Small businesses usually have a small budget for PPC (pay per click) and other marketing efforts online. This means you can still do everything, but just have to be extremely careful about where and how your resources are being used. Many small businesses benefit from using PPC on Google and Bing to drive leads. By using pay per click, your ads are right up at the top of the search results page and customers can click on your ad and go directly to your site. Every time a potential customer clicks, you pay. It can be extremely rewarding and provide a decent ROI (return on investment) if done correctly. Here are a few tips to help make sure your PPC campaigns are working effectively.
Keyword Targeting
Make sure your keywords are for repair and service, not for models and makes of cars or for buying and selling cars. Be specific and make sure your keywords are accurately representing the work that your auto service repair shop performs. Quality traffic is much more important than quantity of traffic and it will save your business lots of money as well.
Long tail keywords are more specific and cheaper compared to shorter length keywords. This means instead of “auto service” as a keyword try using “auto service in dallas” or “auto service repair shop”. This is more specific and will help bring in better traffic. Adding in local keywords is also beneficial for local businesses, especially when a consumer uses the city as part of their search.
Remember even though a click can cost you and you may feel like you are spending a lot of money, don’t forget what each customer is worth to you. Even though clicks may cost a couple dollars apiece, every time someone brings their car in to get it fixed, it can bring hundreds of dollars in revenue.
Local Geo Targeting
When you set up your PPC campaigns, remember that you are a LOCAL business serving LOCAL customers. This means when you set your geo targeting think NEARBY. You can choose ZIP codes, cities, or radius targeting to geo target your ads. Keep your targeting in a close range, most potential customers usually don’t want to drive a long distance to have their car serviced.
Call Ad Extensions
Add that call button! Add call extensions to campaigns, especially on mobile campaigns. This lets the customer call directly from your ad when they click ‘call now’. This is a great way to get conversions from your ad.
You can now also make call-only campaigns, but this is strictly for mobile devices that can make phone calls. This type of campaign lets consumers call your business directly when clicked but does not lead them to your website.
Scheduling Your Ads
You can schedule your ads so they will just show up during business hours. This way when people do call your business from your ad, they can speak with a live person rather than leaving a message or hanging up. This will help turn your clicks into sales.
Don’t Forget
Remember that SEO is extremely important as well. While you get your SEO started and while you wait for it to start ranking on Google, PPC is a great way to immediately start getting visibility for your website on Google. Even when your website does start ranking in SEO, it is important to have both, then you will have optimum representation on Google for your auto repair shop.
