Local business is great. But, you don’t know how to make money.

Learn what PPC is. These are your SparkNotes.

What is Local Businesses PPC (Pay Per Click)?

You pay per click (or pay per click) when someone clicks on your ad. This is marketing where you pay for each click. This includes Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and many other social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Twitter.

This article will focus on Google Ads because it’s the best way to find high-converting customers. These people search Google for products/services.

PPC can be confused with SEO. These paid search ads or PPC, as they are known by Google, will help you rank higher in search engine results.

Ads are displayed above organic search results. They are marked in the upper left corner with “Ad”

While Ads can be paid, organic results will depend on the quality of your SEO. 

PPC goals may be anything you choose, but they will often make you money. Before you start running PPC ads it is important to understand what you are trying to achieve

It’s possible to be shocked at how far behind you are when it comes to PPC in local businesses. Let’s take a look at what might cause you to struggle and what you can do to overcome it.

PPC: The Hardships

Google Ads is used by many small businesses, regardless of whether they are local or far away. They become frustrated and give up. Google Ads is only available to businesses that have a deep pocket and an exclusive deal.

They are quite right. Google doesn’t require you to plan Shawshank Redemptions to win your next win. 

It will become more difficult to bet against industry giants. 

What you need to know. Let’s get started!

Win the PPC Game For Local Business:

Let me first say that drawing boards are essential. Local businesses won’t have extra money. I will first cover the drawing board strategy. Next, optimization and ongoing winning.

#1 Know Your Competition

If you’ve ever worked for a company, you probably know your competitors. 

If you’re a small business, it’s impossible to compete with Walmart. Knowing your competition is crucial because it will allow you to see where you can do better.

You should focus on your selling point. Is it your product quality? Can you beat your competitors’ prices? Your strongest selling points should be used in your landing pages and ad copy.

You should also research your competition to gain a better understanding of their strategies. Facebook makes it easy to check who is running ads. You can search Google for products or services you are interested in and see ads and promotions. Now, it’s time to get down and business!

Notice: Bidding on the brand names of competitors is a controversial topic. It is possible to get into a bidding war, people may be loyal, and you could face legal trouble.

#2 Set up Tracking

I assumed everyone had set up tracking since the start of the year. I was shocked when I saw that a company didn’t have Google Analytics linked to its website. 

It may seem difficult to set up tracking but it is essential. 

• Google Analytics Google Analytics lets you view important information about your website. This includes visitor count, bounce rates, and other statistics. 

• Google Tag Manager – Google Tag Manager is another Google product.

• Facebook Pixel – A small piece of code called the Facebook Pixel is placed on your website or in Google Traffic Manager (GTM). It monitors visitors to your website, their actions, and whether or not they have a Facebook Account.

• HotJar Heat Mapping is the industry standard. It shows what your users are doing on your website. It shows how far users have scrolled, and what they clicked.

• Phone Recording and Tracking – There are many software options for recording phone calls. It is highly recommended that you purchase one.

• Landing pages – Even though this page isn’t part of tracking, it should be a post-click landing page to increase conversion rates. 

After you have set up your tracking, you can move to the next stage of this strategy.

#3 Set Your Budget & Goals

Don’t enter marketing with an “I’ll spend it and see what happens” mindset. It is important to evaluate your marketing budget.

But, you need to consider other goals and budget parameters when planning.

• Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) – You want money. This is how you determine how much money it will cost to acquire a customer.

• Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) – This key performance indicator measures how successful we are at delivering clients’ businesses. Understanding how much customers will pay you helps you decide how much you can spend on one customer. 

• Return On Ad Spend (ROAS) – You subtract your total revenue from advertising from the amount that you spent on ads. 

Now that you have determined the budgeting portion of your marketing plan, you can set realistic goals. Use your monthly advertising budget to determine how many leads and customers you need.

How to find your target CPA/Leads/Month

Let’s say that your monthly ad spend is $3,000 and you have $75 to buy one lead. Now you know your goals and can move on to the next stage.

Disclaimer. You might not reach your target CPA immediately as there may be competition from other PPC platforms. You’ll need to persist and dial in your account until you get the results you want.

