What are the best practices for using SEM data to improve local search performance?

1 Understand your local search intent

One of the first steps to improving your local search performance is to understand the search intent of your potential customers. Search intent is the goal or purpose behind a search query, such as finding information, comparing options, or making a purchase. By analyzing your SEM data, you can see what keywords and phrases your local audience is using, how they interact with your ads and website, and what actions they take after clicking. This can help you create more relevant and engaging content, ads, and landing pages that match their intent and solve their problems.

2 Segment your local search data

Another best practice for using SEM data to improve your local search performance is to segment your data by different criteria, such as location, device, time, and audience. Segmenting your data can help you discover patterns, trends, and opportunities that are specific to your local market and target customers. For example, you can see how your ads and website perform in different cities, regions, or zip codes, how different devices affect your conversion rates, how seasonality or events influence your demand, and how different demographics or interests respond to your offers.

3 Optimize your local search strategy

Once you have a clear understanding of your local search intent and data, you can use it to optimize your local search strategy and tactics. For example, you can use your SEM data to determine the best keywords and bids for your local campaigns, based on factors such as relevance, volume, competition, and profitability. Additionally, you can create ad copy and headlines that emphasize your unique value proposition, local relevance, and call to action. Moreover, you should design landing pages that are optimized for local search by including clear and consistent information, location-specific elements, and easy navigation. Lastly, track and measure your local search performance with metrics such as impressions, clicks, conversions, cost per click, return on ad spend, and local rankings.

4 Test and experiment with your local search campaigns

Finally, one of the best practices for using SEM data to improve your local search performance is to test and experiment with different elements of your local search campaigns, such as keywords, ads, landing pages, and offers. By testing different variations and comparing their results, you can find out what works best for your local audience and optimize your campaigns accordingly. You can use tools such as Google Ads' experiments or Google Optimize to run split tests or multivariate tests on your local search campaigns and analyze their impact on your performance.

Using SEM data to improve your local search performance can help you reach more customers, increase your conversions, and grow your business. By following these best practices, you can leverage your SEM data to create and optimize effective local search campaigns that match your audience's intent and needs.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?