How can search advertising help your local business grow?

1 Benefits of search advertising

Search advertising can help your local business grow in several ways. First, it can increase your visibility and brand awareness among your target audience, as your ads will appear on the top or bottom of the search results pages. Second, it can generate more qualified leads and conversions, as you can tailor your ads to match the keywords, locations, and devices that your customers use. Third, it can help you measure and improve your performance, as you can track and analyze your campaign data, such as impressions, clicks, costs, and conversions.

2 Types of search advertising

There are two main types of search advertising: pay-per-click (PPC) and cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM). PPC means that you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, while CPM means that you pay for every thousand times your ad is shown. PPC is more common and effective for search advertising, as it allows you to bid on specific keywords and control your budget and bids. CPM is more suitable for display advertising, which shows your ads on other websites or platforms.

3 How to create a search advertising campaign

Creating a successful search advertising campaign requires several steps. Start by selecting a search engine platform, such as Google Ads or Microsoft Advertising, and setting up an account. Next, you should define your campaign goals, budget, and bidding strategy. Keyword research is also essential for finding the most relevant and profitable keywords. Writing compelling and relevant ad copy with a clear call to action is also important. Additionally, you should create landing pages that are fast, mobile-friendly, and match your ad copy and keywords. Finally, launch your campaign and monitor your results and performance.

4 How to optimize a search advertising campaign

Optimizing a search advertising campaign requires testing different variations of ad copy, keywords, landing pages, and bids to identify which perform better. Additionally, negative keywords should be used to exclude those not related to your products or services or that attract low-quality or irrelevant traffic. Ad extensions can also be employed to add more information or features to your ads, such as phone numbers, locations, ratings, or links. Geo-targeting allows you to show your ads to specific locations or regions where your customers are located or where you operate. Finally, using remarketing enables you to show your ads to people who have already visited your website or store or who have shown interest in your products or services.

5 Best practices for search advertising

Making the most of your search advertising campaign requires following best practices, such as using relevant and specific keywords, long-tail keywords, and keyword match types. Additionally, you should ensure that your ad copy, keywords, and landing pages are aligned and relevant to each other and to your customers' needs and intents. Moreover, having a strong and clear call to action is essential; make sure you tell your customers exactly what you want them to do next - "Buy Now", "Call Us", or "Visit Our Website".