As a local business many of your potential customers who require the services you offer will search on Google for it. Depending on what they are looking for, their search terms will often include things like: ‘Mechanic near me,’ ‘Surry Hills dentist,’ and ‘Locksmith Blacktown.’ So how can you ensure your business is appearing at the top of your customers search on Google? By using an advertising system called Google AdWords. This system allows you to bid on search terms (known as keywords) which will make it possible for your corresponding text ads to appear on the top of the Google search page, connecting you to your customers! Tip: Each keyword should have corresponding text ads. It would be of great benefit if you also included your keyword in the headline of your text ad. Further information on text ads can be found here. In this example, the keyword is: ‘Pink Slip Marrickville’ Being a local business wanting more phone calls, you need to keep your Google AdWords campaigns relevant to your local area. There a few simple things to keep in mind when setting up your campaigns to do so:   You are a local business, so only target your local area Within the location settings of your campaigns, you can target by radius around the address of your business. Many of the local businesses we work with have a radius targeting of 1 – 3 km. Maximising your spend in your local area ensures your text ads only appear to those who are close to your business and will save you a lot of money on people searching for a local service who are too far from your business to consider you local. This also increases the relevance of the customers who call your business. More information on radius targeting can be found here. Super duper tip: Within the location options (advanced) of your campaign, change the target to “People in my targeted location.” This setting only makes your text ads eligible to be seen by potential customers who are in your targeted location. The map shown below is a radius targeting of 2km around Surry Hills and covers approximately 100,000 potential customers.

Select your keywords carefully One of the most important factors that determines the success of your campaigns is the keywords you choose to advertise on. If you were a customer looking for the service your business provided in your local area, what would you search for? Taking a local mechanic based in Surry Hills as an example, the keywords could include:

• Mechanic Surry Hills
• Auto Services Surry Hills
• Pink Slip Surry Hills
• Tyre Repair Surry Hills

The keyword structure is simple: Service + Local Location This structure can be used for any local business in any area where relevant. Also, do not be shy to target neighbouring suburbs if they are within the radius targeting you have stipulated. If the mechanic based in Surry Hills has a radius targeting of 2 km set, they also have the option to target the suburb Redfern, using the same structure, the keywords would now be:

• Mechanic Redfern
• Auto Services Redfern
• Pink Slip Redfern
• Tyre Repair Redfern

Free Tips: As long as it is relevant and local, go for it! Also, choose your keyword match types carefully.   Enable call extensions Including your phone number with your text ads may have a dramatic effect on the number of phone calls you receive. To enable this feature, simply add a call extension to your campaigns. To read more on call extensions, click here. Including your keywords in the headline of your text ads, targeting your local area, carefully selecting your keywords, and enabling call extensions will all contribute to how many times your phone rings and will lift the overall performance of your account.   Give it a try and if you need any help, we are only a phone call away 🙂