6 Hacks To Set Up Your AdWords Campaign For Local Business
AdWords is one of the most valuable online advertising investments out there. Here's 6 hacks to help you set up your AdWords campaign!
AdWords is one of the most valuable online advertising investments out there. When done correctly, this ensures that your small business is seen in search results, that you rank for your keywords and industry, and that you drastically increase your incoming leads.
These are just a few of the reasons why we love AdWords at Loud Rumor. That being said, here are 6 hacks to help you get started and set up your AdWords campaign!
1 - Campaign Type/Name
One of the first steps in building your ad is to choose your campaign type:
- Search Network with Display Select - Ad shows in Google and any other relevant sites
- Search Network Only - Ad only shows in Google for your bidded keyword (not mobile/ elsewhere) *we suggest this!*
- Display Network Only - Ad shows on places like blogs and pages that offer ad space
- Shopping - Showcases your products for sale as an inventory
- Online Video - Use your own videos to target YouTube searches
Once you choose which campaign type best fits your local business’ needs, choose a name - be as creative as you want here.
2 - Location
If you want to target a specific region for your local business, you’ll want to select the “Let Me Choose” option.
This allows you to:
- Set a specific radius
- Set a specific zip code
- Target specific areas such as an airport, amusement park, school, etc.
- and more.
If you still aren’t entirely sure how broad you want to reach, start out by targeting a smaller geographic area so the financial aspect doesn’t escalate.
3 - Content
Your ads have to be within a certain character length as follows:
- Headline - 25 characters
- 2nd line - 35 character
- 3rd line - 35 characters
- Display URL - 35 characters
Use this tool as a template for your Google AdWords text ads. This ensures that you remain within the specified character limit.
4 - Bid
It’s important to note that you’ll want to manually set your bids for clicks. If you don’t do this, you allow Google to take total control over what you pay for clicks. So be sure you don’t choose “automatic bidding,” but “manual bidding” instead.
Make sure you research your available budget for this online advertising investment. Once you do that, entering your bid here is the easy part!
Determine which keywords and ad placements mean the most to you, and bid on those.
5 - Extensions
An extension serves as an additional line and piece of information about your business that is placed in your ads. This usually gives users more incentive to click on your listing.
Although AdWords offers several different extensions, the most important for local businesses are the local extension (address), sitelinks extension (links to business’ different web pages), callout extension (additional information about your services) and call extension (business’ phone number so people can easily call):
Ad with call extension and sitelinks:
6 - Ad Scheduling
In your ad campaign, head over to your “Settings” tab and click on “Ad schedule.” Then manually enter the days and hours you want to your ads to run.
If you’re a local business, chances are that most of your leads come by phone. That being said, if your budget is limiting, only set your schedule for the hours that you’re able to answer calls. Most prospects don’t leave voicemails. They just call the next guy on the list. We don’t want to pay for that.
Here’s what the ad scheduling section will look like:
If you follow these 6 AdWords hacks, you’re on the path to awesome campaign results. If you have any other questions about how to manage AdWords - with setup, optimization, etc. - don’t hesitate to contact us!