Local PPC: Your customer demographic on your doorstep
Perhaps you might be looking to expand your business on a global scale. With the increased ease of international shipping and the world wide web, many businesses are now extending their outreach, well…world wide. But as you grow as a company, it’s important to keep your local roots in mind so that you don’t overlook the customer base that’s right on your doorstep.
Like with local SEO, targeting your PPC campaigns to local search results is useful for attracting customers who are looking for something close and convenient.
Location, Location, Location
Often, by localising your customer demographic you’re able to create more customer-specific content so that you can make the most of your PPC budget with a more accurate outreach. A national audience is great for growing your brand, but it’s always a good idea to have some firm local roots so that you demonstrate your value to your nearest and dearest before taking your products and services to the rest of the world.
Local PPC can help you establish a good reputation amongst other businesses and local leads through a physical presence in the area. It also means that you can develop a sense of public familiarity and make yourself known through word-of-mouth recommendations which will massively increase your rankings.
If you want your business to be successful, it’s really important that you have firm relationships with people that are in your local vicinity before you try to connect with people on the other side of the world.
The locality of your customer demographic often also reduces your overheads and total costs because you’re not paying for international shipping. This means you can offer better prices for your customers and a shorter time frame for high quality service.
What’s more, there’s less competition in the local area, giving you a chance to demonstrate your expertise and value as a business before taking your services to the global stage. Plus, did you know that almost half of all Google searches have local intent?
Local PPC
Local PPC is one of the best examples of PPC audience and demographic targeting. By focusing on one area, you’re able to tailor your ads to a more specific client base and make use of your surroundings to produce refined and direct compelling content.
For example, as you’ll see from our meta-description on SERPs here at Embryo, we’re extremely proud of being a “leading, independent search-first marketing agency based in Manchester.”
PPC that is designed with a specific area in mind can be a useful strategy for tapping into an audience who are drawn to your company not just because of the award-winning, high-quality service that you offer, but also because of the convenience of your physical location.
One of the best parts about Local PPC is that it’s a chance for you to devise more personal ad campaigns and online content. Not only will this be useful in establishing your business as a well-known local brand, but it will also demonstrate the human approach of your business. In order to provide the best possible service for your customer demographic, it’s important to understand exactly what they want and what is most likely to appeal to them.
On Google Ads you can add location extensions to your adverts. This is additional location data about your business such as the address of your offices or information to contact you. By adding these extensions to your ad copy you’re more likely to see an increase in CTR (click through rate) simply because you’ve made it easier for potential customers to get in contact with you.
When optimising local PPC one of the best ways to take advantage of your local niche market is to include clear calls-to-action to turn the search for “marketing company near me” into your newest client.
Ready, steady, Geo(targeting)
Another useful tip for local PPC is to use geo-targeting. At first glance you might think this is just for business that rely on foot-traffic or deliveries like restaurants or florists, but your business could also benefit from location optimisation. Geo-targeting allows you to create ads that are personalised to internet users’ specific locations and time-zones. It also means that you won’t waste your ad budget on clicks from people who may be interested in your business but have no intention of buying because of the suitability of the location.
The importance of IP addresses
Likewise, businesses with a focus on local customers can also use IP address targeting to target ads towards customers who live in the area when they’re on the move. Because so many users are carrying out local searches from their mobile devices, in order to get the most out of local PPC you also need to make sure that your ads are optimised for mobile viewing. This involves choosing mobile-friendly placements and adapting your ad copy length so that it’s mobile accessible.
Don’t dismiss the dialect
You can also use local dialect or slang where appropriate to give your ads a personalised, local appeal. For example, if you’re a marketing agency in Newcastle, you might describe your services as “canny good” so that they’ll appeal more to geordies.
Finally, like with any element of digital marketing, keywords play an immensely important role in local PPC. To be successful it’s important to understand how well local competitors are performing and how you can emulate that within your own PPC practice without sacrificing your company’s USP.
Whilst we recommend making the most of the features available on Google Ads to enhance localization, making sure the ad copy itself is location-specific will also boost conversions and impressions. This can start as early as your landing page so that immediately any potential customers feel like your content was made specifically for them.
Business on your doorstep
When it comes to local PPC, it really does provide a wealth of potential customer engagement and lead conversions right on your doorstep. By paying attention to the niche market that is all around you, you can firmly establish yourself as a local authority on your product and service in order to drive ROI (return on investment) from your PPC campaigns.
FAQs
Answered by Callum Leonard
How many of my PPC ads should target local customers?
This depends on your local strategy and national strategy. It’s really important to see where your brand resonates and use the data to support this.
What does having local authority do for my brand?
Local authority allows you to drive higher conversion rates. It allows you to benefit from searches which include ‘near me’.
How does local advertising work in large cities?
Local advertising in large cities follows the same steps, however, there are a lot more businesses within that space so competition is higher. For businesses that don’t want traffic outside of that specific area, you can set a specific targeting radius.
Can PPC work for businesses with no physical location?
Yes, many companies with no physical location now work with PPC, for example, virtual offices and online stores only. As long as consumer receive their goods and have a good experience on the site, PPC can be used for businesses with no set location.
