May 5, 2025 • 23 mins
Are you a local business owner looking to get found online? 🤔 On this episode of the Google Business Buzz, Henry Heredia and OMG National's Chief Product Officer Corain Cash break down Google Local Services Ads (LSAs) and how this game-changing platform is shaking up the local service industry.
Discover why LSAs are strategically combining the best of Google Business Profile and Google Ads to provide high-intent leads directly to your business. Learn how Google's focus on user experience and their disruptive approach is creating new opportunities for local businesses, especially in industries like towing!
If you're not leveraging LSAs, you could be missing out on top-of-the-search visibility and valuable leads. Tune in to learn how to get ahead of the competition and dominate your local market with Google Local Services Ads!
#GoogleBusinessBuzz #LocalServicesAds #LSAs #GoogleAds #GoogleBusinessProfile #LocalMarketing #DigitalMarketing #SMBs #TowingMarketing #OMGNational #PayPerLead #GoogleDisruptor #SmallBusinessMarketing #GetFoundOnline #MarketingStrategy #CorainCash #HenryHeredia
0:00 Introduction: Welcome to the Google Business Buzz
0:34 What are Local Services Ads (LSAs)?
1:08 Google's Evolution and the Importance of GBP + LSA
3:07 Google Ads vs. Local Services Ads: Pay-Per-Click vs. Pay-Per-Lead
6:06 Google's Business Strategy: Balancing User Experience and Monetization
7:03 The Need for a Dedicated Marketing Team
8:08 Google Ads: Balancing User & Advertiser Needs
9:40 How LSA Simplifies Lead Tracking & Google's Guarantee
14:09 LSA's Top Placement and Mobile Dominance
15:00 Comparing LSA to Other Lead Generation Platforms
17:47 LSAs: A Game Changer for the Towing Industry
21:25 Getting Started with LSAs and Staying Ahead
22:50 Conclusion: Be Vigilant and Stay Updated
Google Business Buzz Podcast
Brought to you by:
OMG National
www.omgnational.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Hello and welcome to another Google Business Buzz.
I am joined by our ChiefProduct Officer, Corrine Cash.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Hello, hello the overall marketing expert.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Thank you for joining us today, Corrine.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
It's always great to be here, Henry.
I think this is my secondappearance, so I'm excited about
it.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Yeah, yeah, thank you so much for gracing us with
your appearance.
You're a super busy person andwhen we can lock you down for
one of these, we're going totake that chance.
So much appreciated.
I wanted to talk today aboutlocal services ads and how this
Google ad layer is taking thebest of Google business profile
(01:08):
and mixing it with their now,you know 25 year old Google
advertising strategy and andreally, what is your thought to
their approach to this new layerfor services, for local
services?
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Well, there's always a lot going on right in the
Google kitchen, and I think backto I can't remember how many
years ago it was, I think whenthey first introduced LSA as a
platform.
It's funny, even as a company.
You know, we kind of offered itbut we didn't even have it
tailored as like products yetyet, because Google was still
trying to figure it out.
(01:47):
You know, it was just this kindof new layer that only showed
up, sometimes Right, so itwasn't appearing for every
search, but some people kind ofstarted to notice it and over
the years we paid attention towhat it was that Google was
doing and we realized, ok, thisthing is starting to show up for
more and more of these highintent searches and for our
local SMBs who we service.
(02:08):
And so over time we kind ofdeveloped it into a product by
itself, just like the localservices ads.
But then we kind of alsorealized an understanding kind
of the Google mindset and justthe way that they continue to
evolve and shift, and we reallyearly on realized that the
Google business profile wasgoing to be something that
(02:29):
played a very essential role toLSA as a whole.
This was years ago, and sothat's why we from then saw the
writing on the wall and wecombined the two and that just
kind of became a product,because we know that Google
tries its best.
They're operating in like oneecosystem.
Even though they bring upsomething that's new and
exciting, but somehow that'sgoing to weave its way into
(02:51):
their existing product set.
And so, yeah, we just kind ofcombine the two of those and we
have your organic with your paid.
And I love the fact that we didit then and we're continuing to
do it, because, as we talkabout and I hear you guys on the
podcast just making sure thatyou know that you have to be
everywhere, like in 2025, foryour brand, you have to make
(03:13):
sure that you're hitting all ofthe important areas of where
your business can be seen.
So, whether that's doing boththe organic and the paid ads
approach, you have to be doingsomething where you're expanded
and you're making sure that youcan be seen.
And so, when it comes to LSA,we've seen and it's interesting
because from a Google adsperspective, which everyone is
(03:34):
used to right your pay-per-click, it just kind of got its own
name after a certain bit.
It was just called a PPC andit's like you say PPC and
everybody knew what you meant.
And then they just kind of comeup with this pay per lead and
that was like disruptive.
But we always kind of kept oureyes on Google where it's like
they're going to be disruptivebut it's going to be with
purpose and intent.
(03:59):
And that's where you have thatawesome combination of what we
call here internally at OMG, ourGoogle Calls Advisor product,
which is just basically LSA andGBP, because we recognize the
importance of both of them.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Oh, absolutely.
You said something superinteresting, and I love the word
disruptive, right, Google is adisruptor and it's in this space
.
