How To Get The Most Out Of PPC For Your Service Area Business
As Google continues to refine the search experience, companies are relying more and more on PPC to get their message out. While not a bad idea, paid ads can quickly become expensive. When you are spending that kind of money, you need to make sure you are doing it right.
Here are 3 ways to get the best results from your paid ads!
1) Measure and Value Conversions Correctly
Too many PPC campaigns fail because they track the wrong “conversion” metrics. Sure, you can see how many times people visit your site, but if that’s all you measure, Google can’t tell which ads actually lead to new customers.
“You don’t want to mark a simple web visit as a conversion,” cautions Tracy Obrey, a Digital Marketing Specialist at LeadsNearby. “A valid conversion is a form fill, a booked appointment, or a phone call that results in actual business.”
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Tracy assigns a dollar value to each conversion type. That helps Google understand how much each action really means to you.
For example, a phone call might be worth $25, a form fill $50, and a booked appointment $100—or maybe you’d rather get calls over digital form fills. What matters is that you’re using numbers that match your real-world ROI.
The more accurately you measure conversions, the faster Google learns which ads deliver the best results.
2) Use Smart Bidding Strategies (And Don’t Rely On “Smart Ads”)
Many businesses simply set their daily budget and hope for the best. That can leave you outbid in competitive markets—or overspending when you don’t have to.
Tracy points out that setting the right CPA (cost-per-acquisition) and ROAS (return-on-ad-spend) “thresholds” is essential. “If you set your bidding too low,” he explains, “you won’t appear often in auctions. But if your CPA is high enough, Google can spend more aggressively to outbid competitors, even if you actually pay less per lead.”
You can’t rely on 100% “smart ads” or “auto-pilot” modes without careful oversight. To see real success, someone has to regularly check the data and make adjustments.
3) Align PPC With Your Overall Goals & KPIs
Paid ads don’t operate in a vacuum. If you want to double your HVAC replacement revenue, for example, make sure your PPC strategy targets that specific service. Otherwise, you could waste money on broad, irrelevant searches.
“You have to tie your PPC to clear business goals,” Tracy explains. “If you want to double replacement sales, you need the right keywords, ads, and budget to get those high-value jobs.”
This is where analyzing location, competition, and profit margin comes in. If you understand how much profit you make from each new customer, you can work backward to figure out your acceptable cost per lead. Once you know that, you can establish realistic key performance indicators (KPIs) and measure how your campaigns stack up.
PPC Depends On Data
Data plays a crucial role in PPC advertising. It includes both demographic info (for targeted ads) and campaign feedback. These two data sources are equally important, but each is collected at different stages.
BEWARE of Shiny Object Syndrome!
LeadsNearby defines “Shiny Object Syndrome” as the urge to try something new simply because it’s new—a recipe for disaster if it doesn’t align with your overall strategy. Sticking with a consistent plan makes all the difference. Once you define success, you can see which PPC strategies fit your goals.
The Best Marketing Companies Understand Relationships
PPC strategies aren’t radically different from one agency to another. You want to work with someone who understands the cycle of Demand vs. Desire and who sets realistic expectations, of course. Other than that, the service from one will be about the same as another.
The real difference lies in how well the marketing agency understands your specific goals.
Make sure your marketing company or PPC department asks the right questions before launching any campaign. You must understand not just what you want to accomplish but also why.
For instance, wanting more leads is common, but that alone doesn’t give the full story. Understanding why you want them helps shape a more effective plan.
Are you hoping to increase profitability to sell the business? Expand into a new territory? Maybe the owner wants to buy a boat. Knowing the goal gives us the best chance to turn your paid ads into a sustainable strategy.
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Make sure you have the right supplemental assets in place so everything goes smoothly once a customer chooses your business!
All the resources in the world can’t help if you don’t know your objectives. Call 919-758-8420
or
contact us online
to talk about your PPC. LeadsNearby can help you find opportunities to align your marketing with your ambitions. We have services and tactics ready to get you where you want to be.
