How to Use Local Search Ads
to Win Customers on Mobile

It’s been found that 50% of local searches by mobile users lead to consumers visiting a store.

Pretty impressive, right?

If you want to tap into the power of local search advertising on mobile, you need to know what you’re doing. You’ll only get results if you know your audience, target the right keywords, and optimize your site for mobile.

Luckily for you, we’re here with all the expert tips you need.

Ready to smash your business goals with local search ads?

Let’s do this.

1. Get to Know Your Searchers

Before you create an awesome Local Search Ads, you need to know who you’re aiming it at.

Creating buyer personas is a handy way to get to know your target audience and create ads that will appeal to them.

For example:

If you run a local locksmith business, one of your buyer personas could be . . . “Frantic Francesca”, a businesswoman who’s locked out of her house and needs help now.

Another persona might be . . . “Prepared Pete”, a local man who’s keen to stay on top of lock maintenance to avoid problems down the line.

Use what you know about your buyers to create attention-grabbing local search ads. Then lead them to targeted landing pages, and persuasive calls to action.

2. Target the Right Keywords

Once you’re clear on the type of searcher you’re aiming to draw in with your ads, you need to target the right keywords.

Remember: You are Not You! – You are Them!

Think about how your potential customers would search for you. What would they put in a search bar to find your products or services? 

This is a great way to get inspiration and learn how to think like your prospective customer.

I also recommend using keyword research tools. They can help you to target terms which aren’t too competitive (long-tail keywords). 

Such terms can yet yield great results and make it easy on your budget.

2017 has been called ‘the year of voice search’, so targeting long-tail keywords which read and are spoken naturally is a smart move.

So, what does that look like in practice?

Let’s say you found the keyword, ‘locksmith Texas’.

To take advantage of voice search you should use, “Where is the nearest Texas locksmith?”

Once you’ve started to run local search ads, you can log in and look at your metrics to see which keywords perform best for you. 

Make changes to your ads as you learn more about which ads convert best. “Pause the ads” that aren’t performing and improve the ones that are.

Important Tip:

I recommend NOT deleting ads that do not perform, as you will loose any data you have gained by running them.

3. Make Your Ads Feel Local

When you’re looking for local help, you might skim past generic ads which aren’t location specific.

Imagine you were looking for a plumber in Florida.

Would you click on an ad which said, “Best plumber in the US’, or one which said, ‘Best plumber in Florida’?

Obviously, you’d choose the more specific option — and your customers are the same.

Use location-specific keywords, when you create your ads. You should consider using your city as part of your keyword and ad. 

Local search means just that: “local.” They may be looking to connect with you right away. So be sure your phone number is on your landing page to give your lead the chance to call you after clicking your ad.

You want your ads to instantly communicate the fact that you’re near-by. And that you are ready to help — keep that in mind when writing your ad copy.

4. Optimize Your Landing Pages for Mobile

There’s no point in creating an awesome local search ad if your site isn’t optimized for mobile.

• If users struggle to navigate your site, 
• Can’t read text clearly, 
• Or experience slow loading time . . .

You’ll quickly lose them to a competitor, which isn’t cool.

The ideal solution is to create landing pages that tie directly into your ad. This will increase your conversion rate on mobile.

That means: 

An ad for a local dentist which talks about tooth whitening shouldn’t lead to a generic homepage. 

It must take users directly to a page discussing the benefits of tooth whitening and encouraging them to get in touch with you.

The most effective mobile landing pages are short, concise, easy to navigate. And most of all, dominated by a clear call to action.

Once visitors are on your site, it’s up to you to turn them into customers, so make sure your landing pages are persuasive.

By-the-Way:

We have developed a complete system that can do the above for you . . .  you can check us out here: AdWords Lead Generation

5. Boost Speeds on the Rest of Your Site

Custom landing pages are a great way to drive leads and boost sales. It’s important to make sure that visitors can browse the rest of your site without encountering issues or as we call it: “friction”.

If you haven’t already . . . make sure that you’re using a responsive theme that’s automatically optimized for mobile.

Google provides a tool for testing your site optimization for mobile. It is a great way to check your sites mobile friendliness.

This will give you insight to any website issues. Things like menus not displaying properly on mobile, images being too large are problems.

Formatting errors and bloated html code can make things run slow. Dont give your customer a reason to click away from you.

Once your site is optimized for mobile, there’s an extra trick you can use to boost speeds. 

You can enable accelerated mobile pages. Also known as AMP, accelerated mobile pages helps your site to load much faster.

This improves mobile locad times by changing the way pages are created and presented. In a nutshell your site will look identical, but it will load a lot faster.

What’s not to love?

6. Create a Google My Business Page

Before you run local search ads, you need to create a Google My Business page.

In fact, even if you’re not planning on runnings ads . . . creating this page for your business is one of the best ways to improve your online presence.

You can enter key details about your company, including your location, contact details.  There are options for your website links, images, special offers, and pricing details.

Whenever someone searches for you via Google, they’ll be presented with all this information. Which shows up on the right-hand side of the page, as well as a map showing where you’re located.

This is also THE PLACE to have people add their reviews.

All this makes it much easier to show to local searchers that you’re nearby. 

Google provides large links for you . . . encouraging users to call you, get directions to your location, or visit your website.

With a Google My Business Page, you’ll be able to create local search ads that contain all the info your potential customers needs. 

This makes them much more likely to buy from you.

How to Succeed With Local Search Ads

Targeting mobile users with local search ads is effective. It is a powerful way to generate new leads and win customers.

You’re catching customers right at the moment they need your service! That is why conversion rates are likely to be high.

How often do you use your phone to find a business?

Have a clear idea of who you’re targeting and can pick the right keywords. That way you local search ads will perform well.

These keywords should target your “Ready-Buyer.”

Optimize your site for mobile to avoid losing any potential customers. Before you know it, local search could be your main source of traffic.

Want more expert online marketing tips? Check out our blog.

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