Local Services Ads (LSAs) Best Practice
What Are LSAs?
Local Services Ads (LSAs) are a form of pay-per-lead search advertising. LSAs are an efficient way to reach customers searching for local business services at the top of the Google search results page. The position of your ad on the search results page can influence whether or not the customer chooses you to provide them a service.
For more information on Local Services Ads, visit our blog post, “Everything You Need To Know About LSAs."
Factors That Affect LSAs Ranking and Performance
All LSAs are displayed based on an auction, with the highest-ranked ads appearing first. The auction is used to order profiles for a given search, factoring in both the bid and overall profile quality.
Key factors that influence ad ranking and profile quality include:
Bid
A bid is the maximum amount you are willing to pay for a lead, although at times, you may pay less. Using an automated bidding strategy (maximize leads) allows Google to set your bid, ensuring you get the most leads within your budget. This is generally recommended over manual bidding (max per lead). Those using the automated bidding strategy typically get more leads than those with similar quality and budgets who choose manual bidding.
Reach/Availability
Allowing customers to reach your business through various methods can improve performance. Enabling messaging, for example, is a great way to bridge the gap when you are unable to take phone calls (outside of business hours) or when a potential client prefers to reach out without the urgency of a phone call.
Relevance
The order in which your ad appears for a customer’s search depends on how relevant your business is to that search. Factors such as the services you provide, the information in your business bio, the quality of images used, and elements like the time of the search, location, and more can influence this. A great way to improve relevance for your business vertical is to ensure that terms customers typically search are utilized throughout your business bio.
Responsiveness
How consistently and timely you respond to customers is crucial for acquiring clients. Missing calls from potential clients can negatively impact your ad ranking. A response rate below 70% is a concern for LSAs performance. It is recommended that you strive for at least an 80% response rate to remain competitive and outperform others competing for ad space.
Reviews
Both the star rating and the frequency of positive Google reviews are crucial for improving your LSAs ranking. Encouraging satisfied customers—both past and current—to leave reviews of your business is a great way not only to appear at the top of the results, but also to build credibility online.
Verification Status
Firms that provide professional services go through a verification process that helps build trust online. Obtaining a Google badge of trust like Google Screened or Google Guaranteed will impact where your ads appear on the search results page. Accounts with these badges rank higher than those that do not have them. For legal verticals, all active law licenses are verified by Local Services to achieve the Google Screened badge.
Summary
Local Services Ads are an effective way to get your offering in front of potential customers. However, simply setting up LSAs isn't enough. To get the most out of Local Services Ads for your business, it’s important to ensure you are set up for success by following the recommendations above. By ensuring your bid and profile quality are optimized, you can be confident your business is appearing in the best possible way for your audience. If you have questions about how to improve your LSAs performance, talk to an Élan Google Ads Expert today.