PPC, SOLUTIONS 8
Brick and Mortar Businesses: How to Measure Local Actions in Google Ads
Hey, brick and mortar business owners! It’s time to talk about Google Ads.
I know what you’re thinking: Is Google Ads really necessary if I don’t sell products or services online?
As it turns out, Google Ads can seriously benefit brick and mortar businesses. The key is to use and measure local actions like a digital marketing pro.
In this YouTube video, Solutions 8 Senior Client Strategies (and actual digital marketing pro) John Moran walks us through how to make Google Ads work for your physical storefront.
First, a primer on location extensions in Google Ads.
Extensions add more information to your Google ads. This optimizes the performance of said ads, as they have more information to work with.
The result? More visibility and engagement with your ads.
There are many types of extensions, but the “location extension” is especially important for physical businesses.
When you set up location extensions, your ads are shown based on your location. This allows you to place an ad in the “Maps” area of the Google search engine results page. For example, if a user searches for “vegan food near me”—and you own a vegan café—your location will be at the top of that list.
What’s more, if you’re bidding on a keyword that a person is searching for (in this case, “vegan food”), you will still appear at the top of that list even if you’re farther away than one of your competitors.
Your name will also appear with an “ad” tag, but honestly—most people don’t notice them, anyway!
In short, local extensions are excellent for increasing your local presence. But if you want to make the best of this feature, you need to incorporate local action conversions.
What are local action conversions?
Local actions are consumer activities that are tracked by Google. Each activity is a form of engagement that’s unique to a business’s physical location. In general, they mainly happen on Google Maps and Google My Business.
Specifically, they’re called “local action conversions” when a user completes them during or after engaging with your ad.
Local action conversions include:
- Clicks to call: When a user clicks the “Call” button
- Local actions – Directions: When a user clicks the “Get directions” link
- Local actions – Website visits: When a user clicks on the link for your website
- Local actions – Other engagements: When a user completes any other interaction, like saving your ad or sharing your location
- Local actions – Orders: When a user clicks on the “Order button”
- Local actions – Menu views: When a user clicks on the “menu” button or link
Again, these actions are tracked by Google when the user completes them on a Google location-based ad after interacting with it.
Local action conversions shed light on how your ads influence in-store traffic.
Bet we have your attention now, huh?
As we mentioned earlier, location extensions boost your local presence by making your Google Ads more location based.
Local action conversions help you dig deeper into how your ads are performing (i.e., how well they’re motivating users to stop by your location). From there, you can better understand how to tweak your ads and encourage more foot traffic.
But wait – where do you find local action conversions?
You can access local action conversions in the “location extension” section of your Google Ads dashboard. Here’s how to find them:
- Click “Tool & Settings” in the menu bar.
- Under “Measurement,” click “Conversions.”
- The list of local action conversions will appear.
Solutions 8 is here to make Google Ads work for brick and mortar businesses.
These days, the average consumer heavily relies on mobile Google searches to find physical storefronts. Therefore, every brick and mortar business can benefit from using local action conversions.
If you’re unsure how to measure local actions in Google Ads, get in touch. We can help you make sense of it all while identifying areas for improvement. Call us at 480.442.7568 or complete our online form. You can also visit the Solutions 8 YouTube channel for even more Google Ads advice.
Here’s What One Of Our Customers Had To Say…
“Glad to have met the team at Solutions 8. Their creative minds have really given our business the competitive edge we needed through digital marketing. I highly recommend Solutions 8 for their creativity and personal attention, I can’t say enough about how EXCELLENT Soultions 8 is!”
Tim Lyons
Founder || ProFit Marketing Solutions
Two-time “Two Comma Club Award” Recipient
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