By now, most entrepreneurs are aware of the importance of pay-per-click advertising, or PPC. But local PPC takes this marketing method to a whole other level by allowing businesses to reach their target audience quickly by placing their ads directly at the top of the search results.
If you’re looking to take advantage of local PPC for your business but you don’t really know how it works and what it entails, stick with us.
Below, we discuss local PPC management, explain local pay-per-click ads and share the benefits of both.
Table of Contents
What Is Local PPC Advertising?
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a digital marketing technique in which advertisers pay a fee every time someone clicks on one of their ads.
Local PPC is digital advertising focused on attracting customers within a certain geographical region. It works the same way as general PPC, so you pay a fee every time a user clicks on your ad, but you only target customers local to your business.
Local PPC ads typically appear on search engines like Google or Bing. When a user searches for something, a paid ad will typically show up on top of the organic results, marked as an ad.
Every time someone clicks on the ad, you are charged a fee.
Local pay-per-click marketing is also sometimes referred to as search engine marketing, paid search marketing or Google Ads. Google Ads is also the biggest provider of search ads on the market, according to Statista.
This type of advertising is suitable for all kinds of businesses that rely on the nearest vicinity and community, such as law firms PPC.
How Does It Work?
A local PPC strategy is based on carefully selected keywords and geotargeting.
For example, if you run a take-out restaurant in Boston, you want to target customers in your area who are likely to drive by your place and order your food. What keywords would users type into the search bar that would lead them to your website?
Aside from including a keyword from your website (this is important for the relevance of your search ad) and “take-out restaurant,” you may want to include related terms such as “delivery” to reach more consumers.
That’s for the keyword part of PPC.
Now, geotargeting refers to the type of advertising that uses location data to show relevant ads. Based on the location of the consumers, geotargeted advertising reaches people with appropriate messaging relevant to their location.
To reach relevant audiences for your take-out restaurant, it’s as simple as adding “Boston” to your keyword.
Why Is Local PPC Important?
Local pay-per-click advertising is a very effective marketing method that allows you to reach people who are actually interested in your product or service.
While it isn’t free and it does require some serious planning and strategizing, here’s why local PPC is important:
Brings Fast Results
Local PPC delivers results much faster compared to SEO. While your local SEO strategy is equally beneficial and improves your business’s visibility and organic rankings, it’s a long-term strategy. It takes time to see these results — several months, at least.
Local PPC is a strategy that helps you increase visibility immediately as your paid ads appear above the organic search results, so they’re always above the fold and users can’t miss them. Plus, it targets only the people from your target region who are actually interested in buying your product or service.
Helps You Improve SERP Ranking
Speaking of organic rankings, local PPC aids your SEO efforts. In fact, to boost your search engine rankings and maximize your results, digital marketing experts suggest using both methods at the same time.
PPC relies on keywords, so it can help you determine which ones actually drive traffic. Given that local PPC is faster than SEO, you can test the keywords quickly, then optimize your SEO campaign.
Also, if you’re investing in local PPC and SEO simultaneously, you get double exposure in search engine results pages.
How so?
A local pay-per-click strategy will place your ad at the top of the organic search results. But even if a user scrolls past your ad without noticing it, they will also spot your business listing among the search results below.
If the name of your business appears twice on the same page, chances are that users will be more inclined to click on it.
Gives You Insight Into Customer Behavior
Another reason why local PPC is important is the fact it provides insight into valuable customer data. When a user clicks on your ad on Google, Bing or Yahoo, for example, you can gather data about each click.
You can collect data such as:
- Who clicked on your ad
- Where they are located
- Which pages they visited
- How much time do they spend on your website
The analytics provided by local pay-per-click advertising help you get more quality leads that you can nurture and later convert into customers.
What Is Local PPC Management?
PPC management is the process of developing a pay-per-click advertising strategy for your business and managing your ad spend.
