What’s The Difference Between LSAs and Local Campaigns?
Google’s advertising platform offers a wide range of options when looking to expand advertising for your business. A couple of these options include Local Service Ads and Local Ad Campaigns. But which one should your business utilize when advertising? While both these options have similarities, there are some notable differences to think about when deciding which one you are going to use. We will break down each method and highlight some of the biggest differences to look out for.
What Are Local Ad Campaigns?
Google’s advertising system offers Local Services Ads as an option for business advertising. Local Services Ads are ads that feature your business’ locations and encourage users to call or visit your store locations. When users search for nearby businesses that fit their criteria, Google.com and Google Maps may bring up search ads that showcase your business location. To get Local Ads up and running you must enable location extensions within your Google Ads account.
Local Search Ads allow you to keep from missing out on foot traffic near your location. Local Search Ads may also include an option to call your location as well. Receiving calls will increase the lead opportunities your business will get. A huge benefit to utilizing a Local Ad Campaign is the ability for potential customers to learn more about your business. The Local Ads link to your business’ location page and include beneficial information like location hours, the address to the business, photos, and customer reviews. Local Search Ads follow a standard cost-per-click charging method.
What Are Local Services Ads?
Local Service Ads, or LSAs, highlight the most important information so that customers will choose your business. Things like services offered by your business, service area your business operates in, store hours, and reviews are all highlighted by Local Service Ads. When starting a new Local Services Campaign, Google will need important business information to help build your Google business profile. The finished ads will showcase a preview of your business profile. When clicked on, the ad will show your profile to potential customers.
Local Service Ads show at the top of the page which allows a larger opportunity for lead conversion. LSAs follow a pay-per-lead method rather than the traditional pay-per-click model. This means that you only pay when someone calls your business or sends a message via Google LSAs. This allows the account budget to be reserved for people farther along in their buyer’s journey.
What Are The Biggest Differences?
One difference between these two advertising options is the placement of the ad on the Google search page. Local Service Ads are featured at the top of the page when conducting a Google search. This means that PPC ads, or in this case, Local Ad Campaigns are pushed further down on the page. As mentioned above, another notable difference between these two is the payment method. Local Ad Campaigns run on the traditional pay-per-click model that other PPC ads do. With Local Service Ads, ads run on a pay-per-lead model so you only have to pay when you get an engagement like a phone call.
Google’s PPC ads are widely available for anyone to use. As long as you have a valid Google account and some budget, anyone could realistically start running their own Google ads. However, when it comes to LSAs, there is a bit more of an application process depending on the industry that you are in. Most notably, Law Firms that want to run LSAs on Google are subjected to a thorough background check on attorneys, verification of bar standing, and paperwork. While this process may seem frustrating for some, overall it is a good way to protect Google users and other businesses within that industry.
Which Method Should Your Business Utilize?
Now that we have covered the basics, let’s answer the most important question: which advertising method should your business use? The short answer: both. When it comes down to it, it makes the most sense to expand your reach and utilize both methods. LSAs and PPC ads, while they seem very similar, do run a bit differently. This means that both methods offer unique benefits. Local Ad Campaigns give you great control over how you advertise and to who you advertise, and they generate a great number of leads every month. Local Service Ads, on the other hand, allow you to advertise and attract leads in your local area at a lower cost than PPC ads. The leads you attract using LSAs could also prove to be of higher quality than those you may attract through PPC ads.
Which Advertising Method Will You Use?
If you have the ability and budget, we suggest that you invest in both kinds of campaigns to expand your reach and open up opportunities for a higher number of quality leads. Setting up and running both of these kinds of campaigns requires time and energy to efficiently run. Here at Click Control Marketing, we have a team of experienced account managers available to help you and your business with any advertising needs. Our team can get you started with your very own LSA campaign or craft a PPC campaign that is tailored to your business. Visit our website and fill out an information form today to get started!
