Google’s Local Service Ads are shaking up search engine results pages (SERP) and disrupting the paid Google Ads market. Read on to learn about Local Service Ads, how they differ from traditional Google Ads, and if they are available in your industry.

What are Local Service Ads?

Local Service Ads appear at the top of search engine results pages for keywords relevant to the industries they are currently serving. For example, since Local Service Ads are currently available for defense attorneys in the Raleigh area, searching “DWI attorney near me” produced three images of lawyers with the name of their firm, their ranking, and the number of years in business. If you hover over the images, you see the hours and phone number listed.

These results are engaging because they include an image, reviews, and star rating, and they immediately connect users with the information they are looking for. Additionally, if you were to click on any of these listings, you would be brought to a page with more information and a direct call to action (phone or messaging depending on your settings and which device you are searching from). 

These ads also often include a “Google Guaranteed” or “Google Screened” badge which enhances your potential clients’ ability to trust you before they have even interacted with your company.

How Do Local Service Ads Differ from Traditional Google Ads?

The ad text of Local Service Ads (LSA’s) cannot be customized as it can with Google Ads. In addition, there is no way to specify keywords that trigger your ad to show like with Google Ads. Instead, your LSA’s will show for all searches relevant to your industry and the services you provide.

Another difference between Local Service Ads and Google Ads is the way you are charged. With Google Ads, you are charged every time someone clicks on your ad so you are paying for a potential lead. With LSA’s, you are charged every time someone calls or messages you so you are paying for an actual lead. As you can imagine, a click in Local Service Ads is typically more expensive than a click in Google Ads, however, the cost per acquisition is typically lower for Local Service Ads and Google gives you the ability to dispute the charge if the lead was not in your service area or not in reference to services you provide.

How Can You Tell if LSA’s are Available in Your Industry?

The quickest way to tell if LSA’s are available in your industry is to go to google.com and type in any keyword phrases relevant to your industry. For example, if you are a defense attorney, type in “DWI attorney near me” or “defense attorney near me”. LSA’s are not triggered by every single keyword, so if you don’t see any, try a few other keyword phrases first.

The failproof way that takes a little longer is to go to Google’s Local Service Ads “Eligibility” page: https://ads.google.com/localservices/signup/eligibility and enter your state, zip code, and job category. If you do not see a category relevant to your industry, do not lose hope. This is a new feature Google is offering and it is expanding and changing every day. If you would like to run Google Local Service Ads and you do not see your “job category” listed, continue checking back once per week so you can be one of the first to run LSA’s in your industry!

If you are looking for a lower cost per acquisition, you very well may want to consider shifting or expanding your advertising budget to include Local Service Ads. As with most paid ads, it is important that you work with a marketing professional to prevent unnecessary wasteful spending. At Lineberry Marketing Consultants, we are proud to offer Local Service Ads set up and management services a la carte. If you are interested in learning more, contact us today for a free consultation; our ultimate goal is to bring you more leads and we are standing by ready to help!

For more information, visit Google’s Local Service Ads page.

We can all agree that 2020 has been quite a year! We are so incredibly grateful to each and every one of our clients for riding out this crazy year with us and allowing us to help you adapt and evolve with the ever-changing needs of our community.

Lineberry Marketing will have limited working hours on December 21st, 22nd, and 23rd and will be closed on December 24th and 25th and January 1st to celebrate the holidays with our families. Our team would like to wish you all a wonderful, restful holiday!

The holiday season is fast approaching. Though the holidays can be a very busy time, it is not unusual for small businesses to experience a slowdown in both traffic and revenue. We compiled a few tips to help businesses navigate through the season.

• Keep Your Clients Informed Of Any Changes to Your Hours – The last thing you want is a customer showing up fifteen minutes after you close. Or, imagine a customer going somewhere else because they think you are closed when in reality, you have extended your hours due to the holiday season. Keep customers informed of your current hours online by immediately publishing any changes to your hours on your website, Google My Business listing, Facebook, and Yelp.

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If you own a small business, you most likely have a Google My Business (GMB) listing. Although these listings are an essential part of your keeping your customers updated on your location, hours, and any other relevant information, they can potentially open you up to risk.

We have noticed several bogus ownership requests coming through in recent weeks. If you were to grant ownership to someone you don’t know, the new owner will have the ability to remove you from being an owner of your own GMB listing. They could change the information on your listing causing confusion for your clients. Additionally, if you create a new listing with all your correct information, it can be very difficult to get the old, inaccurate listing taken down if you no longer have ownership access. And to make matters even worse, you will not be able to take your reviews with you to the new listing.

Luckily, GMB will never allow ownership to anyone without your permission. Anytime someone requests ownership, you will receive an email asking for permission to grant that person access. If you deny access, the person will NOT have ownership of your account. The moral of the story here is, do not allow anyone you do not trust to access your GMB account. If you have any questions about this information or anything else pertaining to the online presence of your small business, contact us today for a free consultation. 

From the team at  Lineberry Marketing, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thank you all for helping make this year so special. We will be closed December 24th, December 25th, and January 1st. We hope you all enjoy some well-deserved time off work to rest, reflect and recharge and we look forward to working with you in the coming year!

Happy Thanksgiving from the team at Lineberry Marketing! We are grateful for another successful year of bringing innovative marketing and design solutions to our clients. We would like to thank our clients for entrusting us with their logos, websites and marketing, and we extend a special thanks to all those who referred us to their colleagues, friends and family. We will be closed Thursday, November 28th and Friday, November 29th. We appreciate your business and wish you a wonderful holiday with your loved ones.

Happy Labor Day from everyone at Lineberry Marketing! We would like to take this opportunity to thank our clients for entrusting us with your marketing, technology, security, and web design. It is our honor to serve you. We wish you all a safe and relaxing holiday spent with friends and family. In honor of Labor Day, we will be closed Monday, September 2nd, but will reopen during normal business hours on Tuesday, September 3rd.