Improving your performance for Local Services Ads might seem a little confusing, as no data is provided for click volume, impressions, or specific search queries that triggered your ad. Since Local Service Ads are not triggered by keywords and there is no ad copy, you might ask yourself- “how can I increase my exposure and lead volume?”
Factors Affecting LSA Ranking
With the Google Ads platform, we work with Quality Scores and bidding that determine the ranking for each action. However, there are no Quality Scores, nor bidding within the Local Services Ads platform. So, how does Google determine your ranking?
In order to answer that question, let’s first look at the five factors that Google takes into account when ranking your local services ad.
- Reviews: Google considers your business review score and the total number of reviews. It will compare both numbers to your competitors to determine the ranking.
- Services: Choose the right service types to target the right customers for your business. This will help your ads appear when customers search for a particular service.
- Proximity: How close your business is to the potential customer’s location also weighs in. The closer, the higher the ranking.
- Business Hours: If you are available at the moment of the potential customer’s search, this will allow you to rank higher. Likewise, if you are not available when a potential customer is looking for your service, this will negatively affect your ranking.
- Responsiveness: If you respond quickly and on time, this will help you rank higher. Delaying the responses will negatively affect your ranking.
#1 Increase Your Five-Star Ratings and Reviews
This is the fastest way to improve your ranking. Businesses with a higher star rating and more reviews stand out and can usually book more jobs. From our experience, we’ve seen that newer reviews over a period of time matter more than the total reviews. There are several options for you to encourage your customers to leave a review:
- Ask for a review by using the Google Link: When you sign up on the Local Services Ads platform, you’ll receive a personalized Google review link. You can share this link with your customers directly to ask for a review.
2. Have Google ask for reviews: The Local Services Ads platform allows you to mark a lead as booked. Once you do so, you have the option to ask for a review through Google. When you select this option, you authorize Google to send an email to your customer with a link to leave you a review. You’ll be asked to provide your customer’s email address (if not provided) and confirm that they agreed to receive this email from Google.
- Use the “add a review” feature: The purpose of this feature is to get reviews from customers who didn’t book your service through the Local Service Platform to increase your review volume. Your customers can go to the “reviews” section in your business profile and add a review.
If you are new to the Local Services Ads platform, it is highly recommended to link your Google Business Profile. By doing so, the reviews on your Google My Business account are eligible to show on your Local Services Ad.
#2 Optimize Your Service Types
Choosing the right ad settings can help you reach the right customers for your business. The job types and service areas that you select will determine where your Local Services Ads can appear and what type of searches can make your ad appear. In the Local Services Ads platform, you will be able to select the service types from a list of potential services for each business category. By selecting services that are directly related to your business, your ads can appear when a customer searches for a particular service.
Let’s say you are an electrician in Miami. In this case, you would include service types, such as “install ground wire”, “relocate outlets or switches”, “restore power,” etc., to not only reach customers that are looking for general search terms such as “electrician”, but also have your ads appear for customers looking for these specific service types.
# 3 Evaluate Your Geo-Location
The proximity to your potential customer’s location is an important factor in determining the ranking of your Local Services Ads. You can set your service area by choosing cities and postal codes where you would like your ad to show.
There are two different criteria that Google takes into account when it comes to the service area:
- Estimated location of person at time of search: Your ads can show people who are estimated to be located within a particular geographic area at the time of the search. For example, if someone is searching from a location in Miami for “electrician” or “outlet repair”, your ad will be eligible to show. This means that if someone is in the physical area, there is no need to add the location in their search query to trigger the Local Services Ad.
- Names of locations in searches: Similar to what you are used to in Google Ads, in addition to showing ads to those potential customers who are physically in your area, you can also show your ads to people who are not physically located in your area but interested in services in your area. Google determines this interest based on search queries that include cities or zip codes. For example, someone who is physically in Hialeah, FL at the time of the search and who searches for “outlet repair Miami” would be able to see your ads, if you added “Miami” to your service area.By adding a particular city to your service area, your ad is eligible to show to people in both of the scenarios listed here above.
In addition to adding specific service areas, you also have the option to exclude specific zip codes within a city where you provide services. For example, if you would like to exclude 4 zip codes in South Miami from your selected Miami service area, you can deselect these zip codes. By doing so, your ads won’t show to people in those zip codes or to people who are including these zip codes in their search query.
#4 Update Your Business Information and Bio
Your business bio allows you to showcase important aspects of your business to customers and can give you a competitive advantage. The business bio is shown on your profile page and you can select up to five highlights. These highlights are segmented into two categories:
- Standard Highlights: These are highlights that are true for your business. Examples of standard highlights are: 24/7 service, 10 years in business, locally-owned and operated, military discount available, free estimate, flat rate pricing, etc.
- Google-controlled Highlights: These are highlights that are controlled by Google. Examples of these highlights are: BBB Accreditations, On-Time Guarantee, etc.
These highlights will possibly give you a competitive advantage at the moment of a potential customer choosing which provider to contact. Also ensure to update other information, such as your business hours and photos.
# 5 Improve Your Response Time
Last but not least, to improve your ranking on the Local Service Ads platform, it is imperative that you work on your response time. The faster you respond to the leads coming in from the Local Services Ads, the better your chances of ranking at the top. Just the same; long response time will negatively affect your ranking. Not only would we advise to connect the tracking number to a phone number that you can respond to on time, but also to work on your ad scheduling within the platform.
Within the Local Services Ads platform, you can choose your ad schedule by selecting the days of the week and times of the day you would like to show your ad. Select those days of the week and times of the day that you can respond to your customer calls and leads in a timely manner. In case you have to step out of the office or you cannot take leads, you can also pause your ads to stop them from displaying, regardless of your schedule.
If you choose the only during my business hours: Your ad will run during the business hours specified in the “Business hours” field at the bottom of the “Profile & budget” page.
One Last Word
Local Services Ads is a great way to directly reach people searching for businesses just like yours. Implementing these five tips in your Local Services Ads optimization strategy will help improve your ranking and start increasing your local lead volume. The higher your ranking, the more people who will see you, the more leads will choose to contact you, and the more new customers you will get- it is that simple! If you would like to learn more about Local Services Ads, contact White Shark Media to discuss your strategy further.
