As we know, Google is the undisputed Heavyweight Champion of Internet Advertising. Knowing how to harness the power and where to invest your precious marketing dollars is one of the most important decisions you can make. Pick the right solution, have it built out and launched properly, and continue to optimize it, stay organized with your follow-ups, and you’ve got a winner. Pick the wrong solution, and even if you follow the rest of the steps, you might still be missing out on what is a better opportunity. This could mean more leads or better qualified leads, for less spend. Taking the time to choose right is the first step.
The LSA program from Google stormed onto the scene a couple of years ago and before long was everywhere when a consumer was seeking a company in the home services arena or a practice in many professional services-related searches. It is now the first thing you see on Google, when seeking out plumbing, electrical, roofing, law firms, realtors and many other industries. At OMG, we have hundreds of clients who have been using our Google Local Services Ads-powered Google Calls Advisor product for several years. In some cases, our clients have been able to leverage our product to grow their businesses. For some that meant opening new locations in adjacent cities, for others it meant opening the spigot to attract 5, 10, and even 20 times the number of leads they initially had budgeted for.
To summarize, once proof of concept has been established, meaning the ads are attracting the right mix of prospective customers, the client must understand and be comfortable with their own average rate of closing. After that, so long as the demand is there in the market, they can ramp up the budget to capitalize on the opportunity.
One example that stands out is a client in California. They are in the garage door repair business. Starting out with a modest budget for their market of $1500, they were able to test the waters, begin generating the leads, then worked internally and with us to get their process down pat. One year later, that budget is more than $50,000 per month and they have expanded into their full-service area. Our team deploys an optimization strategy which enables their ads to stand out amongst their competition and make them the obvious choice.
Consistent ad visibility, combined with Google’s endorsement by way of the Google Guaranteed badge, makes them the market leader within their local search results. Though their budget is high, there are hundreds of small business clients who work with us on leveraging the Local Services Ads program with budgets of all sizes.
Last month, Google launched its third badge designation, “License Verified by Google” for medical professionals such as dentists, doctors, surgeons, osteopaths, chiropractors and more. The first market rollout included dentists with additional specialties slated to go live in the coming months. With the success of Google Guaranteed and Google Screened, the ad world for health and medical professions is about to receive a major shakeup.
If your business is in a Local Services Ads category of any kind, there are many reasons why this option is worth exploring first. From the direct/indirect endorsement, to the customer’s financial guarantee of satisfaction (with Google Guaranteed), to the bad lead/bad call reimbursement, and many other reasons, Local Services Ads is the way to begin!
Google Ads are the tried and true original. For nearly 20 years, businesses have been using the AdWords system to generate leads from their ads in sponsored search, to stay top of mind with retargeting ads, to drive website traffic and build their brands, and many other use cases.
While Local Services Ads are the new kid in town, Google Ads can help your business cover more keywords, have more flexibility in your ad messaging, take advantage of an expanded network of ad sites and much more.
Though they have been a fixture in internet advertising for years, they have also become far more complex to manage. Years ago you could sit down, log into Google AdWords, create a few ad variations, pick an ad schedule and region and launch. If you’ve tried to log in yourself in the past couple of years, you’ll know that it is not so simple. Ad quality, type of campaign, ad format, using smart ads or not, understanding Performance Max, Headline variations, Ad extensions, and so many other features and options, have made it difficult to build an effective campaign without specific knowhow and ongoing training.
However, Google Ads when properly created and deployed, can be a huge revenue and new customer generator, so you can’t ignore the opportunity. For businesses taking advantage of Local Services Ads, a complementing Google Ads campaign can help ensure you get full circle keyword coverage, despite how your customers are searching for services.
To get a more comprehensive understanding of which is right for your business, Google Ads, or Local Services Ads, speak to a professional.
At OMG National, we have more than 120 team members, all passionate about search marketing and technology, we would love the opportunity to discuss your next marketing move!
Jesse Lubar, CEO – OMG National