5 Steps to a Local Paid Search Campaign
Creating and managing a local paid search campaign across an entire network of sales channel partners is easier than a national brand may expect, especially when centralized and automated over a marketing resource management (MRM) platform. This centalization leads to both the national brand and local partners benefiting from a synergistic approach to increased online visibility for their products and services. Here are five simple steps to creating a local paid search campaign.
1. Define your campaign goals and objectives.
Do you want to measure calls to your business location, coupon downloads to be redeemed in-store, or web form completions? Once you’ve selected your goals and objectives, determine how you will track each desired action.
2. Identify and build supporting landing pages.
Be sure to include relevant location information, and that the landing page matches the campaign goals and objectives you outlined in step one. If your goal is to increase in-store visits, you may want to include a map of your location and even directions to the store to help searchers find their way. In addition, you will want to ensure your landing page is relevant to the keywords and ads within your campaign strategy.
3. Create your campaign strategy.
Research and select the keywords you will focus on, and try to include geo-modified terms in your selection, too. Next, write your corresponding ad copy and include location information here as well. Including location in both your keywords and ad copy will increase relevancy for the searcher.
4. Launch campaign and review reporting.
Once you’ve launched your campaign, review performance metrics to identify both the high and low-performing keywords and ads in order to adjust techniques as necessary.
5. Optimize campaigns on an ongoing basis.
As you review your reporting metrics, you’ll be able to identify which aspects of your campaign need to be optimized and adjusted based on your goals and objectives. You will want to increase your bids for keywords bringing in more calls or web form completions, and on the other hand, decrease bids for low-performers. Optimization should be a constant focus in your ongoing paid search campaigns.
Be sure to also checkout our articles on organic local search and know that the two are not mutually exclusive. A Google study on the Impact of Organic Ranking on Ad Click Incrementality found that “89% of the visits to the advertiser’s site from ad-clicks are not replaced by organic clicks when the search ads are paused.” That means even if your partners’ organic search rankings are good, appearing in both paid and organic search results will drive more customers with strong buyer’s intent to your local partners’ websites or landing pages.
