Google has started expanding into the home services market

When you need to get in contact with a locksmith or plumber, Google is a great place to find them, but this usually involves clicking on a few search results until you find the one that’s right for you. It’s not all that tedious, but Google wants to simply the process anyway by allowing users to connect with qualified professionals directly through certain search results.

Internet users querying Google for terms like “clogged toilet” and “lock repair” now get more than advice on how to fix their problems. Google Inc. is pairing prescreened professionals – plumbers, electricians and other local home-service providers – with desperate clients. The long-awaited addition to its sponsored results, which rolled out Friday in and around San Francisco, rachets up competition with companies like Amazon.com Inc., Yelp Inc., Angie’s List Inc. and TaskRabbit. Developed by its advertising technology team, it is part of Google’s paid app for small businesses called AdWords Express. Servicemen pay to be ranked among the first search results and are connected with potential customers through the app after having been screened and qualified by Google. According to a Google spokesperson, services are so far available for plumbers, handymen, locksmiths and house cleaners – terms that customers enter millions of times a day in the Google search bar. In order to qualify, participating small businesses must undergo procedures such as license, insurance and background checks as well as mystery shopping.