Back in the early days of theinternet, Nobody knew who was
going to end up winning theinternet wars, and Google
disrupted its way intoeverybody's browser.
Now I'm thinking right.
(04:40):
You said something also thatGoogle's platform keeps evolving
and they keep learning on anditerating on what their users
are doing.
Yeah, Do you think they simplywant to keep people on platform
as much as possible?
Or is this like a comboapproach where, yeah, you can
(05:01):
you can use the organic side tohelp bolster your ad?
Yeah, you can use the organicside to help bolster your ad,
but it's still I mean, LSA youcan't go anywhere, but on
platform, right?
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Right, right, it's funny and I'll always say this
Google, at the end of the day,is a company.
So whether they're mad I saythis or not, but they're still
trying to make money.
So there's like a balance, Ithink.
I think from a, I'm sure theproduct team's in the back and
they want to make sure that theyhave the best products, as the
same way as we do here at ourcompany.
So for them, they want to makesure that they're delivering the
(05:34):
best results for their searcher.
So when you guys go to Googleand you type in, you know I'm
looking for the best service orthe best marmalade recipe or
whatever it is.
They want to make sure thatthey're returning you the best
intent.
So for them, they're like yousaid they're watching and seeing
what people are, how they'researching, so that they can
(05:55):
determine, okay, which one ofthese businesses are we going to
return when someone searchesfor something.
And so for me, I always thinkthat's one.
That's one thing.
So I know in the back of mymind they're thinking the intent
, but then also they got to makemoney.
We have to be honest, they're abusiness, so they're also going
to make sure that they continueto have these things and these
disruptions and all these newproduct features and stuff like
(06:17):
that, where it's kind of double,it's a double benefit.
They get to make money.
Where the Google ads because,guys, let's realize, when you
sign up for a Google ads you'repaying Google, right, they're
making money, but they're alsohelping you to make money.
So it's not where there is somesort of you know person in the
back just trying to steal yourmoney.
They want you to make money,but they also want a piece of
(06:37):
that pie.
So that makes sense.
And so, just looking kind of atall of that, we can see that
Google continues to evolve, asyou said, and so we'll continue
to see these just little pocketsof different things that
they're introducing to continueto help with that user intent
and that search.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Yeah, I agree.
It's a very interestingapproach that they take with
specific industries, like we'vetalked about it before, what
they did with food right,foodgooglecom.
It's basically Google Maps forrestaurants, food.
You can do everything that youneed to do on that platform.
And then you havetravelgooglecom and you can even
(07:18):
book a hotel oh, flights.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Flights on googlecom.
I go to all the time and seewhen I talk about these you know
little pockets and differentfeatures a lot of people might
not even know what I'm talkingabout, but I'm so happy you went
into a couple of them becauseif you're just really paying
attention and it's like you haveto be and this is one thing I'm
happy that we we prideourselves in doing like we are
paying attention and we're goingthrough and we're seeing what's
happening on the back end whatare these new kind of exciting
(07:43):
things that you might not evennotice when you're searching,
but they're watching Because,yes, like you said, order with
food.
Like you don't have to gothrough Uber or DoorDash.
Sometimes you can literallyorder food through Google.
For travel I love to travel,you know I love to travel.
Flightsgooglecom I'm always onthere.
I have my Expedia tab open andI have my flights on Google
(08:05):
because you know, I understandthat they're also utilizing kind
of the same system, likethey're making sure that they
are returning the best resultsfor me as well, and so just
really paying attention to allof these different things that
they're doing.
That's why I said it's going tobe very important, especially
as business owners.
You know, sometimes I thinkwe're focused on making sure the
(08:27):
business is running as youshould as a business owner,
which is why I would encourageevery business owner, especially
SMBs.
You've got to have a dedicatedmarketing department and if you
don't have the time for that,hire an agency who knows what
they are doing.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
I love it.
Henry's like yes, omg.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
National.
Yeah, but seriously, becausethere are so many of these
little things that are going onbehind the scenes that you will
never realize, because you arejust zeroed in and making sure
that you're running yourbusiness.
But we are, and this is what wedo every day.
We're seeing all of thesedifferent things and just making
sure that we're in a positionto service everything that we
(09:07):
can for our clients Because, yes, in 2025, I know you guys have
talked about AI a lot that's awhole other disruptor right, and
Google has to respond to thatand so, just continuing to see
the ways and where you, as acompany, you need to make sure
your position is going to be socrucial.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Absolutely.
Now that you said all that, I'mthinking like Google ads is a
balancing act.
Right, it's like balancing thehigh quality results with the
advertiser and giving them agood result as well right, so
it's the user and the advertiser.
(09:47):
And how do you make that such adifficult balance?
And we see that here at OMG allthe time, right, such a
difficult balance.
And we see that here at OMG allthe time right.
We have clients that don't wantto add a call tracking number
or maybe a script to theirwebsite, and then on the Google
ad side, it gets a little bitmore difficult to track results
as to where, with local serviceads, they made that much more
(10:08):
simpler.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Right, they saw an over-engineering type thing
going on on the Google side andmade some corrections.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
What do?
