We have found Google Ads for Locksmithing Businesses to be an extremely effective resource. It is a consistent and profitable way to gain new customers. In this article, we will go in-depth on how they work and how you can set up a campaign for your business.
So what is Google Ads? Google Ads (also known as Google Adwords) is an advertising platform used to display content, services, and advertisements. This is a great tool to drive traffic and customers your way. They end up seeing your page and advertisements as they are browsing and searching on Google for products or services related to the ones you are offering.
What are Google Ads?
This is a specific method of advertising that is known as PPC (Pay Per Click) meaning that the advertiser pays a certain amount of money each time their ad is clicked on.
This article will focus on Search Ads which is what will be paid for. The advertisement paid for will only show up after a relevant google search. Using Google and Google searches is an effective way to advertise as there will be people constantly searching for the specific services that you are selling.
The main objective in these searches is to target keywords that potential customers are looking up so our specific ads pop up for the customers.
The Differences between Google Ads and SEO
Google Ads is all about instant results. Google Ads is easy to learn but hard to master. This service is a strong tool that can benefit businesses in both the short and long term while SEO is built around getting results in the long-term setting.
SEO or Search Engine Optimization is an advertising technique that maximizes natural searching traffic to your website and business. SEO in the long term is an amazing tool that allows businesses to thrive, but off the bat, there is no guarantee that people’s searches will result in your business being at the top of the list.
Google Ads is about maximizing the moment, if results are desired instantaneously then Google Ads is the method for you, on the other hand, SEO is a great way to build a strong long-term plan. It is easy to start with Google Ads and move into SEO as the confidence grows with results.
These are some examples of Google Search Ads. Google Ads is a platform that is designed for advertisers to promote their products or services when they want to grow their brand awareness and increase conversions.
Creating Google Ads for Locksmiths
To create a Google Ads account you will need to sign up on Ads Google. Any Gmail account will work.
Once an account has been created and set up the best way to start this new process is by creating a new advertising campaign.
Creating a Campaign on Google Ads for a Locksmithing Business
To start creating your campaign for Google Ads for Locksmiths, select “+New Campaign”.
In your campaign objective options, select “Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance” for a more versatile ad campaign. It is also the most recommended option for beginners on Google Ads.
Select “Search” as your campaign type.
Following this there will be three options to choose from: select “Website visits” and then fill in the website that you want to focus on.
The Demographic
On this page, you will be deciding where and to whom you want your ad campaign to appear. An example of a target location would be “United States”, it can also be more specific such as “Worcester, MA”, choosing a city or town will create a targeted audience. Similarly, adding a preferred language is essential for all potential customers.
Now you will have to decide on the budgeting of the ads you are going to produce. The budgeting should come from a daily number that reflects a monthly budget. Consider starting with $20 as your daily custom budget and ignore the recommendations.
Set your Google ads for locksmiths to focus on Clicks as your bidding focus. You can also set a maximum cost-per-click bid limit of $1 to have more control over your ad spend.
The “Maximum CPC bid limit” is the maximum amount of money we are willing to pay per click of our advertisement.
The reason we fill in the “Maximum CPC bid limit” is to ensure that we are not spending too much at the beginning of the campaign. This can always be changed later after we view the results and statistics, but it is the safest and smartest option to keep it low at the start.
If you want to be more specific an Ad Schedule can be created. These can be utilized to put ads at specific times to produce leads at a certain time. This is a great tool when people are in the office ready to answer the phone and ready to be in contact with a potential customer.
One great trick in this section is to select “Do not optimize: Rotate ads indefinitely”. We use this setting because it allows us to see which ads are performing the best, the creator will be able to see which of their ads are strongest to weakest.
This allows more data to be collected and a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t. Later on in the future, we can implement more ads that work and get rid of the ones that don’t attract as much traffic.
Keywords in Ad Groups
An ad group is a structured way to target related keywords relevant to the audience. They are one of the most important factors in the campaign that allows for a specific theme to be in play.
