Google Ads for a local service business: a complete setup guide

Step 1: decide the goal and the budget

Decide what an enquiry is worth before you decide what to spend. Work backwards from the customers you want, as in my guide to setting a Google Ads budget. Google's Keyword Planner gives estimated search volumes and costs to help, though Google notes that real performance depends on your bid, budget, ad quality, location targeting and industry.¹

Step 2: get the location right

Location targeting matters more for a local business than almost anything else. Google lets you target countries, regions, cities, postcodes, or a radius around a location, with a minimum radius of 1 km.² A few points from Google's guidance:

The recommended setting, "Presence or interest", reaches people who are in your target area and people who show interest in it. "Presence only" is suggested for more sensitive categories.²
Very small radii may mean your ads show intermittently or not at all.²
Location targeting is not 100 percent accurate, so check where your enquiries actually come from.²

For most New Zealand service businesses, targeting the towns or suburbs you genuinely serve is better than a country-wide setting.

Step 3: choose keywords that show buying intent

Keywords are the words and phrases used to match your ads to what people search.³ Start with the service plus the place, for example "emergency plumber Christchurch", and a handful of close variations. Google recommends keywords of two to three words and grouping similar ones into themed ad groups.³

Match types control how closely a search must resemble your keyword: exact match shows only for searches with the same meaning, phrase match for searches that include the keyword's meaning, and broad match, the default, for related searches.³ For a small budget, tighter matches waste less.

Step 4: add negative keywords from the start

Negative keywords stop your ads showing for searches that contain excluded terms.⁴ Before you launch, exclude the obvious: jobs, courses, free, DIY. Then check the search terms report every week and add anything irrelevant.⁵ My guide to negative keywords shows the routine.

Step 5: write ads that match the search

Responsive search ads let you supply up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions, with a minimum of 3 headlines and 2 descriptions, and Google tests combinations to find what works.⁶ Google's best practice includes writing unique, benefit-focused headlines, including keywords where possible, and pinning only one or two essential lines.⁶ Write about the service, the place and the next step. See how to write headlines that get clicks.

Step 6: send people to the right page

The page should match the ad: same service, same place, one clear action. Google's Quality Score, a diagnostic that rates keywords from 1 to 10, includes landing page experience, alongside expected click-through rate and ad relevance.⁷ Google stresses it is a diagnostic and not something to chase for its own sake, and that it is not an input in the auction.⁷ Treat it as a hint about where to improve.

Step 7: track enquiries from day one

Google says conversions let you see which keywords and ads perform best and let automated bidding optimise towards real results.⁸ For a service business that means tracking enquiry forms and calls. Set it up before you spend a dollar. My guide to conversion tracking covers it.

Step 8: a weekly routine

Check enquiries and cost per enquiry, not just clicks.
Open the search terms report and add negative keywords.
Look at which keywords and locations brought enquiries and which only brought clicks.
Change one thing at a time and write down what you changed.
Review the landing page if clicks are healthy but enquiries are not.

Mistakes that cost the most

Targeting a whole country or region you do not serve.
Using only broad keywords with no negatives.
Sending all ads to the home page.
No tracking, so you cannot tell what works.
Changing everything every few days.
Judging results too early. Give a campaign a few weeks of data.

When to bring in help

If you are spending real money and cannot say what each enquiry costs, an audit usually pays for itself quickly. See how I run ads, or say hello.

References

Use Keyword Planner. Google Ads Help.
Target ads to geographic locations. Google Ads Help.
About keywords in Search Network campaigns. Google Ads Help.
About negative keywords. Google Ads Help.
About the search terms report. Google Ads Help.
About Responsive Search Ads. Google Ads Help.
About Quality Score for Search campaigns. Google Ads Help.
About conversion measurement. Google Ads Help.