You think about that.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Yeah, that goes back to and that's one thing I do
love about Google is they havethe bandwidth, they have the
people to begin to just do allof these different experiments
we've been talking about, likein the background and where you
know, I'm sure over the yearsthey've heard the complaints, uh
, over the years they've seenthe results, uh, of Google ads
as a platform, and I'm so happythat they continue to just say
(10:44):
hey guys, let's evolve, let'slisten, let's see what it is we
can change, um, to this day, theGoogle Ads platform.
It's not like an easy feat.
It's not something you'regiving your five-year-old or
your 12-year-old or your niecethat just graduated high school
and like, hey, run my stuff,because there's just so many
things that's in the back therethat you have to understand and
they keep building onto thatplatform itself, right, and so I
(11:05):
can imagine that they kind ofthought, okay, we've got this
Google ads, but we hear peopleabout you know, the cost per
click.
What are some ways we can justkind of topple that and just
flip it on its head a little bitand give the user a brand new
experience?
Let's, why don't we like throwa picture on there, give them a
little check mark and you know Ijust I love products, as you
can tell, so I just imaginebeing kind of in their product,
(11:27):
just team, just a fly on thewall and just hearing all of the
things.
But they essentially did that.
They brought out, you know, thelocal services ad and I'm happy
that they started first andlike we're just kind of do like
those local, like your homeservices, right, and just like
the things that's really your,your local plumber, your, your
electrician, your roofer um, andstarting there and saying let's
just make it kind of easy,let's do a background check,
(11:49):
make sure that these arelegitimate people.
You know, that's something thatmakes that stand out and it
differentiates it from Googleads and they put their money
behind it.
Now, that, I think, was anotherthing that a lot of people
sometimes forget is Google had,like, this guarantee that's
where it came from, the Googleguarantee where they were like,
if you hire a plumber orelectrician or a roofer from our
(12:11):
platform, you chose that to theend user and they do a crummy
job Like they just they mess itup, they don't show up.
Whatever it is, you can getlike an insurance claim from
Google and they backed that upto almost like $2,000.
Now that was like unheard ofwhen it first came on.
So you know, it was just.
It was interesting because,again, I'm sure they get a lot
(12:37):
of feedback and their team hasto just kind of sift through
like what makes sense, whatdoesn't make sense, not just
from a user perspective.
But at the end of the day, likeI said, google is a business,
so they have to balance it aswell, and so I thought it was.
It was super cool, superinteresting Over the years
watching LSA evolve.
I remember at the company whenwe kind of realized what we
(12:58):
needed to do to open the market.
That's something that we wouldcall it right Because, lsa, at
the time you had to have threebusinesses that were live, that
were already cleared and theyalready went through the process
to show up, and so it wasactually a timeframe where we
could influence the searchresults.
We thought that that, to me,was the most exciting thing I
(13:21):
think ever to, where we had acompany training and we were
able to literally change theSERP live, like did a live demo,
because we understood exactlywhat Google was doing behind the
scenes.
And so I think all of that, allof that and the LSA, how it's
turned into this cost per leadwhich is really attractive to
the business owner.
(13:41):
Because one of the things withCPC it's like, yes, great, I can
pay for this click, but theyjust clicked right, they just
went to my website.
I don't know, they may haveaccidentally clicked, I don't
know, the baby came and pressedthe button on the keyboard, who
knows.
And now I have to pay for that.
But that's not necessarily alead, and I'm pretty sure that
was probably one of the biggestcomplaints that they had for
(14:01):
Google ads.
So for LSA, now they brought inthe system where it's like tell
you what business owner, you'llonly pay when someone actually
picks up the phone and call toyou, or you'll only pay when
someone actually sends you amessage interested in the
service that you provide.
That's a sexy product, that,that, that's, that's going to
sizzle Right and that is.
And not not only that, but theyput it on top of Google ads.
(14:26):
One of the biggest thing forGoogle ads was we're going to
get you to the top of Google.
You want to get to the top ofGoogle.
You got to pay for it, you gotto pay to play.
So you just, you know, do a CPC, you do a PPC, right, google
ads.
But now they were like hey, wegot something better for you.
You pay per lead when someonecalls you or messages you, and
now your ad is going to go abovethe Google ads.
(14:48):
That's a disruptor, right there.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Total disruptor, total disruptor, total disruptor
, total disruptor.
And then, when you think aboutit, with how people use their
phones for searching, it's likethe LSA is all you see that
fills up your first screen andthen you have to scroll down a
full screen length to get tomaps or the organic.
It's another world that we'reliving in.
(15:13):
It's totally different comparedto 10 years ago, and I do
remember us when, when OMGstarted tracking this and we, we
kind of likened it to anAngie's list right Back in the
day, we saw how our own clientswould pay Angie's and they would
pay us and we would.
We weren't understanding why,right Until until we'd had more
(15:34):
conversations with our clientsand they would pay Angie's $400
a month and Angie's would sendleads, but those leads weren't
exclusive.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
They were leads that were Like a rat race, right, so
you would have to sell yourcompany to get that lead and
then You'd have to be likecalling them right away.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Right away and have the best customer service and be
like Angie super service,certified right, have all of
those check marks too, becausethey did a good job there, and I
believe that Google learnedfrom that.
They were like why are wegiving Angie's a SERP result and
sending them over there,sending users there?
