Google is a huge giant with numerous websites selling products and services. These services may fall under the same category yet not many businesses can serve every other location.
For instance; if a person in a particular location wants a car service, they are not going to choose a random car wash center. Instead, they search for the car wash service near me.
This is where a business can stand out based on a particular location. This is all because of our hero the great Google Local Services ads.
This is also for local businesses that don’t serve overseas. For these types of businesses, Google Local Services ads can be a good approach to reach out to local customers.
Now let us learn what Google Local Services ads are. Here is a briefing of what are the topics we will be discussing in this blog.
Table of contents
- What is a Google Local Services Ad?
- What are the industries that can use Google Local Services ads?
- Benefits of Google Local Services Ads
- How do Google Local Services Ads work?
- How to set up Google Local Services ads for your client’s business?
- Google Local Services Ads vs PPC Ads
- What are the factors that determine the Google Local Services ads cost?
- Why should you consider an Agency’s help for your Google Local Services ads?
What is a Google Local Services Ad?
Google Local Services ads can also be known as LSAs. These are paid advertisements that appear on top of the organic search results for those who search for local services. The LSAs can be an enhancement to your client’s SEO strategy. Many industries can benefit from using Local Services ads.
The Local Services ads help in reaching local customers for your business rather than targeting outside customers.
The Local Services ads work on pay-per-lead which means you will pay only if a customer clicks on to your ad and converts. These Local Services ads can also be called as Google Guarantee ads.
Now you know what Google Local Services ads are. Let us dig a little deeper into every detail about this.
What are the industries that can use Google Local Services ads?
There are over 70 industries that can use Google Local Services ads. As earlier said LSAs make your ads stand on top of the Google Search Result Page (SERP) and help in receiving calls, texts or even booking appointments to the service your client provides.
The industries that can use LSAs can be categorized into three major divisions which include
- New verticals
- Home services
- Professional services
New Verticals is subcategorized into education, people care, pet care, wellness, and health care. Let us look what are the industries that come under these 5 subcategories.
New Verticals
Education
- Beauty School
- Dance instructor
- Driving Instructor
- First aid training
- Massage school
- Preschool
- Language instructor
- Tutoring
People care
- Child care
- Funeral home
Pet care
- Animal Shelter
- Pet adoption
- Pet boarding
- Pet grooming
- Pet training
- Veterinarian
Wellness
- Acupuncturist
- Personal trainer
- Yoga studio
- Weight loss center
Health care
- Dental
These are the industries that come under the New Verticals column.
Now let us see what are the industries that come under the Home Services column.
Home Services
- Appliance repairs
- Carpenter
- Carpet cleaning
- Cleaning services
- Countertop pro
- Electrician
- Fencing pro
- Flooring
- Foundation pro
- Garage door pro
- General contractor
- Handyperson
- Home inspector
- Home security
- Home theatre
- House cleaner
- HVAC
- Junk removal
- Landscaper
- Lawn care
- Locksmith
- Mover
- Pest control
- Plumber
- Pool cleaning
- Pool contractor
- Roofer
- Sewage system
- Siding pro
- Snow removal
- Tree services
- Water damage
- Window cleaner
- Window Repair
Professional Services
Finance
- Finance planner
- Tax Specialist
Real-estate
- Real estate agent
Law
- Bankruptcy law
- Business lawyer
- Contract lawyer
- Criminal lawyer
- DUI lawyer
- Estate lawyer
- Family lawyer
- Immigration lawyer
- IP lawyer
- Labor lawyer
- Litigation lawyer
- Malpractice lawyer
- Personal injury lawyer
- Real estate lawyer
- Tax lawyer
- Traffic lawyer
These are the industries that can use the Google Local Services ads.
Benefits of Google Local Services Ads
Let us now look at the benefits you gain from using Google Local Service ads.
- Drive more visibility and more clicks
No matter where your website’s position is on the SERP, no matter if you are using PPC for your ads, or you may even say that your website is on the first page of the search but the question is are you getting enough leads out of it? Do you want more potential leads, then the Local Services ad is the best option. This special feature is dominant to all these and will reach a better level of audience. Since these ads appear on the very top above every other search result, they will be more visible to the customers making them click on your ad.
LSAs are capable of getting hold of potential customers.
2. Pay only for potential leads
What if you are told that you can just pay for the leads, would you go for it? In the world of possibilities what if you are given a cent percent assurance of gaining potential leads and pay only for that? Would you choose that?
Let us put it into simple terms, a customer views your ad and then decides to reach out to you, that is what you will be paying for when you choose Google Local Services ads. By this way, all those spammy and irrelevant leads will be eliminated that you might receive in pay-per-view and pay-per-click ads.
Under these criteria, you can proceed to create a dispute and select invalid. Google will review the dispute and return the amount to the original account.
3. Choose where to display your Local Services ads
In Google Local Services ads you will have the liberty to choose where to showcase your ads. For instance; if you want to show your ads only to the audience in a specific location, you can simply choose the zip code and target your audience.
This choice can be edited in the future. There is another advantage of this feature that is, you need not choose all the locations where you serve, if there is a location that doesn’t perform well, you can choose that location and target the audience from that particular location. These ads can also be paused if your ads have received an overwhelming response. This is one of the greatest advantages of using Google Local Services ads.
During the pause period if you receive any leads they will not be charged.
4. Transparency in cost per lead
Can you determine how much you will be spending on an ad to gain a better return even before you start?
Source: Google Ads
With LSAs, you will be able to find out the setup of the ad. Google will provide the cost per lead that can be expected. This determined amount is based on the location and the sector your client’s company falls under.
This budget can be modified whenever you want. Have you seen a feature so transparent that you decide whether to continue with the budget or to decrease or increase it?
