How to Optimize Your Local Service Ads

Local Service Ads, or LSAs, are an important part of your marketing arsenal. The process of getting your account approved and set up can take a lot of time and effort, which means that when it comes to actually putting the ads out there, you could be a little out of breath, as it were. 

Google requires background checks, licenses, individual profiles, and other details so that you can prove that your business is eligible for Google Local Service Ads. Once things are set up, are you ready to optimize your campaigns? You can’t just “set it and forget it” with LSAs. You have to be active, stay focused, and optimize your efforts at every turn. 

Stay active in your dashboard

It’s important to stay active and use the status feature to mark the status of each lead that comes through. You need to be listening to the calls and messages, marking them as booked or archived, and not leaving them just sitting on the dashboard. Otherwise, you’re not utilizing the most basic tools, so it won’t matter what else you do. 

There is a lot of automation in the GLSA account, but there is some work that you’ll have to do. And if you don’t, as mentioned, none of the rest of your optimization efforts will see much in the way of results. There’s been a direct correlation between rankings in Google’s LSAs and the proper monitoring and management of your local service dashboard. 

Assign the job to one person

It’s best to choose one person within the organization to learn and manage your LSAs. Sometimes, when there are too many people accessing the dashboard, nobody is really taking ownership and any processes that you try to create are going to fail in short order. With a single person managing the incoming leads for the Google Local Service platform alone, it will ensure that there is ownership and accountability and that things are done consistently. 

As a small business owner, it will be up to you to decide if you’ll assign the task to yourself or choose another member of your team. In any case, leave it to just one person and watch how much better it gets. 

Increase budgets

Sometimes, the best thing that you can do to improve your Google Local Service Ads is to reevaluate and reallocate your budget so that more money is going toward this effort specifically. When you have a bigger budget, you can post better quality ads and more frequent ads that will help your business get noticed. 

For companies that are just starting out or working with limited capital, this may not initially be an easy investment to make. However, once you start seeing the returns you get as a result (in the form of leads and customers), you’ll be able to justify the spending time and time again. 

Increase availability or zip codes/radius

Another way to optimize your ads is to increase your availability or the zip codes that your ads reach. You can choose to increase your radius in a general fashion or actually choose the zip codes to include, but in either case, expanding is the way to go. 

When you’re more available and reach more localities, you’ll be able to optimize your Local Service Ads much more effectively. Plus, you’ll increase your odds of getting leads and finding new customer bases. Just remember to only include places you’ll actually serve so that you aren’t falsely advertising services. 

Add more service options

You should also go through and select all the job types and services that you offer. Scour the list and make sure that you include absolutely everything that you do. That way, you’ll know that your ads are getting maximum reach and that your full potential is being realized with GLSAs. 

Broader service options and service areas will ensure that you reach the most customers possible. 

Solicit reviews

Google puts a lot of weight on reviews. If you have less than five, you need more to even appear to people in the reviews section. You need to collect as many reviews as possible so that you can show potential leads that you’re worth the business. There’s a vanity link in your account that you can use to collect reviews. You can also link your reviews from your Business Profile to your LSA account so that your reviews are shared across all platforms and services. 

While you’re collecting reviews, make sure that you take the time to respond to any negative reviews or people who have concerns or questions that they need answered. The only thing worse than a negative review is not responding to it and trying to resolve the issue. 

Opt-in to other features

Google also encourages those with Local Services accounts to utilize features like the option to message leads via text at half the cost of calling. There’s also a Local Services Ads booking feature that you can opt into that will integrate your CRM and allow people to schedule directly through your LSAs. 

And of course, you can always take the time to learn about the Google LSA platform and how it works so that you can create more effective campaigns and utilize the features more effectively. Google has a lot of helpful resources for businesses, including those that are utilizing Google for various advertising and marketing efforts. Take advantage of those resources so that you can make the most of your campaigns. 

While you’re optimizing ads, let Smith.ai handle the calls and more

Once you improve your LSAs, you’re going to see an influx of leads. Are you ready to handle them? When you partner with Smith.ai, you’ll get a team of dedicated virtual receptionists to handle 24/7 call answering, along with support for lead intake, appointment scheduling, and live website chat. 

We can even help with outreach and marketing, thanks to our outreach campaigns team and our outbound sales support. To learn more, schedule a consultation or reach out to us at hello@smith.ai. 

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