How to Use Google Local Services Ads to Win the Web in 2019

Posted on:

March 27, 2019

Winning the web is a constantly changing real estate game—what it takes to increase leads and booked jobs now is completely different than what it took five years ago. However, online marketing has changed over the past five years, but one thing remains the same: Your potential customers—97 percent of them, to be exact—are going online to look for a local HVAC contractor. About 93 percent of online experiences begin with a search engine, so in order to win the online marketing game you need to occupy as many top spots on the search engine results page as possible. Five years ago, our HVAC clients could do this by only investing in pay per click ads and search engine optimization (SEO).

That’s changed, thanks to a new addition to the search results page: Google’s Local Services ads.

What Are Google Local Services Ads?
Take a look at these 2019 search results for the query “furnace repair Rockville MD”:

Those ads at the very top are Google’s new Local Services ads, pay per lead ads that capture HVAC leads right from the search results.

Unlike traditional PPC ads, instead of choosing keywords to target, you choose from a list of available services for your industry and your service area:

When a person’s online search query or Google Home voice search matches criteria for those services, your ad will be eligible to show. Your ranking is determined by a few factors, including your:

Location and proximity to the searcher
Google My Business review rating and the number of reviews you receive
Response time to customer inquiries and requests
Business hours

What Makes Local Services Ads So Valuable for Contractors
Our HVAC clients at Blue Corona love Local Services ads. One of them, a heating and air conditioning company in Utah, recently made $59,498.30 in revenue with a return on investment of 24:1. Another one, an HVAC and electrical contractor in Pennsylvania, increased revenue by $49,117 with a return on investment of 9:1

There are plenty of reasons these ads are valuable, but the most important two (and the ones that contribute most to those amazing results above) are the Google Guarantee and the position at the very top of the search results.

The Google Guarantee
The Google Guarantee is a green badge that displays next to a company’s name within the ad and indicates that your company has passed all required background checks and qualifications set forth by Google. In the public eye, it serves as a recommendation from the search giant itself. Because 74 percent of consumers say that online positive reviews make them trust a local business more, having this type of endorsement from the most trusted search engine in the world is a hefty vote of confidence.
Position 0 in the Search Results
Local Services ads occupy what we in the online marketing industry like to call “position 0” in the search results—the spot above organic search listings and pay per click ads.Occupying position 0 is like having a billboard advertisement in Times Square. Every advertiser wants space there, and if you don’t jump at the opportunity, one of your competitors is lined up right behind you to take your place.

Where to Go from Here
The search engine results page is ground zero for your business, and your company’s success will depend on where your company is listed on the page.

As the number of elements on the search results page has increased, so have the opportunities for your competitors to pull ahead of you by investing where you’re not. You could theoretically have the best SEO and PPC campaigns out there and you could still get creamed by Joe HVAC down the street via Local Services ads.

On the flip side, you could spend your entire budget on Local Services ads and lose out to a competitor who has an amazing organic search ranking.

The smartest contractors—and the ones who will see the most business growth—are the ones who diversify their online marketing portfolio and use a wide array of marketing strategies. What I recommend you do—aside from calling a Local Services ad expert immediately—is to take stock of your current marketing strategy and see where you need the most help. If you need more leads, taking advantage of Google Local Services before your competitors do is one opportunity you don’t want to miss.

Author
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Ben Landers

President & CEO at Blue Corona

A passionate entrepreneur with more than ten years of experience in the digital marketing and analytics industry, Ben and the Blue Corona team have helped hundreds of companies accurately track and optimize their advertising campaign performance and get more leads and sales from the web.

After starting his career in online media, recruitment advertising, and software sales at HotJobs.com, Ben spent time in the telecommunications industry and later went on to become the East Coast regional manager of an advertising and marketing agency. Shortly thereafter, Ben met Bob Perini. Together, they developed the concept that would become Blue Corona.