(16:11):
When we can have them, we cankeep them on platform right.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
And that's that part back to.
At the end of the day, there'salso a business, yeah, so for
them.
What drives them is, you know,one, how can we make money?
But two, how can we continue tomake sure the experience of the
user is still as best as it can, and even the angies?
It's like you would have to go,click there and then enter that
rat race, lsa.
It's like it's right there, you, you click the button, you call
(16:36):
, you got it, and those leadsfor the client that's on LSA,
like that's you, they're justcalling you, unless they hang up
and they manually go and justcall the other guy.
But we've seen too, the closingrate for LSA is just significant
, because at that point, ifthey've taken the time to call
you or message you, it's prettypretty close or certain that
(16:59):
they're going to choose you once.
Of course, like you said, youhave good customer service.
That's still important.
Just because someone called toyou doesn't mean that you're
going to get the job, becauseit's still up to you to sell
that client and so you have tomake sure, when you're on the
phone and you got them hooked,that you kind of can close that
deal.
And then pricing and all theseother considerations as well.
(17:19):
But, yeah, it's been a fun ride,I think, seeing all of the
different things from Google andwe love everyone loves LSA it's
great because we can see thefact that it's helpful for our
clients, can see the fact thatit's helpful for our clients as
an SMB.
Again, like I said, if someoneis on LSA, you're more than
(17:39):
likely going to get that sale ifthey reached out to you and
because of Google's positioningof LSA, like you said, if you're
on your phone, forget it.
I'm just seeing a picture inLSA and if I'm especially on
emergency service or somethinglike that, I don't have time to
scroll and try to figure it out.
You, I see your reviews.
You look good, great.
I click on you and that's it.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Absolutely.
And emergency services right.
Towing we're also OMG TowMarketing right, we know towing
and, like when you mentioned thestrategy that we had to open up
markets, that is somethingthat's available right now to
towers because it is availableacross the nation, but we do see
(18:20):
a slower adoption rate amongstthe industry.
Now I understand this right.
I've been in the towingindustry as a marketer for 10
years, since I came to OMGNational and I love it and I
love the quirkiness of theindustry and it's really a
subculture and they are allabout like handshake deals,
(18:46):
right, and really understandingthings.
So getting them to understandGoogle Ads and to take a call
tracking number over theirbusiness number or things like
that, that's a difficultscenario right.
We're much better suited toexplain the organic side and
(19:07):
this.
This is super important fortowers.
Your opportunity is now becausethe SERP is changing and those
early adopters are going to getall of the top calls right,
Because Google Ads isn't the topanymore, it's local service ads
.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
It's local service ads.
Let me tell you something, andyou know we're premier partners
with Google and we haveconversations with them
constantly and we could not waitfor them to open and expand LSA
to the towing industry.
We pushed for it, I can tellyou, for all the towers I'm I'm
pretty sure we were probablypartly responsible for them
(19:48):
opening that up.
And so we recognize because wesee we have towers, like you
said, OMG Tow Marketing.
So we recognize because we seewe have towers, like you said,
OMG Tow Marketing.
We have towers and they'reconstantly, they're on Google
ads and they're soaking it up,but they're still paying for a
lot of wasted clicks.
And there's just there's just alot of things that we know.
(20:08):
If they brought them to LSA man, they would be closing right,
left and center because peopleare gravitating to that top of
search position.
People are gravitating to thattop of search position.
People are gravitating andseeing that verified by Google
and just to see that it givesthe end user more confidence in
you.
And for something like your car,you want someone reputable.
Yes, it's an emergency, but youwant to make sure you're not
just dealing with any and anyone, and so we could not wait for
(20:32):
them to get there.
So, now that they are there, weare reaching out to every tool
and we're saying listen, if youare at the point where you're
investing in your business andyou're running ads, you better
be on LSA.
You have to be running a localservices ads If you are serious
about advertising and marketingyour business, because it is now
and we've even seen it justtaking a look at the Google Ads
(20:55):
results versus the localservices ads, Our tollers love
local services ads.
Now, just being honest, some ofthe things that we've heard,
they're like well, maybe it's alittle bit, just a teeny bit
more expensive, but afterworking it out they realized,
well, the money that we'rewasting on the Google Ads side.
Actually, when we look at ourreturn on investment, LSA, hands
down, is the winner in thatdepartment.
(21:17):
And so it's like, if you aren'ttowing or any of the industries
that LSA is in, but especiallytowing, because that one's kind
of newer you got to get in andyou got to get in fast, and the
ones that get there faster,you're going to be the ones to
beat.
I can tell you, the faster youcan get in, the more you soak up
before anybody else gets justkind of comes into the game.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
That's right.
That's right.
And if you guys want to learnmore about getting into the game
OMG National, omg Toe Marketingwe're the ones to call.
Call us up, corrine.
I think that this was anamazing episode.
Thank you so much for your time, for your insight.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Awesome.
Yeah, we could probably talkfor hours.
We'll do another one.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
But yes, please please.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Just one thing I wanted to say.
Even you know we're talkingabout LSA, and that's important,
but, going back to somethingthat you said at the beginning I
mean that we were talking about, you still have to make sure,
if you are a business owner,that you are in as many places
as you can be, because thesearch is changing.