5. The Google Guarantee badge
When you use Google Local Services ads, you will have a badge that will convince the users that you are a genuine seller. A Google Guarantee badge holder is given priority by the customers. If there is any fake advertiser under the coat of a sheep, the user can get hold of Google and receive a refund.
Source: Google Ads
For your ads to hold the Google Guarantee badge, you will have to provide,
- The proof of your client’s company license
- Insurance papers of the company
By submitting these documents Google will verify your client’s company as an authentic one.
These are the benefits you could gain from using Google Local Services ads.
What do Google Local Services ads contain?
The LSAs contain the following information in your ads,
- Name of the business
- Contact number
- Location to reach out
- Customer reviews and number of reviews
- The hours of working/open
- Google Guarantee badge
- Photos of the product/ services
- The bio of the business
- Callout
With the help of the above-given information, the users will be able to choose and contact you.
But this is not a permanent format, there may be changes in the future according to the viewer’s convenience.
How do Google Local Services Ads work?
To unleash the full potential of the LSAs, you should know the mechanism. Now let us break it and learn how it works bit by bit.
The LSAs works based on,
- Works based on the ad structure and the way your ad appears in the SERP
The LSAs have a different format when compared with other Google ads. In the ad the users will be able to see the name of the business, the customer rating based on their experience, the location of the service, the Google Guarantee badge and the call-out button.
Let us put it in an example for better understanding, if a customer searches for emergency car mechanic service, your client’s ad will appear on top of the search results if it falls under the listed locations.
- Works based on Local Services ads ranking factors
Google uses a different set of factors for ranking when it comes to LSAs, whereas in Google ads, the ranks are based on keywords and bidding. These factors include,
- The distance between your client and the customer
- The open hours and the time taken to respond
- The quality of reviews and the count
- History of the business
- Works based on how you react to leads
This is one of the crucial factors where Google will have eyes on the way your client responds to the leads that come from Google Local Services ads. The way they manage the leads matters more. If they are highly responsive it will be good for the Local Services ads to perform well.
These are the factors Google Local Services ads work based on.
Now that we know so much about Google Local Services ads without further delay, let us look at how to set up your LSA.
How to set up Google Local Services ads for your client’s business?
This is a simple process, yet it is necessary to do it correctly. Setting up your LSAs requires more attention to be more effective. Now, let us look into the process step by step
Step 1: Enter the details:
- Open the Google Local Services website
- Choose the business type and location from the given list.
- Open the Google ads account linked to the business if not create one.
Step 2: Documents required:
The Google Local Services ads require documents that are not needed for traditional Google ads. These include,
- Business registration proof
- Insurance
- Trade documents
Step 3: Google ads profile
This step applies to those who do not have an ad profile for their business. If you already have one, kindly ignore this step.
- Enter the details in the business profile. These details may include the open hours, location, the services you offer and much more related to the business.
- Images of your business, team, products and more.
- Customer testimonials matter more. Collect them from your previous customers and showcase them.
Step 4: Google will verify the ad details
Once you have submitted all the above-said details, Google will verify by doing a background check about the business. This may take some time. Since they are providing the Google Guarantee badge along with it.
But make sure to keep an eye on the mail so that if Google requires any additional details, they might ping you there.
Step 5: Get set go!
Source: Google Ads
Once the verification process is complete, Google will ask you to define the budget. Once it’s all done, your ad is good to go. You should keep an eye on the ad and its performance and adjust the budget accordingly.
Google Local Services Ads vs PPC Ads
These are some of the differences between Google Local Services ads and Google ads.
What are the factors that determine the Google Local Services ads cost?
Google Local Services ads cost can vary from business to business. Yet the factors decide the cost. The factors are,
- The type of industry your company falls under and the type of service you offer. The services that satisfy the necessities, cost more when compared to others. Let’s put it in an example; the cost of finding an attorney service is higher compared to a musical store.
- The cost can also depend on the geographical location. This also depends on how big or small your defined location is. If you are in a bigger city and there are many service providers similar to you then Google would advise to increase budget.
- The cost depends on the relevancy of your leads. If your lead is irrelevant then you can gain a refund from Google using the Google Local Service app.
- The budget you decide for your ad. This can be adjusted accordingly anytime you want. If you expect better lead volume you should adjust the budget according to it.
These are the factors that decide the cost of your Google Local Services ads.
How much do local service ads cost for a month?
The Google Local Services ads cost depends on the above-mentioned factors. But to be approximate it can cost you around $ 6-30 for every lead. This cost cannot be assumed accurately. But this cost is adjustable based on the number of leads you opt for.
This can be a crucial responsibility to handle. If you are not sure how to put up with this, feel free to get in touch with us.
Google Local Services Ads Management
Managing your Google Local service ads is as important as setting them up for your client’s business. Maintaining the ad requires keen eyes and a sharp brain. Some would simply create the LSA and fail to maintain it. This would lead to a decreased number of leads. After setting up the LSA, you will have to check the reports regularly and keep track of your LSA. This cannot be possibly done by every company, that is where a White Label PPC agency would help.
Why should you consider an Agency’s help for your Google Local Services ads?
There are many reasons why you should consider getting help from a White Label PPC agency and in that, let us look into the main reason. If you are someone who has started your LSA for your client’s website and due to overwhelmed lead volume, your client’s response time has increased. This will be noted by Google and will have an impact on the ad. So it is better to inform your clients about this at the time of setting up Local Services ads for their business.
The PPC agency will help you reduce the response time, leaving a good impression. The agency will also help you in all aspects of setting up and running your Google Local Service ads. If you are not sure whom to rely on, feel free to talk to us and understand and you will know why to choose us.
Coming to an end, now that you know everything about Google Local Services ads, make sure to use them for your client’s accounts and help them achieve better leads for the company.
