One listing came up for “emergency electrician” in downtown Birmingham. It has no phone number.

Search like a homeowner

Pick where you are and what you type. The list shows the first 10 places Google Maps gave on September 15, in order, and what a phone would show next to each.

Where this comes from: Google Maps on September 15, 12 counted searches and 7 shorter ones where Google returned fewer than 10 places. Results move with the time of day and the phone, so treat one place as a snapshot. Ads are not counted. Distances are from the listing's pin to the middle of the metro.

11 electrician listings you can't call

These listings have no phone number on Google Maps and no website. A homeowner can find them, then has no way to reach them from the listing. In the 12 counted searches they took 10 of the 120 places in the first 10.

• No. 100ElectricianBirmingham, 7 reviews3 of 12 searchesbest place #2
• No. 126ElectricianBirmingham, 2 reviews3 of 12 searchesbest place #4
• No. 101ElectricianBirmingham, 2 reviews3 of 12 searchesbest place #6
• No. 122ElectricianBirmingham, 3 reviews3 of 12 searchesbest place #8
• No. 145ElectricianBirmingham, no reviews2 of 12 searchesbest place #2
• No. 144ElectricianBirmingham, no reviews2 of 12 searchesbest place #8
• No. 97ElectricianBirmingham, 8 reviews2 of 12 searchesbest place #19
• No. 138ElectricianBirmingham, 1 reviews1 of 12 searchesbest place #6
• No. 151ElectricianBirmingham, no reviews1 of 12 searchesbest place #12
• No. 148ElectricianBirmingham, no reviews1 of 12 searchesbest place #28
• No. 152ElectricianBirmingham, no reviews0 of 12 searchesnot in the first 10 anywhere

Where this comes from: the phone and website fields of each Google listing on September 15. This page does not know who made these listings or why. One more listing has no phone but does have a website, and it is counted in the table at the end, not here.

Add the word “licensed” and the map leaves Alabama

• 6Under 25 miles
• 125 to 100
• GAGAGATN4100 to 200
• 0200 to 300
• LAARNCNCFLFLFL7300 to 400
• FLFLFLFLFL5400 to 500

From the north side the same words returned 12 places, 3 of them more than 100 miles away. Meanwhile, on the 62 local sites that were read, 33 say licensed and insured. 5 print a license number a homeowner could look up.

Where this comes from: Google Maps on September 15, the search licensed electrician near me from two points. A square is one place in the list, labeled with its state when it is more than 100 miles away. The license count is a script reading the home page and up to six inner pages of each site, so a number printed only on a far inner page can be missed.

When they tap Website

All 95 electrical listings in this report, by what the Website button on Google Maps does. 45 open the company's own site. 36 have no website at all.

• Opens their site 45
• No website 36
• Opens someone else's page 4
• Opens an error page 3
• Address no longer exists 1
• Opens, marked Not secure 2
• Opens a Facebook page 1
• Could not be read 3

What a homeowner would not expect

• Electrician listing filed as a home builder

  Website opens a page of a network that collects estimate requests and passes them to member electricians. A second listing opens the same network.

  Opens someone else's page
• Electrician listing, 14 reviews

  Website opens a directory page about the company on a site called UsMapInformation. Another listing does the same.

  Opens someone else's page
• Electrician listing, came up first for an emergency search

  The home page shows a line of code where the quote form should be. The listing number has a Texas area code.

  Opens, but
• Heating, air and electrical company

  The call buttons on four pages show a 901 number and dial 901-555-5555, a filler number that never rings.

  Opens, but
• Electrician listing, #3 for the whole metro

  The call button on the home page shows a 205 number and dials the same seven digits with 520, an Arizona code.

  Opens, but
• Heating and electric listing

  Website opens a page from the site builder asking the owner to reconnect the domain.

  Opens an error page
• Electrical and mechanical contractor

  Website opens an empty folder listing, the words Index of and nothing else.

  Opens an error page
• Electric motor shop

  Pages of the site carry spam text about online casinos.

  Opens, but

Where this comes from: every website field followed on September 15, sites read again on October 5. Outcomes are what a phone shows a stranger. Nothing behind a login was read. Call buttons were checked by reading the number inside each button, not by calling.

Saturday night

A tripped main or a burning smell does not wait for Monday, and the hours on Google are the first thing a homeowner checks.

• 35of 62

  local sites mention emergency, weekend or 24/7 service

• 31of 71

  electricians with hours on Google are closed on Saturday

• 10

  listings say 24/7 or around the clock on their site while Google shows days closed

Where this comes from: the hours on each Google listing on September 15 and the words on each site, read again on October 5. Electricians without hours on their listing are left out of the Saturday count.

What it costs

People ask the price before they call. 3 of the electricians' sites print a price for a job. One of them prints a starting price for each common job:

• Outlet installedfrom $189
• Electrical safety inspectionfrom $199
• GFCI outletfrom $249
• Recessed light, per lightfrom $349
• Whole-home surge protectionfrom $495
• EV charger installedfrom $1,195
• Panel upgradefrom $3,995

Where this comes from: one company's own price page, read on October 5, as printed. Another local site prints an $89 service call. Prices are starting prices and can change with the house.

What the sites say, and what almost none says

Phrases found on the 62 local sites of this run. The left side is what a homeowner reads everywhere. The right side is what they look for and rarely find.

Where this comes from: a script read the home page and up to six inner pages of each of the 62 sites on September 15 and looked for these phrases.

Every listing in this report

152 listings a homeowner meets in these searches: 85 electricians, 2 national brands, 8 heating and air companies that also do electrical work, and 57 other trades and stores. A number, not a name.

Where this comes from: Google listings read on September 15, sites read on September 15 and again on October 5. A dash means it was not read.

How I checked

Correct or remove a row

Write to igor@sogrox.com with your website. A row is corrected or taken off within two business days, no questions asked, and stays off future reports.