As a local business, you may be wondering if Google Ads is worth your time and money. After all, there are so many advertising platforms out there. Why should you choose Google Ads?
Google Ads can be extremely effective for local businesses. If you’re targeting a local audience, you can use Google Ads to reach them where they’re searching online. You can also use specific keywords and target your ads to appear when people search for those keywords.
Perhaps best of all, you can measure the success of your Google Ads campaign so that you know what’s working and what isn’t. This allows you to make necessary adjustments to ensure that your campaign is as successful as possible.
In this blog post, we’ll show you why local businesses should use Google Ads. We’ll also walk you through the process of setting up and optimizing your campaign for maximum results.
Why Local Businesses Should Use Google Ads.
Google Ads are online advertisements that appear on Google search results pages and websites that are part of the Google Display Network. Advertisers can use Google Ads to promote their products or services with text, image, or video ads.
Benefits of Google Ads for Local Businesses.
There are many benefits of using Google Ads for local businesses. Google Ads can help you reach a large audience of potential customers who are searching for your products or services online. Additionally, you can target your ads to a specific geographic area, so that only people in your city or town will see them. Finally, you can track the performance of your campaign and make adjustments accordingly to ensure that you are getting the most out of your advertising budget.
Setting Up Your Google Ads Campaign.
To create a Google Ads account, you’ll need to set up a billing account first. You can do this by going to the “Billing” section of your Google Ads account and clicking on the “Set up billing” button.
Once you’ve set up your billing account, you can create your first Google Ads campaign by clicking on the “Campaigns” tab and then on the “+ Campaign” button.
When creating your campaign, you’ll need to choose a campaign type, set your budget, and select your targeting options. For local businesses, we recommend choosing the “Search Network only” option and targeting your ads to people in your city or region.
Setting Up Your Payment Method.
Google Ads requires that you have a valid payment method on file before your ads can run. To add a payment method, go to the “Billing” section of your Google Ads account and click on the “Payment methods” link. From there, you can add a credit or debit card as your payment method.
Creating Your First Google Ads Campaign.
When creating your first Google Ads campaign, you’ll need to choose a campaign type, set your budget, and select your targeting options. For local businesses, we recommend choosing the “Search Network only” option and targeting your ads to people in your city or region.
Optimizing Your Google Ads Campaign for Local Search.
One of the great things about advertising with Google Ads is that you can target your ads to reach a specific geographic location. This is perfect for businesses that only serve a certain area, as you can ensure that your ads are only being shown to people who are actually in your service area. There are a few different ways to target your local audience with Google Ads:
-Location Targeting: You can choose to target your ads based on specific countries, regions, cities, or even zip codes.
-Radius Targeting: With this option, you can specify a certain radius around your business location and show your ads to anyone within that radius.
-Language Targeting: You can also target based on language, which is perfect if you have bilingual staff or if your business is located in an area with a lot of people who speak a certain language.
Selecting the Right Keywords.
Another important part of optimizing your Google Ads campaign for local search is choosing the right keywords. When people search for businesses like yours online, they usually include location-specific keywords in their search query. For example, someone looking for a pizza place in New York City might search for “pizza NYC” or “pizza near me.” As a business owner, you can use these keyword phrases to target potential customers who are searching for businesses like yours in specific locations.
There are a few different ways to find relevant keywords for your business:
-Keyword Planner: This tool from Google Ads can help you find new keyword ideas and see how often people are searching for those keywords.
-Competitor Keyword Research: Take a look at what keywords your competitors are targeting and try to match them or do better than them.
-Customer Feedback: Ask your customers what words they would use when searching for businesses like yours online. This can give you some great insight into the kinds of keywords you should be targeting.
Writing Effective Ads.
Once you’ve targeted the right audience and selected the right keywords, it’s time to write effective ads that will get results. There are a few things to keep in mind when writingads for local search:
-Include Location Keywords: Be sure to include relevant location keywords in both your ad headline and ad text so that people know exactly where you’re located and what areas you serve.
-Highlight Your Unique Selling Points: What makes your business special? Be sure to mention any unique selling points or features in your ad so that potential customers know what they can expect from doing business with you.
-Use Call Extensions: Call extensions allow potential customers to call your business directly from your ad with just one click. This is perfect for businesses that rely heavily on phone sales or customer service inquiries.
-Include a Call to Action: Always include a call to action in your ads so that potential customers know what you want them to do next. A few examples of effective calls to action are “call now,” “schedule a consultation,” or “learn more.”
Measuring the Success of Your Google Ads Campaign.
One of the most important aspects of running a successful Google Ads campaign is monitoring your campaign’s performance. You’ll need to keep an eye on your click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and cost per conversion.
To do this, you’ll need to log into your Google Ads account and navigate to the “Campaigns” tab. Then, click on the name of the campaign you want to check up on.
Once you’re in your campaign, click on the “Dimensions” tab and then select “All time” from the drop-down menu next to “Period.” This will give you an overview of how your campaign has performed since it launched.
If you want to dig deeper into your campaign’s performance, you can click on the “Details” tab. This will show you a more detailed breakdown of your CTR, conversion rate, and cost per conversion.
Adjusting Your Campaign Settings.
Once you’ve monitored your campaign’s performance, you may want to make some adjustments to your campaign settings. For example, if your CTR is low, you may want to adjust your keywords or ad copy. Similarly, if your conversion rate is low, you may want to adjust your bid strategy or target audience.
To make these changes, simply log into your Google Ads account and navigate to the “Campaigns” tab. Then, click on the name of the campaign you want to edit. From there, you can adjust any of the settings for that particular campaign.
Making these small tweaks to your campaign can have a big impact on your overall results, so it’s important to regularly monitor your campaign’s performance and make adjustments as needed.
Conclusion
As a small business owner, you can’t afford to miss out on potential customers. Google Ads is an effective way to reach local customers who are searching for what you have to offer. By creating a campaign and targeting your audience, you can put your business in front of people who are already interested in what you have to offer. And by monitoring your campaign performance, you can make sure that your ads are reaching the right people and generating the results you want.