Local PPC management is the same thing, but with a focus on your target geographical area.
When implementing paid search advertising, there are two options: you can manage the campaign yourself if you’re skilled enough, or you can hire a dedicated agency that specializes in local business PPC management.
An agency that specializes in paid search advertising has the skills and expertise to develop and execute a successful PPC campaign. They will design your PPC campaign to reach a targeted group of consumers in your local area.
Local PPC management includes:
1. Keyword Analysis
Creating local search ads requires local keywords. A company you hire for local PPC management will conduct a keyword analysis to discover keywords to use in the ads. This involves using a local language that speaks to your target audience. It also includes identifying negative keywords or terms that you do not want your business to rank for.
2. Competitor Research
A competitive analysis is crucial for local PPC as it helps reveal the marketing tactics that your competitors use along with methods that work for them. This step also helps uncover the search queries your competitors are using as well as the ones they are overlooking, so you can determine which ones you want to try to rank for.
3. Channel Strategy
Determining which channels you will use for your paid search advertising is also important. For example, you might consider Google Ads, Microsoft Ads (previously Bing Ads) or even social media paid ads, depending on where your target audience spends the most time.
4. Optimizing Ad Spend
At this stage, you optimize your PPC ad spend by segmenting your target audience into categories and determining which ones aren’t likely to convert/click on your ad and make a purchase. For example, if you run a fast-food restaurant, you want to target customers who live close by, since those located far away are unlikely to drive long distances to visit your restaurant.
5. Monitoring
Once your paid search advertising strategy is ready and launched, you need to keep an eye on the results. This includes testing keywords used to see which ones are successful as well as comparing your ad spend with your return on investment (ROI).
Benefits of Local Business PPC Management
Paid search advertising can boost your company’s visibility fast and get you to the first page of SERP instantly.
Planning and executing a local PPC strategy requires time and research, which can be problematic for busy entrepreneurs who aren’t ad experts.
Putting your local PPC management in the hands of a skilled agency solves that problem. The benefits of hiring a local PPC management agency include:
Save Time
Launching paid search ads might sound like a simple task, but it’s a lot of work to optimize it and see results. It takes time to research keywords and refine your local pay-per-click strategy. Not to mention that it can be overwhelming if you lack the experience to do this.
Hiring an agency for your PPC management leaves you free to focus on other important matters, while experts work to drive results.
Save Money
You may think that handling pay-per-click ads yourself will save you a few bucks. However, it might actually be the opposite.
If you’re new to PPC, the learning curve will take time – so instead of saving money, you will actually be losing potential PPC profit. Paying a local PPC management professional who knows what they’re doing will speed things up so you can start seeing a return on investment sooner.
Launch Targeted Campaigns
Local paid search ads only work if they’re targeted and carefully thought through. There are a lot of elements to consider such as keyword research, identifying negative keywords, running a competitor analysis, knowing your audience and more.
All of this requires skills and experience that expert PPC managers have, so they can set up targeted local PPC campaigns for your business and attract more customers. They will do all the research for you with precision to drive results.
Get Ongoing Tracking and Adjusting
Setting up Google Ads or social media ads is not a one-time thing. Ad campaigns require monitoring, testing, tracking relevant metrics and adjusting the campaign accordingly.
Your local PPC advertising expert will handle all of this, ensuring that your strategy is up-to-date and fruitful.
Local PPC Management Key Takeaways
Local pay-per-click campaigns can transform your business quickly by getting your brand in front of your local target audience without breaking the bank. The factors that go into designing a local PPC campaign include:
- Keyword analysis
- Competitor analysis
- Finding suitable channels
- Determining which metrics to track
- Monitoring, optimizing and adjusting your campaign
Local PPC management experts conduct thorough research to uncover keywords you want to rank for, set up targeted campaigns and provide continuous tracking and monitoring of the results. Sometimes, in-house teams lack the experience for this task so outsourcing is worth considering.
