A Deep Dive Into Google’s Local Services Ads Platform

Are you a contractor looking for more information on Google’s Local Services Ads? Well, good news for you: You are in the right place. This blog will investigate the basics of Local Services Ads and how you can use them to your advantage to grow your business.

What Are Google Local Services Ads?

Google Local Services Ads for contractors is a great opportunity to drive more leads to any contractor’s business. LSAs are ads that show up at the top of Google search results and give the consumer a list of trusted, local companies for hire.

When contractors invest in Local Services Ads, they are awarded the coveted Google Guarantee badge, indicating their business is vetted and backed by Google itself.

Getting Started With Contractor Local Services Ads

The first step contractors who want to invest in Local Services Ads need to take is to sign up for the platform. That can be done here — https://ads.google.com/local-services-ads/.

As you go through the setup process, there are a few steps you must complete, and Google will request different information from you along the way.

Set Up Your Profile

Google will request your business phone number, name, and address, as well as specific information about the business and business owner.

Background Checks

Background checks are done through a third-party provider: Evident. Any employees entering a customer’s home or premises must pass a background check.

Business License

Provide Google with a copy of your business license to confirm you are a registered business in your state.

Business Insurance

Similar to a business license, you must provide Google a copy of your business insurance to confirm that if anything were to go wrong on a job, you have insurance to cover it.

Customer Reviews

You need to have at least one customer review on your Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business). If you already have a verified Google Business Profile, then you can link that profile to your Local Services Ads account. All of your reviews will automatically sync with your Local Services profile.

How Do Local Services Ads Work?

After you have gone through all the steps above, it is time to launch your ads. But how do these ads even work, you ask?

There are six main factors that play into LSAs that determine where you rank compared to your competitors:

Bid Strategies

Google gives you two bidding options, you can either set the max per lead you would like to pay for a lead, and that is your bid that Google will honor. You also have the option to set to maximize leads, which allows Google to set the bid itself to help you drive as many leads as possible for your budget.

Reviews

Reviews are a two-parter. First, Google looks at the total number of reviews that you have, so the more reviews overall, the better. Second, it looks at your review score, so it’s best to get as close as you can to a five-star rating.

Proximity to the Searcher

Google looks at how close your business address is to the location of the homeowner searching. Overall, it’s better to be located as close to the customer as possible.

Business Hours

Currently open businesses typically rank higher than those that are closed.

Responsiveness

Google considers how often you answer potential customers’ calls when deciding how high you rank in Local Services results. If you miss a high volume of calls, you won’t rank as high.

Reputation

Whether or not Google has received serious or repeated complaints about your business will affect your Local Services rankings. By awarding you the Google Guarantee badge, Google puts its stamp of approval on your company — you are a trusted contractor. The more negative complaints it receives from your customers, the lower you will rank in Local Services Ads results.

Benefits of Local Service Ads for Contractors

Now that you know what Local Services Ads for contractors are and which factors go into your ranking, you’re probably wondering, why should I be running these types of ads? What are the positives that will come from running these ads? Let’s take a look.

• Control: Local Services Ads allows you to get very specific with your targeting, so you are able to control exactly when and where your ads are eligible to show and for what services. This comes into play with responsiveness affecting your ranking, as you want to set your ad schedule to times when you know you have customer service reps actively answering the phones.
• Pay per qualified lead: Different from pay per click ads, where you pay every time someone clicks on your ad, with Local Service Ads, you only pay when someone makes direct contact with your business.
• Cheaper leads: Qualified leads generated from Local Services are cheaper when compared to leads generated from PPC ads (in most U.S. markets). The less you pay per lead, the better the ROI for your business.
• Ability to dispute unqualified leads: As mentioned above, Google only makes you pay per qualified lead that comes into your business. If you were to receive an unqualified lead, Google allows you to dispute that call and will credit you your money back if it agrees that the call was indeed invalid! Google considers a lead unqualified if:
  • The job requested is not something you can complete
  • The job requested is in a location that you do not service
  • The lead was soliciting or trying to sell you something
  • The lead was unintentional or the person had the wrong number
  • The lead was someone trying to seek employment with your business
  • The lead came from a bot or was pre-recorded

Summary

When it comes to contractor marketing, Google’s Local Services platform is an affordable and high-quality lead generation channel. We see contractors generate hundreds of qualified leads (that turn into booked jobs) per month via Local Services Ads. If you’re not investing in LSAs, you’re losing revenue to your competitors, guaranteed.

Professional Local Services Advertising Services for Contractors

At Blue Corona, we work with hundreds of local contractors across the United States. Our team of Local Services advertising experts has helped increase qualified leads and marketing ROI by:

• Managing LSA bids and bid strategy to contractors’ lead and cost-per-lead goals
• Disputing leads on behalf of contractors who don’t have the time or resources (in the past year alone, we saved contractors more than $300,000 on wasted ad spend)
• Supporting contractors from start to finish, streamlining the Local Services Ads setup process and ensuring campaigns are launched smoothly and on time

Let’s Grow Your Business Together

At Blue Corona, we’re passionate about growing contractors’ businesses. It’s at the heart of what we do each and every day, and we want to help you do the same.

Contact us today to learn more about our Local Services advertising services. Let’s grow your business together.