Type “house washing Birmingham” into Google Maps downtown, and 6 of the first 10 places are maids, house cleaners and a laundromat.

Search like a homeowner

Pick where you are and what you type. The list shows the first 10 places Google Maps gave on September 18, in order, and what a phone would show next to each.

Where this comes from: Google Maps on September 18, 16 counted searches and 25 more where Google returned only a few places of this trade. Results move with the time of day and the phone, so treat one place as a snapshot. Ads are not counted.

The words decide who shows up

Homeowners don't all type the trade's own words. Three searches, the first 10 places of each, one square per place.

• Downtown, pressure washing near me8 of 10 wash outsides
• Downtown, house washing Birmingham4 of 10 wash outsides
• West side, power washing Birmingham1 of 10 wash outsides

• Pressure washer
• Window or gutter cleaner
• Cleaning service or maid
• Laundromat or store
• Other trade

Where this comes from: the category of each Google listing on September 18. A square is one place, in the order Google gave them, left to right.

Who a homeowner can actually reach

• Washer, Website opens their site 64
• Washer with no website 20
• Washer with only a Facebook or profile page 13
• Washer whose Website opens something else or nothing 13
• Not a washer: maids, painters, laundromats, stores 50

3 washer listings have no phone number on Google. One of them was first for the metro wide search, pressure washing service in Birmingham, AL: no phone, no website, no reviews.

Where this comes from: the phone and website fields of each Google listing on September 18, and each website opened the same day and again on October 5. A place is counted each time it appears, so a busy listing counts several times.

When they tap Website

All 105 pressure washing, window and gutter listings in the metro, by what the Website button on Google Maps does. 49 open the company's own site. 24 have no website at all.

• Opens their site 49
• Opens, marked Not secure 4
• No website 24
• Facebook or profile page, no site 13
• Opens someone else's page 4
• Opens an error page 1
• Address no longer exists 5
• Could not be read 4

What a homeowner would not expect

• Window cleaner, top 3 once

  The Website button opens a page in Vietnamese that ranks betting sites.

  Opens someone else's page
• Pressure washer, 36 reviews

  The Website button opens an empty page titled Just another WordPress site.

  Opens someone else's page
• Pressure washer, top 3 for commercial

  The Website button opens a page that says Redirecting and nothing else.

  Opens someone else's page
• Pressure washer

  The Website button opens the site builder page asking the owner to reconnect the domain.

  Opens an error page
• Cleaning service, top 3 once

  The Website button opens a page that says SITE NOT FOUND.

  Opens someone else's page
• Pressure washer, no reviews

  The Website button opens an error page about an invalid security certificate.

  Opens an error page
• Pressure washer, top 3 once

  The website address on the listing opened on September 18 and no longer existed on October 5.

  Address no longer exists
• Window and pressure washer, top 3 once

  The listing is in Birmingham. Its Website button opens a site about Santa Rosa Beach and the Florida coast, with a Florida number. The listing number is on none of its pages.

  Opens, but
• Pressure washer, #2 for the whole metro

  The site opens only on the old http address, marked Not secure. The https address does not load. One inner page shows a WordPress critical error.

  Opens, marked Not secure
• Pressure washer, #4 for the whole metro

  The Contact page says: Something went wrong. Form is currently unavailable.

  Opens, but
• Commercial cleaner that also pressure washes

  A live page on the site carries the theme sample: a Denver cleaning company, a head office in Melbourne, Australia, and a sample email.

  Opens, but
• Pressure washer, new this year

  The email link on the home page shows the company address and opens a message to info@mysite.com, the site builder sample.

  Opens, but

Where this comes from: every website field followed on September 18, sites read again on October 5. Outcomes are what a phone shows a stranger. Nothing behind a login was read.

The same words on 4 sites

Web shops sell one template to many companies. 4 pressure washing companies in Birmingham have this on their home pages, word for word. A homeowner comparing two quotes reads it twice.

• Dirty home? Don't have time? We would love to help you!4 sites
• Click a box to learn more about each service3 sites
• Super awesome benefits for you to enjoy3 sites
• Try Birmingham's ... risk-free today3 sites

And on the contact pages

• We receive your request instantly via SMS and usually respond within minutes!2 sites
• We receive your request instantly via SMS and usually respond within an hour1 site

Where this comes from: a script compared the text of all 79 sites read on September 18; the lines above were then read on the pages themselves on October 5. Shown in small letters; most sites set them in capitals.

What it costs, where it's printed

People ask the price before they call. 9 of the 53 washer sites that opened print any price. These are the starting prices they print:

• Gutters cleanedfrom $150
• Drivewayfrom $185
• Roof soft washfrom $195
• House washfrom $299
• Driveway and front walkfrom $299
• House, gutters, windows and drivewaypackage $799

Where this comes from: six washer sites. Three were read in full on October 5 (house wash, the walkway job, the package); three were read by a script on September 18. Prices are starting prices and change with the house.

What the sites say, and what almost none says

Phrases found on the 79 washer 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 79 sites on September 18 and looked for these phrases.

Every listing in this report

295 listings a homeowner meets in these searches: 86 pressure washers, 19 window and gutter cleaners, 37 cleaning services and 153 other trades, car washes and stores. A number, not a name.

Where this comes from: Google listings read on September 18, sites read on September 18 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.