7 Easy Tips To Give Your Local PPC Ads Real Zing

Local businesses that want a cost-effective and relevant marketing strategy turn to pay-per-click (PPC). With local PPC, companies can utilize targeted advertising in specific geographic areas, increasing visibility and promoting competitive advantage.

A professional San Diego PPC agency reveals expert and easy tips to boost your local PPC campaigns:

1. Using location-specific keywords.
2. Optimizing ad extensions.
3. Leveraging local targeting options.
4. Creating mobile-friendly ads.
5. Including localized calls to action (CTAs).
6. Conducting A/B testing.
7. Monitoring and adjusting bids.

Learn the best ways to enhance local PPC marketing with this guide. Let’s go!

If you want to learn how Digital Authority Partners can increase your PPC effectiveness, watch this video!

1. Use Location-Specific Keywords

Location-based keywords include the business's region or city such as "San Diego roofing services," or "floor installation services in San Diego." Adding these keywords in the ad text helps local PPC ads appear more relevant to local searchers. 

Here are strategies to use location-specific keywords in your PPC ads:

• Incorporate location-specific keywords into the website, including product or service descriptions, landing pages, and blog posts.
• Use city or region names in the headings, subheadings, and body text to improve relevance to local searchers.
• Optimize Google Business Profile (GBP) listing with location-specific keywords by using the business name along with the city or region that you serve. In addition, add relevant location information in the GBP description and service categories.
• Customize meta tags with location-specific keywords, including title tags and meta descriptions.
• Create dedicated landing pages for every location the business serves and use location-specific keywords to write content and metadata.
• Set up ad groups targeting specific cities or regions and include relevant location-based keywords in the ad copy.

2. Optimize Ad Extensions

Use ad extensions such as call, site link, and callout, as these provide additional information and visibility for PPC ads. Ad extensions make your ads more appealing to potential customers and increase click-through rates. Remember these best practices for PPC marketing:

• Ensure that the information is relevant to the ad and the searcher's intent.
• Use site link extensions to provide additional navigation options and direct them to specific pages on the website.
• Implement call extensions to allow users to call the business directly from the ad. This helps if your goal is to generate phone leads.
• Take advantage of ad scheduling or time-of-day bid adjustments. These display ad extensions during business hours.
• Review the performance of your ad extensions regularly from your PPC platform reporting tools or Google Ads' ad extensions tab.

3. Leverage Local Targeting Options

Using geo-targeting settings, businesses can focus their PPC ads on specific locations where their target audience lives. Several options exist such as targeting by city, state, ZIP code, or radius around the business location. This ensures that PPC ads reach the right people in the right locations. Effectively leverage local targeting with these tips:

• Set up PPC campaigns with geo-targeting settings using city, state, ZIP code, or radius targeting.
• Customize ad copy to include location-specific elements such as adding city or region names in the ad headlines, descriptions, and display URLs.
• Create dedicated landing pages and customize content, images, and offers to align with users’ needs in each area.
• Use social media platforms targeting options to focus ads on specific geographic areas. Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn help narrow audiences based on location, interests, demographics, and behavior.
• Implement local SEO strategies to improve the website's visibility in search results.
• Consult a local San Diego PPC agency for expert targeting strategies.

4. Create Mobile-Friendly Ads

People looking for local businesses usually use their mobile devices to search the web. Because of this, companies must ensure that they have mobile-friendly PPC ads. Mobile users might have different search intentions and behaviors than desktop users.

Therefore, make sure that landing pages are also mobile-friendly for a seamless user experience. Consider these best practices when creating mobile-friendly PPC ads:

• Craft ad copy that is concise, clear, and easy to read on mobile devices.
• Design ads with mobile users in mind by making sure that visuals, including images and videos, are sized for mobile screens. These should also load quickly.
• Implement mobile-specific ad extensions, such as call extensions and site link extensions.
• Be certain the landing pages are mobile-friendly and load quickly using a responsive design that adapts to different screen sizes and resolutions.
• Enable click-to-call and click-to-message functionalities in your ads.
• Include mobile-specific targeting options in the PPC campaigns to focus on mobile users.
• Adjust bidding strategies for mobile devices according to their performance to effectively allocate your budget.

5. Include a Localized Call to Action (CTA)

Including a CTA in the ad copy encourages users to take specific actions relevant to their location. Write CTAs such as "Visit our store in San Diego," or "Call for a free quote in San Diego.” You can also use "Find us near you." Follow these five strategies to create and add localized CTAs.

• Use the name of the city, region, or neighborhood that you are targeting in your CTA.
• Customize CTA to match local events, holidays, or special occasions such as "Join us at [Event Name]," or "Celebrate Christmas with us."
• Showcase how products or services benefit the local community by adding "Support local businesses," "Proudly serving San Diego," or "Available exclusively for San Diego residents."
• Add local business phone numbers and addresses. Use CTA extensions to display local phone numbers or addresses for multiple locations.
• Personalize CTA in email campaigns targeting different locations. Utilize dynamic content to display different CTAs.

6. Conduct A/B Testing of Ad Copy and CTAs

A/B testing compares different ad copy and CTAs. Testing considers variations of headlines, ad text, and CTAs to see which performs better to engage the local audience. Follow these techniques to conduct A/B tests for PPC ad copies and CTAs.

• Determine specific metrics that you want to improve such as click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, or lead generation.
• Develop multiple ad variations to test elements such as headlines, ad text, CTAs, and display URLs.
• Randomize the display of the ad variations to the target audience.
• Monitor the performance of each ad variation over a set period. Consider metrics such as CTR, conversion rate, cost per conversion (CPC), and other relevant key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Ensure that the sample size is statistically significant to produce data-driven decisions.

7. Monitor and Adjust Bids

PPC campaigns need regular reviews to evaluate performance and adjust bids based on the performance of different locations. Careful monitoring helps allocate more budget to areas that generate more leads or conversions. Effective monitoring and adjusting bids for PPC ads requires these strategies.

• Monitor key performance metrics such as click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, cost per conversion, and return on ad spend (ROAS).
• Use bid adjustments based on performance data. Increase bids for keywords or ad groups to produce desired outcomes and deliver positive ROI.
• Utilize the automated bidding options that PPC platforms provide, such as Google Ads' Smart Bidding. These adjust bids in real time based on historical data and user behavior.
• Segment campaigns based on different factors such as device type, location, time of day, and audience.
• Consider competitors' activities and their bid adjustments. Increased competition for specific keywords could mean adjusting bids to maintain visibility and position.
• Set bid adjustment rules and thresholds to ensure automatic adjustments within predefined limits.

Summing Up

By implementing these tips, companies can enhance the effectiveness of their local PPC ads and more efficiently reach their target audience. Improving local PPC campaigns increases visibility, click-through rates, leads, and customers for local businesses.

Learn more about local PPC with a trusted San Diego PPC agency. Call Digital Authority Partners (DAP) for the most updated and relevant PPC ad strategies.