Everything is kind of changing.
I know you guys talked about AIa lot.
(22:21):
The way that people aresearching, what they're using
that is continuing to evolve,and if you stay with your normal
what you're used to, you willget left behind.
So if you're still just I'msticking with my old Google Ads
or I'm just trying to do what Ican on this little Wix site that
I have on the side, you'regoing to be left behind.
So make sure if you don't havea team around you, find a
(22:43):
marketing team that can help youstay in the game.
But pay attention to everythingthat's going on, because I'm
pretty sure in the next month,two months, we'll be talking
about another product featurethat Google just rolled out or
something else that I'm keepingmy eye on.
That I see Google doing, butI'm not going to give it away.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
Okay, we'll save that for the next one.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
Be vigilant everybody .
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Thank you so much, everybody, for joining us on the
Google Business Buzz.
We will be back next month witha great episode, and please
follow, subscribe and share.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Thank share.
Thank you, corain, I'll see you.
Thank you, henry.
Hello and welcome to another Google Business Buzz.
I am joined by our ChiefProduct Officer, Corrine Cash.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Hello, hello the overall marketing expert.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Thank you for joining us today, Corrine.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
It's always great to be here, Henry.
I think this is my secondappearance, so I'm excited about
it.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Yeah, yeah, thank you so much for gracing us with
your appearance.
You're a super busy person andwhen we can lock you down for
one of these, we're going totake that chance.
So much appreciated.
I wanted to talk today aboutlocal services ads and how this
Google ad layer is taking thebest of Google business profile
(01:08):
and mixing it with their now,you know 25 year old Google
advertising strategy and andreally, what is your thought to
their approach to this new layerfor services, for local
services?
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Well, there's always a lot going on right in the
Google kitchen, and I think backto I can't remember how many
years ago it was, I think whenthey first introduced LSA as a
platform.
It's funny, even as a company.
You know, we kind of offered itbut we didn't even have it
tailored as like products yetyet, because Google was still
trying to figure it out.
(01:47):
You know, it was just this kindof new layer that only showed
up, sometimes Right, so itwasn't appearing for every
search, but some people kind ofstarted to notice it and over
the years we paid attention towhat it was that Google was
doing and we realized, ok, thisthing is starting to show up for
more and more of these highintent searches and for our
local SMBs who we service.
(02:08):
And so over time we kind ofdeveloped it into a product by
itself, just like the localservices ads.
But then we kind of alsorealized an understanding kind
of the Google mindset and justthe way that they continue to
evolve and shift, and we reallyearly on realized that the
Google business profile wasgoing to be something that
(02:29):
played a very essential role toLSA as a whole.
This was years ago, and sothat's why we from then saw the
writing on the wall and wecombined the two and that just
kind of became a product,because we know that Google
tries its best.
They're operating in like oneecosystem.
Even though they bring upsomething that's new and
exciting, but somehow that'sgoing to weave its way into
(02:51):
their existing product set.
And so, yeah, we just kind ofcombine the two of those and we
have your organic with your paid.
And I love the fact that we didit then and we're continuing to
do it, because, as we talkabout and I hear you guys on the
podcast just making sure thatyou know that you have to be
everywhere, like in 2025, foryour brand, you have to make
(03:13):
sure that you're hitting all ofthe important areas of where
your business can be seen.
So, whether that's doing boththe organic and the paid ads
approach, you have to be doingsomething where you're expanded
and you're making sure that youcan be seen.
And so, when it comes to LSA,we've seen and it's interesting
because from a Google adsperspective, which everyone is
(03:34):
used to right your pay-per-click, it just kind of got its own
name after a certain bit.
It was just called a PPC andit's like you say PPC and
everybody knew what you meant.
And then they just kind of comeup with this pay per lead and
that was like disruptive.
But we always kind of kept oureyes on Google where it's like
they're going to be disruptivebut it's going to be with
purpose and intent.
(03:59):
And that's where you have thatawesome combination of what we
call here internally at OMG, ourGoogle Calls Advisor product,
which is just basically LSA andGBP, because we recognize the
importance of both of them.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Oh, absolutely.
You said something superinteresting, and I love the word
disruptive, right, Google is adisruptor and it's in this space
.
Back in the early days of theinternet, Nobody knew who was
going to end up winning theinternet wars, and Google
disrupted its way intoeverybody's browser.
Now I'm thinking right.
(04:40):
You said something also thatGoogle's platform keeps evolving
and they keep learning on anditerating on what their users
are doing.
Yeah, Do you think they simplywant to keep people on platform
as much as possible?
Or is this like a comboapproach where, yeah, you can
(05:01):
you can use the organic side tohelp bolster your ad?
Yeah, you can use the organicside to help bolster your ad,
but it's still I mean, LSA youcan't go anywhere, but on
platform, right?
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Right, right, it's funny and I'll always say this
Google, at the end of the day,is a company.
So whether they're mad I saythis or not, but they're still
trying to make money.
So there's like a balance, Ithink.
I think from a, I'm sure theproduct team's in the back and
they want to make sure that theyhave the best products, as the
same way as we do here at ourcompany.
So for them, they want to makesure that they're delivering the
(05:34):
best results for their searcher.
