Geo Targetting Google Adwords

Local service companies need to focus their ads within a specific radius from their office to target customers they could realistically service.  Setting a physical radius for your ads in Adwords is simple.

To locate the geo-targeting setup area, log in to your adwords account, then select the campaign that you wish to target.  Click that campaign’s “settings” tab at the top.   Scroll down a bit until you see “Audience”.  In the Audience area you will see “Locations”.  Here you will be able to select between continents, countries, states, and cities.  Use the “Custom” tab to setup a radius (measured in miles) from your office’s street address.

Is it possible for anyone outside the radius see your ads?  Yes.

Here is an example: We have setup advertising for a Roofing company in Evansville.  We target the Google ads for this campaign to run within 50 miles of Evansville, IN. Someone in Texas could still view the ad if they type “Evansville Roofing”.   Anyone anywhere can view ads that have a set radius if they include the geo-term.  Google does this so people searching for specific keywords inside a specific geo will get accurate results, maybe they will be travelling there or have family in that area and want to recommend a business to them.

Do you have questions about Adwords?  Call 866-2-google to discuss Geo Targetting.

Pay-Per-Click Search Marketing Benefits Local Service Companies

Colorado Roofing and Exteriors is a great example of how some local service companies are leveraging Search and Social Media marketing to help local consumers easily find their website and contact information.  Local service businesses may be the best suited group to leverage search marketing because their potential consumers are located in a specific geography and the businesses are not competing with Fortune 500 companies that have large budgets and professional PPC managers. In other words, you’re only competing with other local businesses in the same service niche  for Google placement and traffic. Ranking for “Denver Roofing” for example is  easier than trying to rank nationally for a phrase such as “Weight Loss” or “HDTV”.

Being able to define an advertising radius with a system to measure the price per call and ROI has unlocked huge growth in many small innovative service companies across the country. I am often asked what the best strategy is for online marketing. My reply is always the same, anything you can precisely measure and test cheaply. A combination of campaigns on FaceBook, MSN, Google Adwords, and Ask.com may make sense if each campaign is delivering calls cheap enough to leave you with profit after the job is finished.  Without tools to precisely measure your return on every penny spent, you are destined to fail.

Google has a great self serve platform with tutorials that allow businesses to get started within a few hours.  Consider a few hours of consulting from a reputable ppc management company before you move beyond the test phase. Many agencies will manage your entire account and tie together all the reporting (# clicks, web form submits, calls, etc) for 20-30% of your ad budget.