Negative Keywords and Negative Locations Positively Save You Money
If you have a successful lockout or locksmith business you are probably already using Google Adwords. If not, you should be. Adwords is Google's pay-per-click advertising (ads that show up at the top of their search screens). We started using Adwords (and stopped advertising in the yellow pages) about five years ago and never looked back. Phone books may still have some benefit for a full service locksmith company, but a mobile "lockout-only" service should consider it a waste of money. No one is looking for a phone book when they lock their keys in their car. They just aren't. They are grabbing the nearest computer, ipad or smart phone and Googling for assistance (or calling a friend to do one of the above).
We spend right around $1000 a month on our current campaigns. It used to be much higher but, through the years (and the many Google "enhancements"), you eventually learn a trick or two that can save you a bit of money over time. Sometimes quite a bit of money. And while you can learn a lot from the many (many) pages and wealth of online instructions for setting up a "successful advertising campaign", nothing gets you up to speed faster than the traditional "school of hard knocks".
Nothing gets your attention quicker than a $30 "click" for a call asking for help with something you don't even do (can you open my grandma's safe?). Get a few of those clicks in a day and you'll quickly realize why Google's stock price is currently over $1000 per share (GOOG $1036.24, yesterday's close). Very frustrating; been there and done that. But remember, it's all about your average cost per click (CPC) and, done properly, Adwords can provide a much higher return and pin-point control of your advertising dollars than any other form of advertising. Don't let the SEO/SEM salespeople fool you with their promises of "top billing". They may be able to help you get ahead organically, but nothing beats an ad at the top of the search page. And nothing gets you on top of the Google search page but Adwords. (Bing never made my phone ring).
One of the biggest "tips" we have implemented is the use of negative keywords and negative locations.
Don't want those calls asking you to unlock grandma's safe? Add "safe" and "unlock safe" to your list of negative keywords. This ensures that when someone searches Google for "unlock my safe", your ad does not appear. We currently have a (growing) list of negative keywords (over 100), including words like "how" (no more "how to unlock a car" calls) and "learn" (no more "learn to be a locksmith" calls). You get the picture.
Same goes with negative locations. Why show your ad in areas that you do not even cover, only to have a telemarketer click your ad to call and try to sell you something you don't need (like SEO/SEM plans)? Or a click-happy competitor? I have checked Google "search" while far away on vacation and was surprised to see pay-per-click ads for companies hundreds of miles away. Granted, some larger, full-service companies may see value in multiple location settings. But for a smaller, lockout-only service in a particular city, no good can come from it. Even though you may not have included these other locations in your settings, it is wise to "block" areas you do not want your ads to show. Yes, you may miss the very occasional "out-of-town search to help a friend" in your area, but those calls are few and far between and well worth missing to avoid the possibility of bad calls.
We list every state (other than our's, obviously :) as a negative location. Then include nearby cities within our state that we do not cover. This cut's down on errant calls from areas you do not service and, therefore, your advertising costs. Remember, it's not only about generating good clicks but also avoiding bad clicks that will help to maximize your bottom line.
Need help setting up a Google Adwords account for your lockout or locksmith service?
Check out our new book “Breaking Into Cars for a Living”, now available for kindle @ www.amazon.com/dp/B00FG8S1XE or visit us @ www.MrQuickPick.com.
www.QuickPick.net. www.QuickPickLockout.com.
We spend right around $1000 a month on our current campaigns. It used to be much higher but, through the years (and the many Google "enhancements"), you eventually learn a trick or two that can save you a bit of money over time. Sometimes quite a bit of money. And while you can learn a lot from the many (many) pages and wealth of online instructions for setting up a "successful advertising campaign", nothing gets you up to speed faster than the traditional "school of hard knocks".
Nothing gets your attention quicker than a $30 "click" for a call asking for help with something you don't even do (can you open my grandma's safe?). Get a few of those clicks in a day and you'll quickly realize why Google's stock price is currently over $1000 per share (GOOG $1036.24, yesterday's close). Very frustrating; been there and done that. But remember, it's all about your average cost per click (CPC) and, done properly, Adwords can provide a much higher return and pin-point control of your advertising dollars than any other form of advertising. Don't let the SEO/SEM salespeople fool you with their promises of "top billing". They may be able to help you get ahead organically, but nothing beats an ad at the top of the search page. And nothing gets you on top of the Google search page but Adwords. (Bing never made my phone ring).
One of the biggest "tips" we have implemented is the use of negative keywords and negative locations.
Don't want those calls asking you to unlock grandma's safe? Add "safe" and "unlock safe" to your list of negative keywords. This ensures that when someone searches Google for "unlock my safe", your ad does not appear. We currently have a (growing) list of negative keywords (over 100), including words like "how" (no more "how to unlock a car" calls) and "learn" (no more "learn to be a locksmith" calls). You get the picture.
Same goes with negative locations. Why show your ad in areas that you do not even cover, only to have a telemarketer click your ad to call and try to sell you something you don't need (like SEO/SEM plans)? Or a click-happy competitor? I have checked Google "search" while far away on vacation and was surprised to see pay-per-click ads for companies hundreds of miles away. Granted, some larger, full-service companies may see value in multiple location settings. But for a smaller, lockout-only service in a particular city, no good can come from it. Even though you may not have included these other locations in your settings, it is wise to "block" areas you do not want your ads to show. Yes, you may miss the very occasional "out-of-town search to help a friend" in your area, but those calls are few and far between and well worth missing to avoid the possibility of bad calls.
We list every state (other than our's, obviously :) as a negative location. Then include nearby cities within our state that we do not cover. This cut's down on errant calls from areas you do not service and, therefore, your advertising costs. Remember, it's not only about generating good clicks but also avoiding bad clicks that will help to maximize your bottom line.
Need help setting up a Google Adwords account for your lockout or locksmith service?
Check out our new book “Breaking Into Cars for a Living”, now available for kindle @ www.amazon.com/dp/B00FG8S1XE or visit us @ www.MrQuickPick.com.
www.QuickPick.net. www.QuickPickLockout.com.
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