Unless you are a global FMCG behemoth like the Coca Cola Company, you probably don’t need every single person on the face of the earth to see your online ads. It’s far more likely that the product you are selling is targeted to a specific demographic, neighbourhood, city, state, country, group of countries or other specific geographical region. This is where Google Ads localisation is invaluable.
It’s a feature on Google Ads allowing you to target your pay-per-click (PPC) ads to a certain location or group of locations. Ad localisation is especially useful for brick-and-mortar businesses that depend on foot traffic such as restaurants and car dealerships but it also relevant for ecommerce sites that only serve certain jurisdictions.
In today’s competitive digital landscape, local businesses face the challenge of standing out in a crowded marketplace and reaching their target audience effectively. Fortunately, Google AdWords provides a powerful advertising platform that enables local businesses to create dynamic, low-cost, and high-traffic ads with localisation. In this blog post, we will explore the strategies and techniques that can help local businesses leverage AdWords to craft compelling advertisements tailored to their specific geographic target market.
Localisation is a game-changer for local businesses, allowing them to target customers within a specific geographic radius or location. By harnessing the power of AdWords’ localisation capabilities, businesses can ensure that their ads are shown to individuals who are most likely to convert into customers within their local area. This targeted approach not only maximises the relevance and impact of the ads but also optimises advertising budgets by focusing on the most valuable audience segments.
One of the key advantages of using localisation in AdWords is the ability to create dynamic ads that adapt to the user’s location. With features such as location extensions, businesses can automatically include their address, phone number, and even directions to their store or office within the ad. This not only boosts visibility but also enhances the user experience by providing essential information at their fingertips, increasing the likelihood of conversions.
In addition to localisation, AdWords provides cost-effective advertising solutions for local businesses. With the ability to set daily budgets and bid strategies, businesses can control their ad spend and maximise their return on investment. This flexibility is particularly beneficial for small and medium-sized enterprises with limited marketing budgets, allowing them to compete with larger competitors on a level playing field.
In the following sections of this blog post, we will delve deeper into the strategies and best practices for creating dynamic, low-cost, and high-traffic ads with localisation in AdWords. From optimising ad copy and targeting to leveraging ad extensions and analysing performance metrics, we will equip local businesses with the knowledge and tools necessary to drive successful advertising campaigns.
Join us as we explore the realm of AdWords for local businesses and discover how localisation can unlock new opportunities, boost visibility, and drive conversions. By mastering the art of dynamic and targeted advertising, local businesses can thrive in the digital age and establish a strong online presence within their local communities.
Since the cost of PPC ads depends on the clicks your ad receives, ad localisation ensures you don’t waste your advertising budget by having people outside your target area clicking on your ads. Those who do click your ads will be those geographically qualified for your products and services. In other words, localisation can help you greatly increase the efficiency of your PPC ad spend. So how do you do it?
Basic Setup
To localise your PPC ad, log into your Google Ads account, select the campaign you want to localise, go to Settings -> Locations and Languages -> Locations and click ‘Edit’ and then click the Search tab. Type your desired location and wait for it to appear on the drop-down menu showing relevant matches. You can geo-target by country, state/province, city, zip code and even specific installations such as airports.
Google Ads will display a Reach for the location(s) you choose which is the estimated number of persons who could potentially see the advertisement. There are three options you can choose from per location—Add (to add the location to your ad target area), Exclude (to block your ad from showing up on devices in the specified area) and Nearby (display regions within proximity that you may want to add to your selection).
Advanced Settings
Go to the Radius tab, enter a location into the search box and choose a radius distance around your selected location. This is referred to as proximity targeting. You could for instance specify a radius of 25 miles around your sports goods store location to display your ads to customers searching for similar stores within the area.
Click the Bulk Locations tab and you can enter (or paste) as many as 1,000 locations at a go so as to add, remove or exclude them from your ad. The locations must however be within the same country.
Managing Your Localised Ads
Go to Settings and click the Locations tab to see which geographical areas you are attracting the most traffic from. See the impressions, clicks and cost per click as it relates to each location.
The Total – Other Locations row shows all traffic you’ve received from areas outside the locations you specified. Unfortunately, there won’t be details as to where exactly this traffic is mostly coming from. However, you can tweak your location specifications by adding and removing nearby locations. It’s unlikely that the traffic would consistently come from a place far away from the areas you initially chose.
Generate the Search Terms Report by going to the Campaigns tab then Keywords > Details > All. You’ll see what keywords people searched for to see your ads. If some of the keywords are from places outside your target market, add them as negative keywords to exclude them from triggering your ads going forward.
Best Practices
What we’ve discussed so far will give you an important foundation upon which you can base the localisation of your PPC ads. To maximise your ad impact however, you can significantly benefit from the following best practices.
Go Where Your Customers Are
Choose locations in tandem with your pre-defined target market. If your product can only be shipped to people within your country of operation, target the entire country. If you only serve a certain state or city, choose that in your ad location and no more. The more specific you are, the less likely you will be to waste your PPC ads budget on clicks from people you will never sell to.
Exclusions as Important as Inclusions
It’s only natural that you’ll focus your efforts on specifying the locations you want your ads to appear in. However, exclusions are equally important. For example, if you ship to an entire country with the exception of 2 or 3 cities, you can list the cities as excluded so they don’t see your PPC ads. The combination of inclusions and exclusions helps you clearly demarcate a well-defined target audience.
Seek Insights on Your Customers
Use helpful tools such as Google Trends to identify which locations show the most interest in your product. Google Trends can show which city, metro, sub-region or country your chosen search keyword is most popular. This can serve as a guide in case you weren’t certain of where the bulk of your potential customers live.
Use Regional Terms in Keywords
If you run a used car dealership based in Baton Rouge, your keyword lists should include terms like baton rouge car dealership or car dealership baton rouge. This will be complementary to your existing geo-targeting efforts which already ensure that even if you use generic terms like used car dealership, your ads will only be displayed to people in and/or around Baton Rouge.
Localisation is the Future
The importance of localising Google Ads is only going to increase thanks to the proliferation of smartphones and therefore mobile internet browsing. The above is a useful guide that covers all the most important points you need to know to localise your PPC ads. If you still need any help to setup and localise your PPC ads then contact our PPC agency in Melbourne.
