If you’re in the Home Services or Home Improvement industry and you aren’t utilizing LSA as part of your digital marketing strategy, it’s time to take a closer look. For more on how LSA works, you can read our previous LSA blog!
First, an LSA Refresher
For the uninitiated, Google’s LSA (Local Services Ads) are ads that target consumers searching for a specific product or service in a specific local area. The consumer is matched by Google with companies with LSA profiles that best match criteria such as proximity, services, and other relevant factors. LSA profiles provide consumers with business info such as contact information, address, hours of operation, and ratings.
LSA ads will appear above pay-per-click (PPC) ads as well as organic search ads. That means they are often the first result your potential customers are seeing! One of the main benefits of LSA ads for contractors is that you only pay when a customer actually calls you, messages you, or books services through the LSA ad. Forget about those accidental clicks or unsure customers just clicking through before they make up their minds!
The Top 4 Reasons Home Services Contractors
Should Be On LSA
Contractors of all shapes, sizes, and trades can agree: leads matter. In addition to your PPC and SEO efforts, LSA ads should be a part of your complete digital marketing strategy!
1 — LSA Ads Get You More Leads!
Leads. It’s what the game is all about! With a well-built LSA profile, your potential customers can easily learn more about you. It also makes it simple and easy for them to contact you for the service you provide that they are already looking for.
2 — Only Get Charged for REAL Leads
With Local Service Ads, you’re only getting charged for real, local leads in your area for the services you offer. You even have the option to dispute leads you think are illegitimate. Unlike pay-per-click ads that charge by the click, with LSA, you’re only paying per lead. Plus, you can control your budget, targeting, and when your ads run just like with PPC.
3 — LSA Ads Increase Your Visibility to Customers
This is a no-brainer. LSA profiles show up right at the top of Google’s search results. That’s right, even before PPC ads, map listings, and organic search results! We know that people tend to click the results that appear first. The less they have to scroll, the more likely they are to both see and act on your ads. Plus, the more people that see your ad means the higher chances you have of getting new customers!
4 — LSA Ads Build Trust and Credibility
A professional LSA profile with the Google Guaranteed badge is a signal to potential customers that you’re a company they can trust for service. Add in lots of positive reviews and high-quality photos, and your chances of getting a new lead will go up.
I Already Use PPC…Why Do I Need LSA?
There are some similarities between PPC and LSA, but there are some key differences that are important to highlight. Let’s take a look at five key ways these two ad platforms differ.
1 — Pricing Model
As mentioned before, with a pay-per-click ad, you’re paying every time someone clicks on that ad. It doesn’t matter if that click turns into a lead or not. With LSA, you’re only being charged when someone contacts you through the ad. Not only that, you can dispute leads – like if a potential customer contacts you for a service you don’t offer, or from outside your service area – and get the charged lead credited back. PPC ads won’t let you do that!
2 — Targeting
With PPC ads, you’re able to target a wide range of audiences in any city or state you want. That doesn’t always make sense for local businesses. LSAs are designed specifically for local businesses targeting people searching for services in your local area.
3 — Ad Format
With PPC ads, you’ll have a lot more variety with what ad formats are acceptable. You can include text, images, and video. LSAs have a more standardized format that provides a consistent user experience.
4 — Ad Placement
PPC ads will show on Google search results pages, but can also appear across the Google Display Network as well as on YouTube. LSAs will only appear on the Google search results page – but always at the top!
5 — Google Guarantee
PPC ads can be utilized by any business, regardless of size or industry they operate in. In order to qualify for advertising using LSA, a business has to pass several requirements. These include having a Google Business Profile with a minimum number of reviews, plus having a valid business license and insurance.
How to Get More Leads Using Google Local Service Ads
If you’re already using Google Local Services Ads, but want to up your game – it’s easy. Focus on the three R’s!
1 — Reviews
First, focus on Reviews. Having more Google reviews and a higher star rating is a huge trust signal to potential customers. They can see that others have had a positive experience with you, and even see how you respond to negative reviews (pro tip: don’t ignore the negative reviews!). You’ll also want a steady stream of reviews – newer reviews are more impactful than old, stale reviews. Your Google Business Profile reviews automatically flow to your LSA profile, too!
2 — Radius
Second, focus on setting up your LSA targeting area to cover your entire service area so that both Google and potential customers know where you serve. A special note, though: don’t just specify certain zip codes. If your service area is an entire county, reflect that in your targeting approach. Cover the maximum area your operations can support for best results.
3 — Responsiveness
Finally, focus on Responsiveness. If the phone rings…answer it! The same goes with a Message Lead – respond to it as soon as you can. Google isn’t going to promote a business that doesn’t respond in a timely manner to customers. Plus, Google knows that drain clogs or AC repairs aren’t jobs that the customer isn’t going to want to wait around for.
Microsoft Professional Services Ads… Coming Soon to Home Services!
While this blog is about Google’s LSA offering, Microsoft is already following suit with their Microsoft Professional Services Ads platform. The Microsoft PSA is already active – just not yet for Home Services verticals.
Whether you decide to manage your LSA profile yourself or have an agency manage it for you, every Home Services business should be on LSA! At RYNO Strategic Solutions, we provide our clients options for managed LSA – even including managing lead disputes on your behalf.