One of Google’s newest advertising offerings, the Google Guaranteed program, offers distinct local service ads for small businesses and contractors. These ads are tremendously beneficial to both customers and workers alike, because they connect experienced and trusted businesses with real clients in need of help, supported with a money back guarantee. Any business in the service industry, that is eligible for the program, will see benefits from these advertisements.

The Service ads will always appear at the top of the page and above all other advertisements during a related google search, but to get your business on these ads will take some extra steps! Google will require Background Checks, Insurance Verification and Trusted Reviews from you and your business in order to participate in the program.

Before we begin the registration process, it is essential to recognize what Google Guaranteed is and who it is made for. It is also important to understand if the benefits that come with this program align with the needs of your business. The local service ads are unique, because they offer targeted advertising that only charges the business if a real lead is made. That’s right, for this program you do not have to pay per click or views, but only if a potential client calls or messages you through the ad. This program is highly cost-effective for small businesses and is necessary to have an advantage over competitors who are not featured in the Service Ads.

 First, make sure your business qualifies for the program by checking if your practice is eligible in your country, on the Local Service Support Page. After, prepare your business page for an assessment from Google, before you submit an application. This means: Ensure your business has a License and Insurance, maintain and verify your Google My Business profile, and gain 5 star reviews from as many satisfied customers as you can and respond to any negative comments. Google is prepared to offer customers of this program a money back guarantee, up to ~$2,000, so they need to ensure that your business is legitimate and trustworthy, show them this!

When you are ready to Create Google Local Service Ads, log into your Google account and head to Google Local Service Ads. Select get started and enter the information of your business and location. 

Tips!

One important tip is to set the “Total Number of Fieldworkers” to “0”, even if you have more than that. Reason being, Google will require the same amount in background depending on the number you put for this question. You can always add more fieldworkers later on, but for now, let’s focus on getting verified as quickly and hassle free as possible. 

Address

If your contracting business does not have a physical location or store, It is recommended to use your home address as the address of your business. This will lead to a higher trust with Google for verification purposes as well as have your Google Business Profile rank higher in search results. Select “Yes” for “Is this a location customers can visit”, you do not actually have to conduct any business at this address with clients, but selecting this will be beneficial to your account. 

Services

Select the service areas you work in, make sure to be accurate with this because you must be able to do work in all zip codes you select or you will lose money. Next, select all of the Services your business offers, once again be precise, you must be able to do all work you select. This can be changed later on as well. After you enter your hours and review your advertisement example, you will need to upload the documentation for:

• Proof of Insurance
• Background Check
• Customer Reviews
• Budget
• Billing information

Proof of Insurance

Upload your insurance documents here. Google checks for insurance so that customers can rest easy knowing they’ve hired a trusted professional. You can also learn more about why Insurance is required for local service advertising. Keep in mind that the verification of insurance can take up to two days, because a real team member will review your business manually.

Background Check

Before you complete this step, be certain that you selected “0” for fieldworkers on the previous pages, unless you want this process to take longer and be more expensive. When you are ready, you will have to do the background check through a trusted third party company, Evident. 

Budget

Next, select your budget, the standard budgets are $50/week, $75/week and $100/week. Make sure you have enough resources to be able to handle the amount of leads and jobs you receive when determining how much money to allocate for advertising. For instance, at $100/week you can expect 7 to 20 leads per week.. If your ad does well and you receive 20 leads offering work, you must be able to fulfill these orders or the money spent on the ad will be wasted. It is recommended to start your budget off small at first if you are new to using ads on Google, this can always be increased later. You can also create a customized budget if needed.

Now, You’re ready to start advertising, enter your billing information and once you’re verified the ads will run!

FAQs

Can I have Multiple Google Local Service Ads accounts and Locations?

While you can have more than one Google Local Services Ads account and location, each location needs to have its own address and be verified by our team.

How do I add users to my account?

To add users, sign in to your account on ads.google.com using the same email and password associated with your Local Services Ads account, find the grey toolbar, select the wrench icon, then select Account Access. Here you can add or remove users.

How can I improve my Ad Ranking on Google Local Services Ads?

Your ranking is determined by several factors that help Google match local businesses with customers. Factors that can affect your ranking are:

• Your proximity to potential customers’ locations
• Your review score and the number of reviews you receive
• Your responsiveness to customer inquiries and requests
• Your business hours
• Whether or not we’ve received serious or repeated complaints about your business

Now You should know everything you need to Create Google Local Service Ads.

You should also have access to a Local Service Profile where you can check if you have been verified, edit all of the information you’ve given, and view all of the new leads that your ads have earned! Google Local Service Ads can give a significant competitive advantage to local small businesses looking to expand their marketing online. An opportunity like this, could be what takes your business to the next level, if you’re ready to take on that challenge! For more information about ads on Google, Social Media, and Digital Marketing; check out more from our blog:

How to Increase Google Reviews and SEO

8 Benefits of Advertising with Google

How to Verify Your Google My Business Profile (GMB Verification)

Need more help? No worries, at Momentum Digital, we know the ins and outs of Digital Marketing, Social Media, SEO and more —– so contact us today!