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As a small business serving a limited locality, it can be hard to justify spending money on long-term PPC campaigns. For some industries, it never makes sense. Most people only look for garage door technicians when their garage door breaks. Likewise, plumbers are for when your pipes are amiss.
Even the best advertiser will have a hard time building brand awareness for a locksmith. It just is not something people pay attention to when not locked out of their house. Your service might get a few people through banner ads or search ads, but usually not a great return on ad spend.
Even if you are a local technician who benefits from PPC advertising, it will still help you to have a way to advertise to people in active need of your business. That is where Google Local Services Ads come into play. Local Services Ads are an offering from Google Ads to show your business at the top of relevant Google search results.
Google Local Services Ads are in front of the customer when they need your service. In this way, you get leads directly from customers. Your ads will show your hours and contact information. Local customers can even message you directly through Google.
There are many benefits to using Google Local Services ads to boost your business. This section is a brief overview of some of the advantages of Google Local Services ads.
For any brand visibility right keyword research and intent matching is important. Getting shown at or near the top of Google search results is significant in digital advertising. With Google Local Services Ads, your advertisement shows at the absolute top position of Google search results.
There are many tools available for keyword research but PPCexpo Keyword Planner is a chrome extension and highly use by many SEO and digital marketing experts to keep their brand visible.
Since Google Local Services Ads are trying to provide options to customers with immediate needs, showing them at the top makes sense. It also means you get prime real estate without really paying extra for it. Another place Google shows Google Local Services Ads is in the Assistant. Between the two, your brand name will be put in front of many local customers.
It would be impossible to overstate how critical timing can be in advertising. With Google Local Services Ads, Google shows your ads to people who actively need your service. That means that you will get inundated with leads that are likely to lead to paying customers.
One of the coolest aspects of Google Local Services Ads is the integrated messaging. When a customer finds an ad they like, they can message the service provider directly. As the service provider, you use an app provided by Google to respond to the customer.
Google Ads will also vet the customers to make sure they are a good fit before sending them to you. If you do not do the specific task or the customer is outside your service area, Google Ads will send them to somebody else. This vetting process even catches customers before they call you.
You have probably used less-than-reliable services for building leads in your area. The headache of paying for a list of outdated contact information is indescribable. Fortunately, with Google Services Ads, you only end up paying for accurate leads.
If you end up getting sent spam or other fraudulent leads, you do not pay for it. If Google Ads sends someone to you and does not match your service area or job specificity, you also do not pay. While every lead is not guaranteed to result in a customer, narrowing it down like this will help you.
Another benefit to using Google Local Search Ads is that the customers picked you. When they searched for “broken A/C Cincinnati,” they got many Google Local Search Ads and chose to message your company.
Talking to customers who picked you from the list is just another way of narrowing leads down to potential customers. Most of Google Local Search Ads’ lead generation is highly specified.
Google Local Services Ads will also guarantee your services. There is a screening and qualification process. Once verified, your ads will appear with a green checkmark and the words “Google Guarantee.”
This guarantee means that dissatisfied customers can seek help from Google for arbitration. Google will liaise with you and your customer to give you a chance to rectify any mistake. If they think the customer deserves compensation, Google will compensate them.
Hopefully, you always provide your customers with more-than-satisfactory service. The Google Guarantee is more about giving potential customers peace of mind.
Google is a highly respected brand. If customers see their endorsement on your ad, they are going to gravitate towards your brand. It will also make them less hesitant to purchase by removing any financial risks.
Google Local Services Ads also only show in the Google Assistant if they have the Google Guarantee. On top of giving your brand respectability, it also expands your reach.
Google Local Services Ads are straightforward. Google Local Services Ads show your business information at the top of results, above spots on the Google Search Network. Your ad will only appear in front of relevant users.
When someone searches for your service in your area, they will get the chance to message or call you. The messaging service is only for US and Canadian advertisers. You get notified of leads via the Google Local Services Ads app and email, at which point it becomes yours to drive the sale home.
Prompt responses improve your ad ranking. Since Google prides itself on providing accurate search results to its users, they prefer to show better quality ads. They also tend to make more money off of better ads. Be sure to respond to everyone that reaches out to you on the app.
