Google and Its Impact on Garage Door Repair Price Inflation

For most, Google is a simple search engine that lets users access the web. It is commonly used by those looking to purchase new items or services, and Google knows it. It is believed that Google takes advantage of its monopoly on searches and the customers who rely on it by misleading advertisers to drive up their costs. In this article, we will outline just why that is harmful to advertisers and businesses and what it can do to the bottom line.

Cost Per Click Inflation

Cost per click, or CPC, inflation references the idea of inflating the price that a company like a garage door repair company has to pay each time someone interacts with their ads. The cost of these interactions is dependent on the keyword that is used alongside other indicators like what the competition has to pay to achieve the top result on Google's search return page.

The cost can increase in time as any other item could, but a recent lawsuit claims that CPC price inflation is caused by Google hiking up cots to get companies to pay more money and end up at the top, including garage door repair companies. This also can leave companies who prefer to attract organic business hidden away under the search results.

Google Begins to Lose Credibility

In addition to CPC price inflation is caused by Google, Google Maps misleading search information have slowly begun to cost the megacorporation its reputation. It is impossible for it not to because it is affecting not only garage door repair businesses and garage door suppliers, but also people throughout the sales and service industries and consumers who’re looking for local service providers. Fraudulent companies have been cropping up advertising garage door repairmen that do not exist by placing false maps on search results. For companies that want to stand out against fake businesses, this requires having to pay more money to beat out the competition.

Even though Google has received criticism for this, it responded by saying it removed more than three million fraudulent businesses from its search results. While it might occasionally take action to get rid of the false information, they have yet to put anything in place that prevents them from showing up in the first place. This makes it seem like Google only responds once they are called out and that they are content to continue to take in the extra money and mislead consumers in the meantime until the next time businesses demand action.

The Issue in the Local Garage Door Repair Industry

Due to change in online advertising policies, many lead generators had to obtain a license in order to keep generating garage door repair leads. These lead generators outsource their customers to external source which is getting paid only if/once the job is done and will earn their money on a scale that depends on how many sales they make, known as commission. Because they are so focused on getting paid, they are often sales driven. Because the work is usually being outsourced to untrained and inexperienced garage door repair handymen.

Bait and Switch

The bait and switch method is a kind of fraud that is usually used in retail industries. This method involves customers being enticed to buy a certain product or service for a certain price and with certain benefits. Then, when the customer goes to pay, they will learn that the items or services that were advertised a certain way aren't available after all or are different from what they were told. Usually, salesmen will even pressure them to buy something else while they are there, usually similar items that come with a bigger price tag. This part is called the "switch."

This ends up happening to a lot of garage door repair companies and is something they some service suppliers do since they end up paying so much for online ads. Google ends up facilitating these kinds of tactics, which can make companies seem untrustworthy. This is because the companies are forced to make appealing and highly engaging ads that maybe even offer impractical discounts and prices just to bring in new customers, get some sales and get some calls.

Final Thoughts

With Google’s monopoly on search results and its high pay-per-click price, it’s the businesses and advertisers including garage door repair companies pay the price. The end result means that customers are affected, too.