So when you guys go to Googleand you type in, you know I'm
looking for the best service orthe best marmalade recipe or
whatever it is.
They want to make sure thatthey're returning you the best
intent.
So for them, they're like yousaid they're watching and seeing
what people are, how they'researching, so that they can
(05:55):
determine, okay, which one ofthese businesses are we going to
return when someone searchesfor something.
And so for me, I always thinkthat's one.
That's one thing.
So I know in the back of mymind they're thinking the intent
, but then also they got to makemoney.
We have to be honest, they're abusiness, so they're also going
to make sure that they continueto have these things and these
disruptions and all these newproduct features and stuff like
(06:17):
that, where it's kind of double,it's a double benefit.
They get to make money.
Where the Google ads because,guys, let's realize, when you
sign up for a Google ads you'repaying Google, right, they're
making money, but they're alsohelping you to make money.
So it's not where there is somesort of you know person in the
back just trying to steal yourmoney.
They want you to make money,but they also want a piece of
(06:37):
that pie.
So that makes sense.
And so, just looking kind of atall of that, we can see that
Google continues to evolve, asyou said, and so we'll continue
to see these just little pocketsof different things that
they're introducing to continueto help with that user intent
and that search.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Yeah, I agree.
It's a very interestingapproach that they take with
specific industries, like we'vetalked about it before, what
they did with food right,foodgooglecom.
It's basically Google Maps forrestaurants, food.
You can do everything that youneed to do on that platform.
And then you havetravelgooglecom and you can even
(07:18):
book a hotel oh, flights.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Flights on googlecom.
I go to all the time and seewhen I talk about these you know
little pockets and differentfeatures a lot of people might
not even know what I'm talkingabout, but I'm so happy you went
into a couple of them becauseif you're just really paying
attention and it's like you haveto be and this is one thing I'm
happy that we we prideourselves in doing like we are
paying attention and we're goingthrough and we're seeing what's
happening on the back end whatare these new kind of exciting
(07:43):
things that you might not evennotice when you're searching,
but they're watching Because,yes, like you said, order with
food.
Like you don't have to gothrough Uber or DoorDash.
Sometimes you can literallyorder food through Google.
For travel I love to travel,you know I love to travel.
Flightsgooglecom I'm always onthere.
I have my Expedia tab open andI have my flights on Google
(08:05):
because you know, I understandthat they're also utilizing kind
of the same system, likethey're making sure that they
are returning the best resultsfor me as well, and so just
really paying attention to allof these different things that
they're doing.
That's why I said it's going tobe very important, especially
as business owners.
You know, sometimes I thinkwe're focused on making sure the
(08:27):
business is running as youshould as a business owner,
which is why I would encourageevery business owner, especially
SMBs.
You've got to have a dedicatedmarketing department and if you
don't have the time for that,hire an agency who knows what
they are doing.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
I love it.
Henry's like yes, omg.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
National.
Yeah, but seriously, becausethere are so many of these
little things that are going onbehind the scenes that you will
never realize, because you arejust zeroed in and making sure
that you're running yourbusiness.
But we are, and this is what wedo every day.
We're seeing all of thesedifferent things and just making
sure that we're in a positionto service everything that we
(09:07):
can for our clients Because, yes, in 2025, I know you guys have
talked about AI a lot that's awhole other disruptor right, and
Google has to respond to thatand so, just continuing to see
the ways and where you, as acompany, you need to make sure
your position is going to be socrucial.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Absolutely.
Now that you said all that, I'mthinking like Google ads is a
balancing act.
Right, it's like balancing thehigh quality results with the
advertiser and giving them agood result as well right, so
it's the user and the advertiser.
(09:47):
And how do you make that such adifficult balance?
And we see that here at OMG allthe time, right, such a
difficult balance.
And we see that here at OMG allthe time right.
We have clients that don't wantto add a call tracking number
or maybe a script to theirwebsite, and then on the Google
ad side, it gets a little bitmore difficult to track results
as to where, with local serviceads, they made that much more
(10:08):
simpler.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Right, they saw an over-engineering type thing
going on on the Google side andmade some corrections.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
What do?
You think about that.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Yeah, that goes back to and that's one thing I do
love about Google is they havethe bandwidth, they have the
people to begin to just do allof these different experiments
we've been talking about, likein the background and where you
know, I'm sure over the yearsthey've heard the complaints, uh
, over the years they've seenthe results, uh, of Google ads
as a platform, and I'm so happythat they continue to just say
(10:44):
hey guys, let's evolve, let'slisten, let's see what it is we
can change, um, to this day, theGoogle Ads platform.
It's not like an easy feat.
It's not something you'regiving your five-year-old or
your 12-year-old or your niecethat just graduated high school
and like, hey, run my stuff,because there's just so many
things that's in the back therethat you have to understand and
they keep building onto thatplatform itself, right, and so I
(11:05):
can imagine that they kind ofthought, okay, we've got this
Google ads, but we hear peopleabout you know, the cost per
click.
What are some ways we can justkind of topple that and just
flip it on its head a little bitand give the user a brand new
experience?
Let's, why don't we like throwa picture on there, give them a
little check mark and you know Ijust I love products, as you
can tell, so I just imaginebeing kind of in their product,
(11:27):
just team, just a fly on thewall and just hearing all of the
things.
