I haven't dove into Google ads yet but I'm thinking this year I will. Your comment right here might have made my mind up.
Do you mind sharing a little about how it works when you are running Google ads?
What is your approach when managing the ads and how did you start the ball rolling at the beginning?
-I have a Google Business Page and and a handful of good ratings/reviews. So, Ive gotten that far.
What would you say you end up spending per month? Is it always the same amount or does it change up at all each month?
If you dont mind sharing this kind of info. I really would appreciate it.
The cost of Google Local Service Ads in my area, and in our industry, has gone up from $25/phone call to $35 to $40/phone call since I began using it. It's tough! It is expensive, but man it just works. And since we are over 100 5-star Google Reviews now with our business I more often get calls from people that don't question our pricing or processes, and just want to schedule an appointment. I spend between $500 to $1500/month depending on how busy the time of year is, and if I leave the ads turned on (I can turn them on and off anytime very easily). It is our only paid advertising, all of our work comes from either Google Ads, organic Google Search, repeat business, and referral business.
Google Local Service Ads (LSA) is extremely easy to manage. Just setup the profile, get verified (they'll guide you through that), and you get calls based on what service industry you are in, and based on how you rank compared to other people in your service industry that are also advertising with Google. Plenty of good reviews and good photos helps with ranking, along with an ample budget. Make sure you speak well on the phone, don't hesitate, be natural and confident, have a good and sensible pricing system, communicate trust and quality to your prospective customers, listen attentively to their needs and concerns and address each one of them, and you should be able to close on most of the calls you get. Google is good about refunding you for bogus calls that are not within your service industry, or if people aren't on the phone for more than 30 seconds.
Again it is expensive, but it works very well, and anyone can manage it themselves easily. For a premium cleaning service provider that charges enough money to justify it, and closes on enough customers to justify it, it is great. And each passing year you will get more organic search, repeat, and referral business, allowing you to utilize paid ads less and less. So you are paying to build a foundation, and to do that more quickly than most other avenues, remember that...