funny for me since I was in Maps in 2010-2011, and "fake locksmith addresses" were a problem even then.

[zdragnar]

The same is true for me for contractors of any sort. Top links are frequently referral farms.

For local search, I almost always use google maps instead. Maps search isn't perfect, but it beats web search hands down.

[bombcar]

It's really annoying - you have to dig around, and many business do not have a web presence at all so unless you can find something local with ads, you find nothing.

Some tricks I've used in the past include local church bulletins (most parishes have some sort of a website and a weekly bulletin with advertising on the back), or local sport team sponsors, or local bars.

For towing, you can also try calling a local dealership or auto repair.

[elliekelly]

Or their only web presence at all is a facebook page. I don't have a facebook account so this used to be mildly annoying but lately I've noticed it won't let me see at the page at all. I click the link to visit the business's "website" and I'm greeted with a full-page prompt to sign in to facebook.

[tyingq]

Yeah, their "local search" stuff seems to use yet a different set of criteria. You'll see similar complaints for other niches like locksmiths. Some set of SEO spammers has figured out how to use services like UPS-Store virtual addresses to fool Google.