Learn the basics
Fieldline
The Fieldline Guide.
Local search answers for field service owners.
How the map listing, paid ads, and your website turn searches into calls, written for a quick read between jobs.
- One topic per read
- Built from real field service work
- No sign-up to read
Based in Snohomish County. Serving field service companies across the Pacific Northwest.
Start here
Good first picks
Most owners come here with one of four problems. Start with the one you have.
The company doesn’t show up
Name search, job search, and distance are different problems.
Clicks that never become calls
The homepage, or a page built for the job they searched.
Ads that have to book
Local Services Ads and Google Ads, judged on the job.
A page for every city
Only the towns where the work already proves it.
Audience
Useful if this
sounds like you
For the person deciding where the marketing money goes.
In
Worth it if you’d rather learn first and decide later.
- You want to know how customers find you.
- You’d like to spot bad advice.
- You’d rather judge results than reports.
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Done reading and ready for help?
- You want someone else to handle it.
- Look over our services.
- Start with a short call.
All topics
Our library so far
Open any card for the full article.
AI Can Do the Work. But Is It Doing the Right Work?
The data on 200,000 search results reveals what Google really does with AI drafts.
Read moreWhy doesn’t my business show up on Google?
Name search, job search, and distance are three different problems. Here is which one you have.
Read moreWhy doesn’t my website show up on Google?
Search the domain before you rewrite the homepage. An empty result and a lost job search are different problems.
Read moreDo Google Ads work for contractors?
They work when a click becomes a booked job the margin can carry, and someone answers.
Read moreAre Local Services Ads worth it?
Worth it when the calls match jobs you want, someone answers, and the booked job still leaves margin.
Read moreShould Google Ads go to the homepage or a page built for the call?
Send the job search to a page about that job. Send your company name to the homepage.
Read moreOne city page, or a page for the service in that city?
Service pages first. A city page only where you already have the work to prove it.
Read moreHow do I show up in Google AI Overviews?
Google can quote a page it can index. There is no extra file, and no promise you will be named.
Read moreTopics
Browse by subject
The basics most shops never get explained.
Getting found
The listing, the map, and whether Google can quote the site.
- Why doesn’t my business show up on Google?
- Why doesn’t my website show up on Google?
- How do I show up in Google AI Overviews?
- AI Can Do the Work. But Is It Doing the Right Work?
The pages
Which URL earns a city, and which page should follow an ad click.
- One city page, or a page for the service in that city?
- Should Google Ads go to the homepage or a page built for the call?
Paying for calls
Local Services Ads and Google Ads, judged on booked jobs.
- Are Local Services Ads worth it?
- Do Google Ads work for contractors?
Guide or service
Learning it or handing it off
Some owners handle marketing in-house. Others want a crew on it.
On your own
Free articles on how each piece works, so you or your office staff can make the changes.
With Fieldline
Search Patch fixes what is blocking you in search. Field Search keeps you showing up in local and AI search. Job Ads runs Google Ads aimed at people ready to book.
Limits
Three things to ask us directly
Each one changes from shop to shop, so it fits a conversation better than an article.
Before you call
A few quick answers
Showing up, town pages, and whether the ads earn their keep.
Why doesn’t my business show up on Google?
It is usually a missing or suspended profile, the wrong category, or distance from the person searching. Search your company name in Google Maps while logged out before you change anything. If the name is empty, finish verification or deal with the suspension, and do not open a second profile. If the name shows and the job search does not, read why your business does not show up on Google.
Why doesn’t my website show up on Google?
Search site: and your domain in a private window. Nothing at all means Google does not have the site, or has not had time to fetch a new one. Pages from that domain, with no result for the job, means the site is in Google and it is not winning that search. The check is in why your website does not show up on Google.
Do I need a page for every town I serve?
No. Write pages for the jobs you run, and add a city page only where the trucks already go and a swapped city name would make the page false. You can list up to 20 areas on the Business Profile, and that is not an order to publish 20 pages. The difference between a city page and a page for one service in that city is in one city page, or a page for the service in that city.
Are Local Services Ads worth it?
They are worth it when the calls match jobs you want, someone answers, and a booked job still leaves margin. You choose job types and a service area, not the exact search words, and the person does not land on your site first. When the category cannot name the job you want, use Google Ads, where you choose the words. The test is in are Local Services Ads worth it.
How do I tell if Google Ads are worth it?
They are worth it when a click becomes a booked job the margin can carry, and someone answers the phone. Cost per booked job is that spend divided by the jobs you booked, kept apart from people searching your company name. If the right calls hit voicemail, a bigger budget buys more voicemail. Walk through it in do Google Ads work for contractors.
Next step
Talk it through with us
Tell us what you read and what is going on at your shop. We will tell you what fits.