For advertisers that have the Google Guarantee, customers can book service appointments through Google Local Services Ads. It is part of Google’s broader Reserve tool, a part of Google Maps. You can show potential customers your upcoming availability and consultation costs.
Setting up Google Local Services Ads is simple and guaranteed to generate customers for your business. You provide Google Ads with your business information, including provided services, phone number, and hours. Google does the work of creating and tailoring the specific ads.
Something to note before getting started is that Google Local Services Ads only function in some businesses. Review the following list to make sure your company is eligible to work with Google Local Services Ads:
Likewise, many of these services are only available in some countries. Do not worry. Google Ads will let you know whether you are eligible before letting you sign up.
When you sign up, you provide Google Ads with your basic business information. You give your business name, hours, locations serviced, hours, and a phone number. You can also give Google a brief description of your business.
Google Local Services Ads will also incorporate reviews that you have received on Google or one of its partners. They also show images provided by you or obtained from your website. It is best to provide the images if you want more control over how your Google Local Services Ads look.
As mentioned earlier, Google Local Services Ads will also show whether you have the Google Guarantee or not. There is an alternative verification called Google Screened, which will appear on your ad if you have it.
Google Screened does not provide any financial insurance to your customers, but it can still provide peace of mind. To get the Google Screened badge, you must pass a business background check, business-owner background check, and get licensing checks for your employees. Sometimes, your employees must also pass background checks.
Having either the Google Guarantee or Google Screened will improve your ad ranking and give customers more reason to choose you over competitors.
Understanding ad ranking is key to maximizing the benefits of Google Local Services Ads. Essentially, ad rank is an estimate of Google’s expected rate of customers getting in touch with you. They use this estimate to determine which ads to show and in what order to display them.
Your ad ranking comprises a myriad of factors. The easiest aspect to understand for someone familiar with PPC advertising is whether the searcher would be part of your target audience. If a user’s search terms match other people that bought from you, they are more likely to see your ad. Similarly, other context clues can tell Google someone is likely to buy from you, like the time of day they search.
As mentioned earlier, getting Google Guaranteed or Google Screened affects your ad ranking. To put it simply, Google feels good about recommending brands they are willing to put their money behind.
Another factor in ad ranking mentioned before is your responsiveness. If you do not take the time to respond to people on the Google Local Services Ads app, Google will not feel as good about telling people to reach out to you. Being responsive and friendly is an easy way to bolster your ranking.
On the point of being friendly, Google will lower your ad rank if they receive complaints about your business. They will also factor in your reviews. By leaving positive associations with customers, you also guarantee your ad gets placed in front of new customers.
Other factors that Google Local Services Ads use to rank your ads are your hours and location. They do this to ensure that your ad only shows to people who will use your service.
Google Local Service Ads also let you specify which types of services you provide. Doing so can ensure that your leads are more suited to your needs. Each business category has a list of services to choose from.
Service types function almost like keywords. When somebody searches for a service type that falls under a broader service category, they will see ads for that category. For example, when someone searches for “shower broken Boston,” they will see ads for plumbers and not shower repairmen.
Using service types also means you will not get irrelevant leads. If you are a plumber who cannot service showers, you will not appear when someone searches “shower broken.” Google Assistant will ask users what service they need to ensure they see the right Local Services Ads.
When you set up your service area, you pick a city, county, or neighborhood. Google Local Services Ads will show to people who search for your service while in your area, as estimated by Google Location Services. It will also appear to people who search for your area name in their service query.
Through local service platform if you are providing any services, all local laws and regulations are applied. All relevant licensing, insurance, privacy or other regulatory requirements and duties are required
18 years of age is must for you, your team and your customers as well.
Neither the employees of Google nor its affiliate cannot provide or even can’t help in providing this service. Moreover, you can’t even say to your customer that you are an affiliate or employ of Google.
Google Local Services Ads are a powerful tool for reaching customers in a particular service area. Through a pay-per-lead model and superb ad positioning, you are sure to affordably generate leads. If done right, you will start filling your service schedule well in advance. Only running your campaign and not monitoring precisely will not lead you towards high ROI. You need to constantly monitor your PPC reports so that campaigns’ performance should be tracked and improve in a proper way.
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