Is Google Ads/PPC still useful for a small local business?

[Bikerjon]

I dip into Google Ads from time to time, but thankfully it’s been a while since I’ve had to rely on Google for new enquiries. Business has slowed down recently and referrals will only get me so far, so I thought I’d better get myself re-acquainted with Adwords again as it seemed to work quite well a few years ago.

I've spent the last day or two setting up new options/keywords and testing adverts out, however one thing I’ve noticed is the complete dominance of the larger nationwide companies in local search results. This has forced up the cost and is making me think twice! I’ve been running some random searches on other (completely different) small service type businesses and I notice hardly any of them are running ads. Has Google become irrelevant for very small local businesses these days? Has it all moved to social media?

[Traffic]

Obviously, it is different from niche to niche and also different Geos.

But similarly to Facebook, it has been getting a little harder with Google Ads in recent times for people to get the results they used to, competition is up and I also think the complexity and management needed to get good results has become harder for the average smaller business, so budgets get stretched quite quickly. Google is forcing a lot of unwanted "optimisation" ideas and technology on the Google Ads community and much of it is more costly if you accept their suggestions blindly, so for the average guy who perhaps doesn't know any better it's easy to end-up making expensive mistakes or changes.

We see a lot more interest in SEO since Covid as it's basically a better ROI in the longer term, perhaps more predictable too.

[Bikerjon]

Thanks, would agree about the complexity, although I'm fairly technical and have time on my hands - so not overly phased by that! I'm sceptical about the optimisation scores though as it just seems to encourage the use of features that drive up the cost.

One thing I've definitely noticed for my line of work is that mobile device clicks are a complete waste of money. Fortunately my SEO efforts will probably capture a lot of that traffic anyway, so I just focus on tablets and computers with Ads. This somewhat goes against the grain of how everything is now supposed to be mobile first, but I just don't see it.

[Traffic]

The optimisation scores are definitely something to be very wary of, many bad suggestions are normally found in these!

If you have a few months of data, then you can make pretty good decisions on devices etc, or at least create new campaigns more focused on them.

Mobile targeting works well when you have a specific/tight geographical area as the location data provided on mobiles is better than a static IP address for desktop quite often.

[jonsp]

Have you tried bidding on your local competitors names? You might ruffle a few feathers but worth trying and seeing if anyone goes up in the air over it.

If you're not already maybe try bidding all local postcodes/towns/villages/suburbs etc in your catchment area. For example [your service] [local town] [your service] [local postcode] etc

If you can get a list of all the towns/villages/places/postcodes in your area you should be able to perm them up with keywords related to your service spin ads out of that then bulk import the lot so you end up with something like this, say you're a roofer in Tiverton

Guy searches for "roofer in Tiverton"

Your local roofer in Tiverton
Some text containing roofer in Tiverton
Get a quote for roofing in Tiverton today

Obviously make the ads a bit better but you get the idea. The big boys will have some of this covered for popular services in bigger towns so you'd need to drill down to small areas and convey in your ad you are in fact a local roofer in Tiverton not some national firm.

[grumbas]

For the right product/service and done well I'm sure it can be. Some good pointers on here already.

Google is heavily pushing it's automation and recommendations lately which encourages poor campaigns in many cases.

Being cynical Google's model is probably to give you the return you want, but ensure your spend is fully maximised. For example if you tell Google you're willing to pay £10 for a lead, and the AI works out it can get you leads for £5, is it incentivised to over deliver for you, or to incur additional spend on irrelevant traffic and hit the £10 target?

If you'd be willing to share any more specifics happy to give some pointers.

[DSLiverpool]

I’ve a major downer on default marketing where it’s done the way it’s always been done - for the brand it’s time to think outside the box, however this doesn’t suit most agencies so it’s a brave retailer who gets creative and follows through but it can be very effective ( niche / demographic / LV dependant)

What do you do?

[Bikerjon]

Thanks for the comments - it’s given me some ideas.

For context I’m a sole trader working in IT. I do a few different things, but the main service is installing network equipment to very small businesses/larger homes. Apart from when it’s time to replace/upgrade every few years theres very little repeat business - hence the fairly constant need for new customers.

[grumbas]

Bikerjon said:

Thanks for the comments - it’s given me some ideas.

For context I’m a sole trader working in IT. I do a few different things, but the main service is installing network equipment to very small businesses/larger homes. Apart from when it’s time to replace/upgrade every few years theres very little repeat business - hence the fairly constant need for new customers.

I think that would be a tough one to market, a lot of people looking for these services (in my experience) can't afford them or don't want to pay much. This would make return on investment hard for PPC.

Have you got a decent web presence and Google my business listing? Just doing this well can generate good local traffic.

Also get a good facebook page set up and give it the odd promotion on your local facebook groups, we have a few local businesses doing this well. Maybe offer a promo rate for O365 setup for new businesses?

Otherwise I'd have thought old fashioned networking would be quite effective, depending on how good your local groups are?

[DSLiverpool]

Bikerjon said:

Thanks for the comments - it’s given me some ideas.

For context I’m a sole trader working in IT. I do a few different things, but the main service is installing network equipment to very small businesses/larger homes. Apart from when it’s time to replace/upgrade every few years theres very little repeat business - hence the fairly constant need for new customers.

Tap up estate agents domestic and commercial

[clockworks]

I just use the free Google Business listing, and made sure that my location was marked properly on Google Maps.

Around 30% of my business comes from customers just typing what I do into their search engine. It probably helps that there are no national competitors, but some do have proper websites, and one pays for Facebook ads.

I used to pay a few quid for a classified entry in Yellow Pages, and was a bit worried when they stopped printing the directory. Made no difference, and I've got enough work coming in now.

I'm now overpricing some jobs in an attempt to turn customers away.

[jonsp]

grumbas said:

I think that would be a tough one to market, a lot of people looking for these services (in my experience) can't afford them or don't want to pay much. This would make return on investment hard for PPC.

But the OP has said he's had success with adwords in the past. Even if the landscape's got more competitive since (assume it likely has) it should still be possible to make an ROI.

Idea would be to scale out his keyword list and aim for 1 ad optimised per keyword. He's obviously reasonable technical so he'd have no problem doing this. Then sign up for the API which would automate bids per keyword/binning unprofitable keywords. So we'd look at

1/ Local/national competitor names

2/ Perm every place/postcode/town in his catchment area with every keyword and produce an optimised ad for each

3/ Split out keywords for home vs office. Maybe a guy wanting a network install at his home would search "home network install" vs "office network install" vs "small business network install" etc

If the issue turns out to be people searching then not being able/willing to pay his rate he could filter that out. Worst case even put in the ad something like "network install starting from just £500" this way we can filter out the cheapskates. That would obviously put his CTR down but better that than paying for a click from a cheapskate.