It is essential to keep in mind who the target audience is when creating an Ad Group. Ad groups will be related to the campaign in different ways, it is important to have 2 to 3 groups to create a wider variety of relevant words to focus on. As an example when focusing on the Locksmithing Business, a couple of strong keywords would be built around the word “Lock”.
Example:
- Ad Group Name: Locksmith Services
- Keyword Search: Locksmith
Once you click “get keyword suggestions”, review all the keywords for your ad group campaign.
An important thing to remember when finding keywords is what people are looking for within the service. For a locksmith, this could mean “Lock Installation”, or “Locksmith for Rekeying”. Going beyond just the broader topics and diving into the key services that are offered will allow more people to discover these advertisements.
Take a minute and brainstorm keywords and phrases that can be relevant to the topic of locksmithing.
Some other examples of keywords to use could be types of locks or different services such as padlocks, deadbolts, knob locks, locks, reinstallation, lock reinstallation, lock installation, Lock and key, key replacement, or even car key replacement.
Another tip that brings in more traffic is including the plural and singular versions of your keywords such as “lock” vs “locks”.
Advertising Structure
After setting up the keywords and ad campaign we will be presented to a new page on advertising structure.
The structure of advertisements in Google Ads breaks down into 4 different parts.
- Final URL
- Headlines
- Descriptions
- Display Path
Each of these has a large impact on the customer experience as it will either influence where the customer ends up or what they initially see through their searches.
This is the basic page that combines the Final URL, Display path, and Headlines. This is where we will be constructing the advertisement exactly how we want it to be.
The final URL is the domain that the ad will lead to. Those who click on the ad will end up on the page you select. Not only will this be a part of the ad, but some headlines will become part of the individual advertisement.
There will be three Headlines to potentially fill out. In this case, I filled out all three, but it will change from scenario to scenario. It is important to use keywords within the headlines that will entice the customer to click.
Descriptions are used to describe the product or service you are trying to promote. While there are 90 characters to be used, shorter descriptions with numbers and quick facts often perform well. The main idea is to use the descriptions to drive the potential customer to click. Beyond this is the display path.
The display path is somewhere we can control what the consumer sees. It can be anything you want and is just a part of the URL that shows to the client.
Once completing these four sections your new advertisement should look something like this:
You can see all four different sections come to life and affect what the ad looks like, each one plays an important yet separate role that contributes to a strong end product.
This is a great start but is not finished yet.
Sitelink Assets
Before publishing, the final touch of this section is the sitelink assets (previously known as sitelink extensions). Filling in this section brings the clicker to whichever site you decide. This could be a specific product page, an informational page, or the page where the services are priced.
Having control over where you send the potential customers is a great benefit and a way to ensure they spend more time on your website. These advertisements’ main focus is always on converting clicks to business.
Once this has been completed go ahead and publish your first advertisement.
What to do after the campaign has been finished?
An ad campaign is never truly “finished” because there is always room for improvement and optimization.
For this next section, a general tip is to utilize the search bar at the top of the page to find the specific areas of the website we will be working on. The details will be spelled out on how to find certain pages, but this is a handy tool to search them right away.
Keywords
Even though you have just posted this first advertisement there are ways that we can continue to strengthen it. By using the Keyword Planner we can get better insight into what people are searching for.
To access Keyword Planner on Google, go to “Tools” and then select “Keyword Planner”.
Click “Discover New Keywords” then search for any keywords you want to focus on. An example of this could be “Locksmith”.
You may already have some of the suggested keywords in your campaign but feel free to select relevant suggestions. By selecting more and adding these terms to your Campaign and ad group, your campaign will be in more search queries that will lead users to your advertisement.
The most important aspect of this section is the types of keywords you are looking for. “Phrase Match” means that someone searching on Google will get results that include the keywords we selected. If the potential customer searches “locksmith near me”, your ad will appear on SERP.