#4 Choose your platforms

There is a wide range of options for local business PPC platforms. You also have social media like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Local businesses prefer to be on Facebook. Local businesses prefer to be on Facebook.

Google Ads can be a great tool for local businesses. Your product or service is already being searched on Google by users. To get them to contact you, all you need to do is show up.

#5 Light Keyword Research

Before you can run ads on Google, keyword research will be necessary.

Local businesses are less able to spend so you need to do keyword research. 

• The “describe it” method – Take a moment to reflect on your products and ask others for their descriptions. You can attract customers by finding out their problems. Then you can list keywords you are willing to bid on.

This is just the beginning.

• Google Keyword Planner Google provides a free keyword research tool. You can also add keywords to your Google account directly from the planner.

You should start here, with keywords or your website.

• SpyFu: Competitor Research Tools: The internet is the safest place to be, especially when it comes to tracking your competitors. Simply enter their URL and voila! You will find a list of keywords that they may be bidding on.

Tip: Keywords with high costs and long history are good indicators. You can pay more for keywords that generate income and continue bidding on them for the long term.

This is where more strategy comes into play. Although you might have more money, that doesn’t mean that you can afford to hire them less. 

Focus on keywords with high intent and long tails. It is not the best place to start. You can target millions more search terms with keyword match types than your “dentist” keyword.

Bidding on phrases that include more than one word, such as “dentist near me”, “dentist salt lake city” or “wherever you are”, and “dentist appointment” are better options. 

After you have identified your keywords, you need to know how to arrange them in your account.

#6 Make Google Ads with SkAGs

One keyword ad group (SKAGs), is the best way to organize Google Ads accounts. Next, we will explain what a SKAG is.

Keywords

Keywords refer to words that Google uses for your Google Ads ads. Google offers match options that allow you to specify how closely your keywords must match each other to have your ad appear. 

• Broad Match: This matches only your keyword. By telling Google, your ads will appear for any keyword that is related to your keyword.

• Broad Match Modified (or Broad Match modified): This is the safest variant of a broad keyword.

• Phrase Match: You can use quotations here to mark the keyword phrase match. Google will now show you ads for searches that include the exact phrase. You can also add words to the phrase after or before it. For example, “hot dog”, “best hot dog”, Franks hot dog, and many others.

• Exact match: This allows you to use brackets to mark the keyword as a match. Google will show your ads only for that keyword.

There is a wide range of match types. 

How a SKAG Structure looks

This is easiest to demonstrate using an example. It is easier to illustrate this in an example.

• Chiropractor Denver
• Chiropractor near me
• Chiropractic massage therapy

This is how your account could look:

• Campaign 1: Chiropractor Denver
  • Ad Group 1: Chiropractor Denver
    • Keyword (Broad Match): +chiropractor +denver
    • Keyword (Phrase Match): “chiropractor Denver”
    • Keyword (Exact Match): [chiropractor denver]
• Campaign 2: Chiropractor Near Me
  • Ad Group 1: Chiropractor Near Me
    • Keyword (Broad Match): +chiropractor +near +me
    • Keyword (Phrase Match): “chiropractor Denver”
    • Keyword (Exact Match): [chiropractor denver]
• Campaign 3: Chiropractor Denver
  • Ad Group 1: Chiropractor Denver
    • Keyword (Broad Match): +chiropractor +denver
    • Keyword (Phrase Match): “chiropractor Denver”
    • Keyword (Exact Match): [chiropractor denver]

The first benefit of SKAG is the greater control you have. Google can’t get past you if they have more control.

Lastly, you can see which keywords drive you the most money using the SKAG setup. 

#7 Use Correct Settings

This article will explain how to use the correct Google Ads campaign settings. Local businesses have some special settings.

Localization

We will cover this in more detail later. However, it is crucial to make sure that you only target areas where customers are available.

Languages

It makes sense to choose English as your target language. This mistake is made both by experienced professionals and beginners.

It can also be set to All languages

Clear any filters. Customers might have their devices set up to another language but will still search in English. Your filter is your keywords.

Bidding

Google can manage your bidding. This is the easiest thing you can do in the world. Simply switch it on to maximize conversions and watch the money come in.

Google wants your money.

All bidding strategies.

Many automated bidding strategies look great and can save you a lot of money. Google will tell you that it takes time for the algorithm to learn and your spending will then balance. 

