A new analysis of charter fishing businesses across 10 of the top U.S. fishing destinations finds a majority have no paid search presence and most struggle to rank organically for their own market.
-- Marshall365, a Google Ads marketing company specializing in service businesses and outdoor recreation operators, today released findings from its analysis of charter fishing businesses across 10 of the top fishing destinations in the United States. The fishing charter marketing report examines how these businesses show up online at the moment customers are actively searching to book a trip.
The findings reveal a significant digital marketing gap across the charter fishing industry. Despite 100% of the businesses analyzed having a website, the vast majority are failing to be found by customers who are ready to book.
62% of charter fishing businesses analyzed are running no Google Ads whatsoever.
During peak booking season, when anglers are actively searching for trips in destinations like Destin, Montauk, and Port Aransas, the majority of local charter operators have no paid search presence. The customers searching for them are finding their competitors instead.
87% don't rank on Page 1 organically for their primary local keyword.
Search rankings tell a similar story. Only 13% of the businesses analyzed appeared on the first page of Google results for their city's primary fishing charter search term. The rest are effectively invisible to anyone who doesn't already know their name.
85% have a Google Business Profile — but only 16% have it fully optimized.
While most businesses have claimed a Google Business Profile, the overwhelming majority have left it incomplete. Missing photos, missing business descriptions, uncategorized listings, and incomplete hours are common across all five regions analyzed. A Google Business Profile that isn't fully built out carries significantly less weight in local search rankings.
35 is the median Google review count, despite an average of 195.
A small number of well-established operators with hundreds or thousands of reviews are pulling the average up significantly. The median of just 35 reviews tells the truer story: most charter businesses have a thin review presence, which directly affects how Google ranks and displays them to potential customers.
Regional breakdown
Google Ads adoption varied significantly by region. The Southeast Atlantic coast showed the highest adoption rate at 67%, driven largely by the competitive Outer Banks and Myrtle Beach markets. The Northeast and New England region showed the lowest, with just one of the twelve businesses analyzed running any paid search campaign at all — despite markets like Gloucester, MA and Montauk, NY drawing serious fishing tourism.
Gulf Coast, Great Lakes, and Pacific Northwest operators all fell in the 33–42% range for Google Ads adoption, suggesting that paid search is still an underutilized tool across nearly every major U.S. charter fishing market.
About the findings
“Charter operators put everything into their boats, their licenses, and their experience on the water. What we found is that the marketing side often gets left behind. A customer who types 'Destin fishing charter' into Google and doesn't see you isn't going to call you, they're going to book with whoever shows up. These findings make that gap impossible to ignore.” — Jay Marshall, Owner, Marshall365
Marshall365 identified and analyzed charter fishing businesses operating across 10 of the top U.S. fishing destinations: Destin (FL), Port Aransas (TX), Myrtle Beach (SC), Outer Banks (NC), Port Clinton (OH), Milwaukee/Port Washington (WI), Seattle/Puget Sound (WA), Newport (OR), Ketchikan (AK), and Montauk (NY).
For each business, researchers evaluated: presence of a website, Google Business Profile status and optimization level, Google review count, active Google Ads presence (verified via live search and Google’s Ad Transparency Center), and first-page organic ranking for the market’s primary fishing charter keyword.
About Marshall 365
Marshall365 is a family-owned Google Ads Marketing Agency based in Abingdon, Virginia. The company specializes in helping service businesses, fishing charters, hunting outfitters, and skilled trades operators get found by customers who are actively searching. Marshall365 operates with no long-term contracts and handles everything in-house.
The full findings from this analysis are available at:
Contact Info:
Name: Jay Marshall
Email: Send Email
Organization: Marshall365
Website: http://marshall365.com/fishing-charter-marketing-report/
Release ID: 89187117
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