Once you are comfortable with the keywords you have chosen you can directly add them to the campaign by selecting “Add keywords”.
Negative Keywords
Negative keywords are words we select to ensure our advertisements won’t show up in specific search queries. This means that someone who searches with one of the negative keywords we select will have our results show up. Some examples of this would be if your business does not provide services for a specific vehicle or type of lock, then a negative keyword could be “car”, or the specific type of lock such as “padlock”. Another example could be a location that you do not or will not operate in.
Negative Keywords can be added by going to “Audiences, Keywords and Content” and clicking “Negative Keywords”.
Once these words have been added to this section you can hit save and they will be applied instantly.
Great job completing the first advertisements of a new campaign. Now we need to track the progress of the ad or ads that have been created and the best way to do so is through analytics. In a couple of days or weeks, check the results and impressions these advertisements have made.
Another great benefit of using Google ads is that we can actively change live campaigns to what we see fit.
Verification for Google Ads for Locksmith Businesses
To successfully run a Google ads campaign for any locksmith business, it is critical to follow the following guidelines :
- Local and federal laws and regulations: Locksmith businesses must comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including all relevant licensing and other regulatory requirements.
- Age Restrictions: You and your customers must be 18 or older.
- Employment: You can’t claim or imply that you are an employee or work for Google or its affiliates, and each member of your locksmith company must be properly classified and paid following the applicable employment laws or jurisdiction.
In addition to following the guidelines, you will need to provide Google with complete and accurate information:
- Accurate Pricing Information.
- Transparency and Availability of Promoted Offers.
- Accuracy of Business Identity.
- Comply with Requests Related to your Business Verification.
Learn more about Google’s verification policy and Google’s ad policy for locksmith businesses to avoid your Google ads for locksmiths getting disapproved, disqualified, or suspended.
Future Content Strategy
Beyond following the progress of our newly created advertisements one of the key concepts to think about is how we can constantly improve. The following sections of this article will consist of general tips to try and produce the best results and content possible.
Landing Pages
What is a landing page? The simple answer is that it is a stand-alone page that the consumer is directed to after clicking on a link. An effective landing page likes to focus on a singular goal. This is why it is important to have specific landing pages to direct the new incoming traffic that google ad campaigns provide.
Here is an example of what a landing page about a Locksmith business looks like:
Making it easy for the customer to express their interest and leading them to a page where they will use your services is crucial for success. This is the best method to get in touch with the customers quickly and efficiently.
This is a solid landing page as there is some “call to action” graphics. This means that the page is focusing on a singular goal to get its point across. Whether that be pointing out social media pages to try and grow their brand or making it easy to contact the Locksmiths through bold but not overwhelming lettering.
This is a strong homepage as it checks all the boxes.
- It has an eye-catching image on the front.
- Represents the services available in more places than one.
- Has a listed phone number, and many ways to contact them.
- Has facts and appealing numbers listed in eye-popping fashion.
- States the audience and demographics potential problems.
Different Types of Keywords
Throughout Google searches, different types of keywords and styles help attract top-level search results.
The three types of keywords that Google Ads focus on and we utilize are “Broad Match”, “Phrase Match”, and “Exact Match”.
The difference between these three keywords comes from the search results. Broad words relate to the specific keywords, phrases must include the keyword, and an exact match must result in a search that shows results with the exact same meaning.
Some examples of related results than searching up the term “locksmiths” could be:
Broad: “Locksmith near me”, “smithlock near me” or “car locksmith”
Phrase: “3 Best locksmith in LA” or “The best 10 keys & locksmiths”
Exact: This would result in specific locksmith brands or companies like a specific web page such as the “Los Angeles Locksmith”
YoYoFuMedia has successfully helped more than 1,000 clients achieve business growth through successful advertising with Google Ads which you can read more about on YoYoFuMedia’s Page. Want to experience the same results as our clients? Our professionals can help you!