But they essentially did that.
They brought out, you know, thelocal services ad and I'm happy
that they started first andlike we're just kind of do like
those local, like your homeservices, right, and just like
the things that's really your,your local plumber, your, your
electrician, your roofer um, andstarting there and saying let's
just make it kind of easy,let's do a background check,
(11:49):
make sure that these arelegitimate people.
You know, that's something thatmakes that stand out and it
differentiates it from Googleads and they put their money
behind it.
Now, that, I think, was anotherthing that a lot of people
sometimes forget is Google had,like, this guarantee that's
where it came from, the Googleguarantee where they were like,
if you hire a plumber orelectrician or a roofer from our
(12:11):
platform, you chose that to theend user and they do a crummy
job Like they just they mess itup, they don't show up.
Whatever it is, you can getlike an insurance claim from
Google and they backed that upto almost like $2,000.
Now that was like unheard ofwhen it first came on.
So you know, it was just.
It was interesting because,again, I'm sure they get a lot
(12:37):
of feedback and their team hasto just kind of sift through
like what makes sense, whatdoesn't make sense, not just
from a user perspective.
But at the end of the day, likeI said, google is a business,
so they have to balance it aswell, and so I thought it was.
It was super cool, superinteresting Over the years
watching LSA evolve.
I remember at the company whenwe kind of realized what we
(12:58):
needed to do to open the market.
That's something that we wouldcall it right Because, lsa, at
the time you had to have threebusinesses that were live, that
were already cleared and theyalready went through the process
to show up, and so it wasactually a timeframe where we
could influence the searchresults.
We thought that that, to me,was the most exciting thing I
(13:21):
think ever to, where we had acompany training and we were
able to literally change theSERP live, like did a live demo,
because we understood exactlywhat Google was doing behind the
scenes.
And so I think all of that, allof that and the LSA, how it's
turned into this cost per leadwhich is really attractive to
the business owner.
(13:41):
Because one of the things withCPC it's like, yes, great, I can
pay for this click, but theyjust clicked right, they just
went to my website.
I don't know, they may haveaccidentally clicked, I don't
know, the baby came and pressedthe button on the keyboard, who
knows.
And now I have to pay for that.
But that's not necessarily alead, and I'm pretty sure that
was probably one of the biggestcomplaints that they had for
(14:01):
Google ads.
So for LSA, now they brought inthe system where it's like tell
you what business owner, you'llonly pay when someone actually
picks up the phone and call toyou, or you'll only pay when
someone actually sends you amessage interested in the
service that you provide.
That's a sexy product, that,that, that's, that's going to
sizzle Right and that is.
And not not only that, but theyput it on top of Google ads.
(14:26):
One of the biggest thing forGoogle ads was we're going to
get you to the top of Google.
You want to get to the top ofGoogle.
You got to pay for it, you gotto pay to play.
So you just, you know, do a CPC, you do a PPC, right, google
ads.
But now they were like hey, wegot something better for you.
You pay per lead when someonecalls you or messages you, and
now your ad is going to go abovethe Google ads.
(14:48):
That's a disruptor, right there.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Total disruptor, total disruptor, total disruptor
, total disruptor.
And then, when you think aboutit, with how people use their
phones for searching, it's likethe LSA is all you see that
fills up your first screen andthen you have to scroll down a
full screen length to get tomaps or the organic.
It's another world that we'reliving in.
(15:13):
It's totally different comparedto 10 years ago, and I do
remember us when, when OMGstarted tracking this and we, we
kind of likened it to anAngie's list right Back in the
day, we saw how our own clientswould pay Angie's and they would
pay us and we would.
We weren't understanding why,right Until until we'd had more
(15:34):
conversations with our clientsand they would pay Angie's $400
a month and Angie's would sendleads, but those leads weren't
exclusive.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
They were leads that were Like a rat race, right, so
you would have to sell yourcompany to get that lead and
then You'd have to be likecalling them right away.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Right away and have the best customer service and be
like Angie super service,certified right, have all of
those check marks too, becausethey did a good job there, and I
believe that Google learnedfrom that.
They were like why are wegiving Angie's a SERP result and
sending them over there,sending users there?
(16:11):
When we can have them, we cankeep them on platform right.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
And that's that part back to.
At the end of the day, there'salso a business, yeah, so for
them.
What drives them is, you know,one, how can we make money?
But two, how can we continue tomake sure the experience of the
user is still as best as it can, and even the angies?
It's like you would have to go,click there and then enter that
rat race, lsa.
It's like it's right there, you, you click the button, you call
(16:36):
, you got it, and those leadsfor the client that's on LSA,
like that's you, they're justcalling you, unless they hang up
and they manually go and justcall the other guy.
But we've seen too, the closingrate for LSA is just significant
, because at that point, ifthey've taken the time to call
you or message you, it's prettypretty close or certain that
(16:59):
they're going to choose you once.
Of course, like you said, youhave good customer service.
That's still important.
Just because someone called toyou doesn't mean that you're
going to get the job, becauseit's still up to you to sell
that client and so you have tomake sure, when you're on the
phone and you got them hooked,that you kind of can close that
deal.
