Why You Should Be Using Local Ads
Did you know that 64 percent of in-store purchases are influenced by digital media? Mobile usage is a big driver of this phenomenon, too. Most people prefer to check online, especially using their smartphones, before making shopping decisions. And this is a smart decision in and of itself.
Doing so adds convenience to the shopping experience. Saving gas money is just one of the ways this practice serves consumers. It helps ensure that a shopper gets what he or she wants when visiting a store for a particular product(s). But this can’t happen without locally driven search marketing practices tied to effective ads.
Consumers need to rely on local ads to make wise shopping decisions that promise the most bang for their buck. Here are a few reasons why you should prioritize and optimize these search marketing elements.
Local inventory ads
Local inventory ads showcase your products and store information to nearby shoppers searching with Google. Google is so committed to boosting advertisers’ search marketing experience by implementing the “search items at this store” feature back in July. It’s available in the Knowledge Panel and Google Map results for participating retailers.
Clicking the link feature takes users to the advertiser’s local inventory product feed, showing all available inventory. The page for each product listing is hosted by Google and includes map details. These capabilities are available on mobile devices.
Local search ads
Local search ads help advertisers engage with consumers who are making location-related searches on Google. To help this process run smoothly, Google has been testing new 4-pack local ads. This pack of local ads displays up to four nearby businesses for local mobile search queries.
Changing the local ad pack style increases the search-friendliness of local businesses, by moving beyond 3-pack local ads. Fortunately, these local ad packs can be shown together for even more search results, optimizing the search marketing experience. On the other hand, this update may modify your organic and AdWords search results.
Local ads and mobile traffic
Local ads and mobile traffic are an inseparable pair. In fact, over 75 percent of people who conduct a local search on a smartphone visit a business within 24 hours. A little under 30 percent of those searches result in a purchase. What does this mean for your search marketing mobile practices?
It means you need to create a fast, consistent mobile experience for your users. Having a clunky or slow mobile site could lead users to abandon it and head for competitors. On average, 29 percent of people using smartphones resort to this outcome. In addition to having a speedy mobile site, provide discounts and multiple fulfillment options at checkout.
Local benefits during holiday seasons
Since it’s true people shop more during the holiday seasons, you can expect a boost in local searches. This makes for a more profitable search marketing journey. For example, Black Friday shopping is much less of a hassle when interacting with relevant local ads about trending products.
Knowledge about the local availability of products can help shoppers avoid unnecessary trips to overcrowded stores. Besides, who wants to endure a stampede of eager shoppers waiting to get their hands on the same coffee maker? What’s worse is not knowing where else to go after all the coffee makers are gone before snagging one.
Convinced that local ads need to be a part of your search marketing strategy? Hopefully, you are by now. Local ads increase the probability that someone will purchase from your business and do so regularly. Want to learn more about bridging the gap between online and offline shopping? Read our POV: Search-to-Store Attribution: Solving the Missing Link.
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