Don’t fall for it. You have the option to set your bid strategy manually and control how much you spend per click.

Bidding, an important topic, deserves its own post

#8 Do not skimp on the Ad Copy

Large-budget companies will create dynamic ads using Google’s auto-filled recommendations. If you don’t have the time or resources to do so, here are some things you need to include in your Google Advertising Copy.

The Keyword

It is essential to be able to add the keyword you are bidding for to your ad. You might search for “7-day Bahamas cruise”, click on “premium espresso maker”, and see “wedding dresses for sale online”. You will likely get confused.

Many companies can establish a strong connection between ads, keywords, and landing pages. It is common for companies to have a good connection between keywords, landing pages, and ads.

It is important to include the keyword in your ad copy, including the URL display path and the description. It makes the user feel that they are visiting a relevant website by using the URL display path. Description 1 will clarify the purpose of the page.

The location

Locations will also be discussed in greater detail later. It’s important to include your city in the headline 2 and description text.

Local business seekers have two main questions: How can you solve my problem? What are your travel costs? It’s easier to answer these questions with just two headlines.

Writing ads is all about making them understandable.

Consider your locals. Who are they? The younger generation? Or the younger generation? They create the ads.

A little bit of keyword bidding advice and some ad copy is necessary. The advice to add the keyword in headline 1 is a lie.

#9 Use Extensions to Your Advantage

If you don’t know what ad extension is, you’re missing out. Your ad must be informative and use space when it appears. These are both possible with ad extensions. They are also completely free.

The example will show you all the extensions to your ad. You will notice all the extensions to the ad in this example.

Extensions for ad extensions are a benefit to the customer. They improve the appearance of your ads and increase your quality score. Google uses quality scores to determine whether your landing page, keywords and ads are relevant to search terms. Google wants users to use their platforms, so advertisers must undergo quality control. Google Ads offers an incentive. It reduces the cost per click for advertisers with high-quality scores. While there are many other aspects that I won’t cover, it is clear that ad extensions can help you save money.

These top local businesses should be adding to their ads.

Extensions are available by calling

As click-to-call numbers, call extensions can be added to your ads. People won’t call you unless you are interested in their product or services. This makes it easier to track calls as high-quality leads.

Even those who aren’t as tech-savvy might also be able to see the extension and be pleasantly surprised at the possibilities. They no longer have to look on the internet for a phone number; they were handed the number immediately.

If you’re closing sales by phone, a call extension can be a great option. Most people browse the internet from their phones.

Pro Tip: Does your call-tracking software still work? It’s a smart idea to set up a tracking number so you can learn from every call, no matter if they visit your site.

Location Extensions

This rule may not apply to all companies. If you are a company that comes to your customers, it is worth thinking twice about adding more location extensions. Customers shouldn’t feel like they have to drive to your office if you’re a Heating and Air Conditioning business. It is a hassle! These can be added if your company insists that customers visit in-store.

Price Extensions

PPC is sensitive, especially for local businesses. It can be difficult to extend price extensions. Here’s what a price extension looks like:

Local businesses are often able to offer lower prices than big brands. This is a crucial point for your business, so be sure to mention it.

Many companies include promotions or discounts in their headlines. This is not only a great way to draw attention but it can also help you get more customers.

Promotional Extensions

Another option is to extend your promotional extensions. Promo extensions are another option.

While it is not easy to find all the details here, you will find information about the event, the discount, and the display date as well as the scheduling options.

They can be set up and the duration can be specified. You don’t need to run them on holidays. They can be promoted any time you like.

Sitelink Extensions

Sitelink extensions can be your friend.

Sitelink extensions are available when you require more space. Although your ads might not be as big as theirs, that doesn’t mean they can’t be used. Sitelinks enable your customers to navigate quickly to the places that interest them. A site link can be added to a contact page or promotional page. Your customers will be redirected to high-converting sites. This is a good sign that you are doing well.

A word of caution: Make sure they are redirected to conversion pages. These ads can cost you money per click. You should make sure they convert people to conversion pages, not just to view information.

You can see that there are many extensions you should concentrate on when starting a local business PPC. It is a good idea, however, to try as many extensions as possible.

