Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is often thought of as a marketing strategy only suitable for large businesses and corporations hoping to reach a national audience. Nothing could be further from the truth. PPC services can be just as effective for local businesses whose customer bases do not go beyond one or two zip codes.
The tricky thing is figuring out how to leverage PPC services for local business success. A local business owner could try to work things out himself or hire a digital marketing agency that specializes in PPC advertising.
PPC in a Nutshell
In a nutshell, PPC advertising is a form of digital advertising rooted in search engines and social media. It is so named because the majority of ads produce results when potential customers click or tap them. However, our general understanding of PPC now includes display ads on video platforms, streaming platforms, and mobile apps.
PPC gets its name from the fact that advertisers pay only when their ads are clicked. Ads are built around keywords; rates are determined by the amount an advertiser bids on the keywords of choice.
PPC Services for Local Business
Service providers can tailor PPC ads to very specific audiences. Where a nationally known brand might target customers across the United States, a local business is more likely to focus solely on customers within 50 miles or so of its location.
With that in mind, Search Engine Land’s Chris Cabaniss encourages businesses to differentiate between two types of PPC sales cycles:
- Short Cycle – Businesses with a short sales cycle tend to offer services that are needed immediately. Examples include plumbers, auto mechanics, and restaurants.
- Long Cycle – Businesses with a long sales cycle tend to offer products and services with a shelf life of more than a day or two. Examples include medical services and lawn care.
While some businesses experience both short and long sales cycles, most do one or the other. A company’s sales cycle determines how PPC services are best utilized. For example, it is generally a good idea to create a sense of urgency with PPC ads when a company’s sales cycle is short.
Emphasize Locally Relevant Keywords
Keywords are the foundation of PPC advertising inasmuch as they determine when, where, and to whom ads are displayed. Therefore, local advertisers should emphasize locally relevant keywords. Let us use Salt Lake City’s Webtek Digital Marketing as an example.
Webtek offers PPC services throughout Utah. If they were targeting Salt Lake City customers, they would use keywords relevant to the Salt Lake City area. Likewise, they would use relevant keywords when targeting customers in Provo. Their keywords would change depending on the metropolitan area they were targeting.
Create Locally Relevant Landing Pages
Creating landing pages to accept PPC traffic is standard practice. The nice thing about landing pages is that they are intended to be short term. Therefore, locally focused PPC services should take advantage of locally relevant landing pages.
A locally relevant landing page speaks to local customers in a manner that resonates with them personally. It might include local references or cultural icons. It might mention particular zip codes, landmarks, or even neighborhoods. The point is that the landing page does not target people in other locales. It targets the local audience.
PPC services are not exclusively for big business and large corporations. Even small businesses serving an exclusively local customer base can reap benefits from PPC advertising. It is simply a matter of adjusting PPC services to account for things that are locally relevant. Do that and a small business can effectively reach its audience with PPC.
