San Diego local marketing, from Torrey Pines in January to December Nights.

The year starts with The Sentry, the PGA Tour event at Torrey Pines, in late January. San Diego Pride draws more than 250,000 supporters to Hillcrest in July, the same month Comic-Con International fills downtown. December Nights, the city's largest free holiday festival, takes over Balboa Park in early December. For a restaurant, hotel, salon, rideshare fleet or tour operator, every one of those is a forecast. Campaigns, budgets and Business Profile posts should be scheduled weeks before, not improvised on the day.

Hospitality is a big enough share of the economy to plan around. The city's financial report says hospitality accounts for one in eight local jobs, and the 10.5% transient occupancy tax on hotel stays is a reminder of how much of the city's money comes from visitors. Visitors choose from the map on their phones. A complete Google Business Profile, with accurate hours, recent photos and replies to reviews, often matters more than any single ad.

For trades and home services, the calendar matters less than coverage. Google Ads targeted by neighborhood, Spanish-language ad groups where customers search in Spanish, and a review request at the end of every job do most of the work. Local marketing is priced from $575 a month, scaled to how much ground there is to cover. Ad spend is paid directly to the platform, and reporting shows calls by campaign.