And then pricing and all theseother considerations as well.
(17:19):
But, yeah, it's been a fun ride,I think, seeing all of the
different things from Google andwe love everyone loves LSA it's
great because we can see thefact that it's helpful for our
clients, can see the fact thatit's helpful for our clients as
an SMB.
Again, like I said, if someoneis on LSA, you're more than
(17:39):
likely going to get that sale ifthey reached out to you and
because of Google's positioningof LSA, like you said, if you're
on your phone, forget it.
I'm just seeing a picture inLSA and if I'm especially on
emergency service or somethinglike that, I don't have time to
scroll and try to figure it out.
You, I see your reviews.
You look good, great.
I click on you and that's it.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Absolutely.
And emergency services right.
Towing we're also OMG TowMarketing right, we know towing
and, like when you mentioned thestrategy that we had to open up
markets, that is somethingthat's available right now to
towers because it is availableacross the nation, but we do see
(18:20):
a slower adoption rate amongstthe industry.
Now I understand this right.
I've been in the towingindustry as a marketer for 10
years, since I came to OMGNational and I love it and I
love the quirkiness of theindustry and it's really a
subculture and they are allabout like handshake deals,
(18:46):
right, and really understandingthings.
So getting them to understandGoogle Ads and to take a call
tracking number over theirbusiness number or things like
that, that's a difficultscenario right.
We're much better suited toexplain the organic side and
(19:07):
this.
This is super important fortowers.
Your opportunity is now becausethe SERP is changing and those
early adopters are going to getall of the top calls right,
Because Google Ads isn't the topanymore, it's local service ads
.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
It's local service ads.
Let me tell you something, andyou know we're premier partners
with Google and we haveconversations with them
constantly and we could not waitfor them to open and expand LSA
to the towing industry.
We pushed for it, I can tellyou, for all the towers I'm I'm
pretty sure we were probablypartly responsible for them
(19:48):
opening that up.
And so we recognize because wesee we have towers, like you
said, OMG Tow Marketing.
So we recognize because we seewe have towers, like you said,
OMG Tow Marketing.
We have towers and they'reconstantly, they're on Google
ads and they're soaking it up,but they're still paying for a
lot of wasted clicks.
And there's just there's just alot of things that we know.
(20:08):
If they brought them to LSA man, they would be closing right,
left and center because peopleare gravitating to that top of
search position.
People are gravitating to thattop of search position.
People are gravitating andseeing that verified by Google
and just to see that it givesthe end user more confidence in
you.
And for something like your car,you want someone reputable.
Yes, it's an emergency, but youwant to make sure you're not
just dealing with any and anyone, and so we could not wait for
(20:32):
them to get there.
So, now that they are there, weare reaching out to every tool
and we're saying listen, if youare at the point where you're
investing in your business andyou're running ads, you better
be on LSA.
You have to be running a localservices ads If you are serious
about advertising and marketingyour business, because it is now
and we've even seen it justtaking a look at the Google Ads
(20:55):
results versus the localservices ads, Our tollers love
local services ads.
Now, just being honest, some ofthe things that we've heard,
they're like well, maybe it's alittle bit, just a teeny bit
more expensive, but afterworking it out they realized,
well, the money that we'rewasting on the Google Ads side.
Actually, when we look at ourreturn on investment, LSA, hands
down, is the winner in thatdepartment.
(21:17):
And so it's like, if you aren'ttowing or any of the industries
that LSA is in, but especiallytowing, because that one's kind
of newer you got to get in andyou got to get in fast, and the
ones that get there faster,you're going to be the ones to
beat.
I can tell you, the faster youcan get in, the more you soak up
before anybody else gets justkind of comes into the game.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
That's right.
That's right.
And if you guys want to learnmore about getting into the game
OMG National, omg Toe Marketingwe're the ones to call.
Call us up, corrine.
I think that this was anamazing episode.
Thank you so much for your time, for your insight.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Awesome.
Yeah, we could probably talkfor hours.
We'll do another one.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
But yes, please please.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Just one thing I wanted to say.
Even you know we're talkingabout LSA, and that's important,
but, going back to somethingthat you said at the beginning I
mean that we were talking about, you still have to make sure,
if you are a business owner,that you are in as many places
as you can be, because thesearch is changing.
Everything is kind of changing.
I know you guys talked about AIa lot.
(22:21):
The way that people aresearching, what they're using
that is continuing to evolve,and if you stay with your normal
what you're used to, you willget left behind.
So if you're still just I'msticking with my old Google Ads
or I'm just trying to do what Ican on this little Wix site that
I have on the side, you'regoing to be left behind.
So make sure if you don't havea team around you, find a
(22:43):
marketing team that can help youstay in the game.
But pay attention to everythingthat's going on, because I'm
pretty sure in the next month,two months, we'll be talking
about another product featurethat Google just rolled out or
something else that I'm keepingmy eye on.
That I see Google doing, butI'm not going to give it away.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
Okay, we'll save that for the next one.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
Be vigilant everybody .
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Thank you so much, everybody, for joining us on the
Google Business Buzz.
We will be back next month witha great episode, and please
follow, subscribe and share.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Thank share.
Thank you, corain, I'll see you.
Thank you, henry.
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