IF YOU AIN’T first, you’re last.”
Thank you, Ricky Bobby, for that piece of timeless wisdom that has been both the boundless ambition and the despairing bane of marketers and business owners who want to rank above competitors on Google.
Finally, for pet care businesses, it’s easier than ever. No, I’m not talking about 1,500 words of keyword-optimized blog posts every week, painstakingly correcting minute details on your website’s back end, or making sure your social media pages and business listings all have the exact same information.
Google’s recent update expanded its Local Services Ads to include pet care businesses. Local Services Ads are an easy, efficient way to get your pet care business noticed online. These special kinds of Google Ads are available for:
- Pet boarders
- Pet groomers
- Pet trainers
- Veterinarians
- Animal shelters
- Pet adoption organizations
What’s so special about these ads? First, they are “pay-per-lead” and appear at the top of search results, above organic results and traditional Google ads. This means you will show up higher than every other type of ad, and you don’t pay for clicks or impressions — you only pay if a client calls, books or messages you directly through the ad.
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Second, these types of ads are specifically designed to get in front of ready-to-book searchers who are actively looking for pet care services in their area. They take the hard work and confusion out of setting up a Google Ad campaign and doing the keyword research, testing and optimization to run it properly. Google will automatically generate your ad based on your reviews, ratings, response rate, and proximity to the person searching.
To access Local Services Ads, advertisers go through a screening process to get “Google Screened.” This screening process, which starts at ads.google.com/local-services-ads, includes a combination of background checks, license checks, and insurance checks depending on business type and location.
Once you’ve been approved, you’ll be able to finish setting up your Google Local Services Ads Profile by adding your weekly budget, business hours, service areas and accepted job types.
Now that your profile is complete, you can launch your Local Services Ads to begin collecting fresh leads. Your incoming leads will be managed by visiting google.com/homeservices/inbox. You’ll have options on how to respond to interested leads: reply by message, call based on the phone number they listed or decline the request.
Since you’re charged per lead instead of per click, increasing or decreasing your budget will directly impact the number of leads you receive.
Even with these new Local Services Ads, there’s a limited number of results shown on the search engine results page — only three will appear on desktop, two on mobile and one through Google Assistant. Factors that influence ranking include:
- Your proximity to the searcher’s location
- Your business hours
- The number of serious or repeated complaints about your business
- The number of reviews you receive and your review score
- Your response time
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While the first two are set per your business information, you can put effort into the others to boost your ad’s rankings in a competitive market. You can also opt to “Maximize Leads,” which lets Google set your bid to get the most leads for your budget. Keep an eye on your ROI, though.
If you’re a pet care business looking for new clients, consider these ads. They’re easy to set up, the “Google Screened” badge adds an easily visible level of verification, and conversion rates for these leads are significantly higher than those of a standard search ad. Take advantage of this powerful tool and start seeing quick results.