Common local PPC mistakes
Local advertisers lose money in predictable ways. Check yours against this list.
Targeting too broadly
Showing ads to a whole state or to people merely interested in a place pays for clicks from people you cannot serve.
No call tracking
Many local leads come by phone. If calls are not recorded, results look worse than they are, and automatic bidding cannot learn from them.
Generic ads
An ad that does not name the service and the place competes poorly with ads that do.
Wrong landing page
Sending everyone to the home page makes people hunt. Link each ad to a page about that service, with the number and a form close to the top.
Ads running when nobody answers
If you cannot answer calls at night, consider an ad schedule, an answering service or a way to capture a message.
Never reading the search terms
Without checking what people searched, irrelevant clicks keep happening.
Judging by clicks
Count leads and customers, not clicks.
Changing too much too fast
Make one change at a time and give it a couple of weeks.
A quick audit you can do today
- Location settings. Check that ads target people in or regularly in your service area, not everyone interested in it.
- Search terms report. Read the last 30 days of actual searches. Add the irrelevant ones as negatives.
- Call your own ad. Click it, call the number, and see whether anyone answers and how they greet you.
- Tracking. Confirm calls and form sends are counted, and that a test inquiry shows up.
- Landing page. Does it match the ad's service and place, with the number visible without scrolling on a phone?
- Schedule. Compare when ads run with when your phone is answered.
What to fix first
Start with tracking, because every other decision depends on it. Then fix location and search terms, which stop wasted spend. Landing pages and ad wording come next, since they raise the share of clicks that become inquiries.
Signs your account is healthy
- Most search terms clearly describe your service.
- You can say what an inquiry and a customer cost.
- Changes are logged with dates, so results can be tied to causes.