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Author: Phil Fisk

Phil Fisk is the founder of Core6 Marketing, a veteran-owned digital marketing agency in Salinas that works with home service contractors on California's Central Coast. A U.S. Army veteran with 20+ years in digital marketing, Phil has served more than 200 contractor clients across the region. His team builds websites, local SEO, Google Ads, and AI search visibility around one goal: more calls from the right jobs. Phil oversees every project.

Two Listings, One Business: What Duplicate Google Profiles Cost You

Infographic listing three questions to ask a marketing agency about competitor exclusivity before signing

Direct Answer: A duplicate Google Business Profile splits your reviews, photos, and ranking signals between two records, so Google may show the wrong one. Find every version, pick the real one, and merge or remove the rest. You type your own company name into Google on a Tuesday morning, and two pins come up. One […]

Monterey County’s 5 Top-Rated Marketing Agencies, and Who Each One Fits

Contractor truck tailgate with a clipboard and wrenches in a rainy Salinas driveway at dusk

Direct Answer: By Google review count among 5.0-rated firms with a Monterey County address: PlayBig Digital (32), Vinci Digital Marketing (23), Diseño Vivo Marketing (17), then 21CM Digital Marketing and Rock Star Marketing tied at 2. You search “marketing agency Monterey” because your phone has gone quiet or your website looks like it was built […]

Is Your Marketing Agency Also Working for the Plumber Down the Street?

Two unmarked contractor vans parked across the street from each other in a small Central Coast town at dusk

Direct Answer: Ask three things in writing: do you work with other companies in my trade and service area, how long does that protection hold, and what happens if my competitor calls you tomorrow. Picture two plumbing companies in Salinas. Both have been in business fifteen years, both run three trucks, and both want the […]

Your Best Reviews Are From 2023. The Salinas Map Pack Noticed.

Contractor truck tailgate with a clipboard and wrenches in a rainy Salinas driveway at dusk

Direct Answer: Usually it is review recency, not your star average. Google and homeowners both weigh recent reviews heavily. Ten reviews from the last 90 days move the Salinas map pack more than 200 from 2021. You have 80 Google reviews and a 4.8 average. The shop two miles up the road has 31 reviews […]

If You Leave Your Agency, Do You Keep the Website and Ad Account?

Contractor service agreement and keys on a work truck dashboard with a coastal neighborhood outside the windshield

Direct Answer: You own only what the agreement says you own. Your domain, website files, Google Business Profile, and Google Ads account are four separate assets, and each one needs your name on it. I talk to contractors in Salinas, Seaside, and Watsonville who have paid for a website twice. Once to the guy who […]

Search Ads or Performance Max: Where a Contractor’s Ad Budget Goes

Three unequal coin stacks on a contractor's workbench beside a pipe wrench and truck keys

Direct Answer: For most Monterey County contractors, Search ads come first because buyer intent is highest there. Performance Max extends reach after Search is fully funded, not instead of it. An owner in Seaside called me a while back with a question I hear constantly. He was spending a few thousand a month on Google […]

Google Now Bills for Calls You Never Answered. What That Costs a Shop.

Unanswered phone glowing on the tailgate of a plumber's service van with no one nearby

Direct Answer: A missed call during your posted hours can now be billed as a valid lead if the caller stays on the line long enough. The ring itself costs money, not just the lost job. Most owners I talk to still think a missed call is a lost opportunity and nothing more. The phone […]

Google Is Moving Local Services Ads. What Central Coast Trades Should Check

Open contractor van doors in a foggy Central Coast driveway with a job clipboard hanging inside

Direct Answer: Google is moving Local Services Ads into the main Google Ads platform as a pay-per-lead campaign type. Your ads and billing model stay. The separate dashboard, manual bidding, and old reports go away. If you run trucks out of Salinas, Seaside, or Watsonville, you may have seen a headline saying Google is killing […]

A license lapse mid job no longer erases your right to be paid

Contractor reviewing blank contract paperwork on a truck tailgate at a framed apartment job site

Direct Answer: Starting January 1, 2027, SB 342 lets a contractor who was duly licensed when the contract was signed recover pay for work performed while licensed, on specified public works, commercial, and multifamily projects. A renewal notice goes to an old address. Your license sits lapsed for five weeks while you are three months […]

AI Named You in Monterey. What the Homeowner Checks Next.

Cracked pipe fitting wrapped in a towel on a kitchen table at night beside a tablet showing map pins

Direct Answer: Yes. Research on AI local recommendations found nearly all users cross-check them against real reviews, and most fact-check the reviews themselves. Being named starts the vetting, it does not end it. You got named. Someone in Monterey asked ChatGPT who the most reliable HVAC company in the area is, and your business came […]