#10 Location Targeting for All Platforms

This is a necessary part of your settings. Some of this was already covered. It is vital to the success of local PPC campaigns. It was important to local PPC success so I included it in its section.

It is vital to know where your customers live. Local businesses often need to give a list of the zip codes and cities of their customers. This is the first question I ask. This gives me a good idea of potential customers.

Google Ads lets you target customers by their zip code, location, or radius. You can also create an area around Google My Business.

This allows you to only show ads to those who live in the area. You can modify this if you’re a hotel, but this is your best target.

Facebook Ads can be used for the same targeting as Google Ads, but they cannot be layered like Google Ads.

Although you cannot choose one, there are many options for when your ideal customers will see the advertisement.

There are many places you can call home.

It is not enough to target people in a particular location. If your tourist shop is open, you can target visitors to the area.

#11 Spend some time researching your search terms.

Referring to the 100% Google Ads strategy, you’ll have to spend time doing something that many large businesses don’t want. Check out your search term report. You can find it under the keywords tab. Choose the option that indicates search keywords.

Google searches will trigger the keywords you bid on. If you don’t use exact matches, your search term report will show words that are closely related to your keywords.

The goal of single-keyword ad groups is to achieve the best keyword-to-search terms ratio. This allows you to have greater control over the amount you bid per keyword (and how it converts) and gives you more detail between keywords, landing pages, and ad terms.

Open your search term report to determine the conversion rate for high-quality keywords. Sort them by impressions (highly or low). Negative keywords should not be overlooked.

Pro tip: You can add new SKAGs to your ad groups. Include the tail as a negative keyword. (i.e. You can search for a new SKAG Chiropractor near me by adding “near me”

#12 Learn about the Key Performance Indicators to Optimize

As part of optimization, you will need to track keywords (Google), and ads (Facebook). Local businesses make the rookie mistake of tracking vanity metrics.

All vanity metrics include clicks, impressions, and quality scores. These metrics can be useful indicators of the health of your account, but they don’t move needles.

When selling online, you should focus on cost, conversion rate, and cost per acquisition.

When you first open your maintenance account, you will need to determine the cost of each item. You will need to sort your maintenance account by cost before you can make any changes.

Keywords determine where you spend your money. Keywords are what you spend your money on.

It is possible to adjust bids (which we recommend for manual CPC) or to turn off keywords that exceed CPA significantly.

#13 Retarget, Retarget

Let’s say you already have Google Ads down pat. Remarketing is the first thing you should focus on.

Google Ads allows you to create audiences and then add them to campaigns. It is a good idea to create an audience from all website visitors and then add this audience to each campaign. You should leave your audience to observe. This will let you see the performance of your audience before you set up targeting campaigns and adjust bids. Once you have a solid audience, you can create a Remarketing List to Search Ads (RLSA), in the Google Search Network. You can then create additional campaigns using keywords with lower intent that you only show to people who have previously visited your site.

To track visitors who have recently visited your website, you can use visual ads on Google Display Network. To avoid spamming customers, you should create an audience only from people who have converted.

Potential customers can be reached via the Facebook network. Facebook Retargeting is what it is. Either create an audience using your Facebook Pixel data or upload an address. Combine your retargeting audiences with the location targeting that we discussed and you’ll get results.

#14 Never Stop Testing

Last note: You make the decision. This is what will make you stand out from the rest of your industry professionals.

You might be tempted to let your hair down and feel good about yourself when you find something. Don’t fall for this trap!

While onboarding isn’t as difficult as other tasks can be, it can still be hard to relax after the job is done. You can always improve, so keep testing.

Wrap up Local Business PC

You have it! Kobe Digital offers its top tips and tricks to help you get ahead of the big guys in local business PPC. This can be overwhelming, especially if you don’t have a working PPC strategy. This tip is for you: Do not try to change everything at once. If you have an account, start at the beginning.

You should focus on the most important needle movers and then take each step one at a. Your tracking system must be up and running. You must also know your goals and budget. Next, create SKAGs and optimize settings. It is not a good idea to try to move everything at once as you may not know what to do if your results drop or rise. This can lead to frustration and unnecessary table-tossing. You are not using data effectively to grow your business. This is what you know, so go out and succeed!