How we measure the Top-3 Promise

The short version

You can watch the same map we do, and every scan is saved. The Top-3 Promise and the Stay-Winning Clause apply to the Partnership plan. The Flexible plan has no term and bills from signup.

The definition

Phrase

One main search phrase, agreed with you before you start, for example "plumber asheville". We propose it from your audit, based on what customers search, how often, and how well it fits your main Google category.

Grid

A 5 by 5 grid, 25 points, centered on the pin of your Google Business Profile. If you travel to customers and have no storefront, it's centered on the middle of the service area we agree.

Radius

How far the grid reaches from the center. It's set by how dense your area is, and written into your agreement: 2 to 3 miles in a dense city, 5 miles in a suburb (our default), up to 10 miles in a rural area.

Source

Google Maps results for your phrase at each of the 25 points, collected through a Google Maps data provider (DataForSEO) with the same device type and zoom every time, looking 20 results deep.

Top 3

Your business is in positions 1, 2 or 3 in the Google Maps results at that point.

Met when

5 or more of the 25 points show you in the top 3 on two scans that are at least 48 hours apart.

High starting point

If your first scan already shows 3 or more points in the top 3, the target is that number plus 5, so meeting it always means real progress.

Scans

A scan every week. When a weekly scan reaches the target, we run a confirmation scan automatically. Every scan is saved with its raw results, and you can see them.

The grid method

Google shows different businesses to people in different places, so one ranking number for your whole city would be misleading. Instead we check from 25 points spread evenly across your radius. On the default 5 mile radius the points are 2.5 miles apart, so the center point and its four neighbors all sit within 2.5 miles of your business.

Reaching the top 3 in 5 squares means you show up at the top of the map for customers in a real part of your area, not just on your own street. A square counts only if you are in positions 1 to 3 there. Position 4 or lower, or not appearing at all, doesn't count.

The promise is about this phrase, on this grid. We'll also work on the other searches that matter to you, but only this measurement decides when billing starts.

Confirmation scans

Google results move around from day to day, so one good scan isn't enough. When a weekly scan shows 5 or more squares in the top 3, we run a second scan automatically, at least 48 hours later. If it also shows 5 or more, the target is met and billing starts. If it shows fewer, nothing changes and the weekly scans carry on.

Both scans are saved with their raw results, and you can see them in your portal.

What we need from you

We can only reach the top 3 if we can work on your profile and website. If these slip, the Top-3 Promise stops waiting for you and billing starts.

• You give us manager access to your Google Business Profile within 7 days of signing.
• You point your domain to your new website within 14 days.
• You answer the questions we ask you to confirm, such as your services, service areas and anything we can't verify ourselves.
• You don't change your Google profile's name, category or address without us.
• You don't hire a second company to do SEO on the same business or profile.

The 120-day long stop

If you haven't reached the top 3 by day 120, you choose. You can leave and owe nothing, and we take the website down or you can buy it from us. Or you can start billing and carry on. Either of us can also propose a different phrase or radius, and we'll reset the target together.

The Stay-Winning Clause

After billing starts, if your map falls below the target for 4 weekly scans in a row, billing pauses until you're back at the target. You only pay while you're winning. Each pause and restart is logged with the scans that caused it, and you can see them.

The clause doesn't apply if:

• you haven't kept to the obligations above,
• your Google profile was changed without us, or
• Google suspends your profile for something outside our work.

If you leave

• The website is yours after six paid months. You keep the content, the images and a full export, even if you leave. Your domain was always yours.
• Partnership plan: the six paid months start when the target is met. If you cancel before your sixth paid month, including before the target is met, the setup fee we waived becomes due. The exception is the 120-day long stop above: once day 120 has passed without the target being met, you can leave and owe nothing.
• Flexible plan: there is no term. You can stop with 30 days' notice.
• The 14-Day Launch Promise: your new site is live within 14 days of us getting access to your Google profile and domain, or your first paid month is free.

An example

A plumber in a suburb agrees on the phrase “plumber springfield” with a 5 mile radius.

• Day 0. The first scan shows the business in the top 3 in 1 of 25 squares. That's fewer than 3, so the target stays at 5.
• Weeks 1 to 5. We work on the profile, the website and reviews. Weekly scans show 2, 2, 3, 4 and 4 squares. Nothing is billed.
• Week 6. The weekly scan shows 5 squares. That triggers a confirmation scan.
• Three days later. The confirmation scan also shows 5 squares, so the target is met. Billing starts, and the six paid months begin.

Had the confirmation scan shown 4 squares, nothing would have been billed and the weekly scans would have carried on. And if the first scan had already shown 3 squares, the target would have been 3 plus 5, which is 8.

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