Google Ads for Local Businesses: A Complete Setup Guide

Setting up Google Ads for a national e-commerce site is one thing. Setting it up for a local plumber, restaurant, dentist, or solicitor is different. The settings, the campaign structure, the bidding, the ad formats all need to be configured for local intent.

This is the complete setup guide for local service businesses. Follow it top to bottom and you will have a Google Ads account that drives local enquiries within 14 days.

Step 1: Get the Foundations Right

Before you create a single campaign, three things have to be in place:

1. Conversion tracking installed. Form submissions, phone calls (from website and from call extensions), and key page views. Without conversion tracking, you cannot optimise.
2. Google Business Profile claimed and verified. This unlocks Local Extensions and improves overall Google Ads performance.
3. A landing page that converts. A homepage rarely works. A dedicated landing page for the service you advertise will lift conversion rate 50 to 200 percent.

Step 2: Choose the Right Campaign Type

For local services, three campaign types are worth using:

Type	Best For
Search	The foundation. People searching for your service get your ads.
Local Services Ads (LSA)	For eligible trades (plumbers, electricians, etc). Pay per lead, not per click. Top of page placement.
Performance Max	Add later, once Search is producing leads and you have at least 30 conversions a month.

Avoid Smart Campaigns. They take control away and rarely outperform a well set up Search campaign.

Step 3: Set Up Geographic Targeting

This is where most local accounts fail. The default geographic settings are too loose. Specific changes to make:

• Set your target locations to specific towns, postcodes, or a radius around your premises.
• Open Location Options and change "Target" from "Presence or interest" to "Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations".
• Change "Exclude" from default to "Presence: People in your excluded locations".
• Exclude locations you do not serve, even if they border your service area. Otherwise you pay for clicks from outside your patch.

Step 4: Build a Local Keyword List

Keyword research for local is simpler than general PPC. Three types of keywords matter:

• Service plus location: "plumber Nottingham", "boiler repair Mansfield"
• Service plus near me: Google handles "near me" through location targeting, so you do not need to bid on the literal phrase
• Emergency or urgent: "emergency plumber", "24 hour locksmith"

Avoid generic service keywords without location ("plumber"). These trigger too widely and your location targeting will not perfectly filter.

Step 5: Write Local Search Ads

Local search ads need three things in the copy:

1. The location, in the headline. "Boiler Repair in Nottingham" beats "Boiler Repair".
2. A specific call to action. "Get a Free Quote" beats "Contact Us".
3. A trust signal. Star rating, years in business, key accreditation.

Use Responsive Search Ads with 10 to 15 headlines. Pin the location and main service in headlines 1 and 2 so they always show.

Step 6: Add the Right Extensions

Ad extensions are free and lift click through rate 10 to 25 percent. For local businesses, prioritise:

Step 7: Bidding Strategy

For a new local Google Ads account, start with Manual CPC. Set a max bid based on what you can afford per click.

A simple model:

• Target cost per lead: £30
• Conversion rate (clicks to leads): 5 percent
• Max CPC = Target CPL x Conversion Rate = £30 x 5% = £1.50

Once you have 15 conversions in 30 days, switch to Maximise Conversions. Once you have 30 conversions in 30 days, add Target CPA at your current average.

Step 8: Set Schedule and Devices

Local services have natural busy hours. Look at your historical enquiries:

• Are most enquiries on weekdays? Bid more during 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday.
• Are emergencies common at night? Consider a separate "out of hours" campaign with different ad copy.
• What devices are converting? Most local services see 70 to 85 percent mobile conversions. Bid up on mobile.

Step 9: Add Negative Keywords on Day One

Before you turn the campaign on, add a baseline negative list. For most local services:

• "free", "DIY", "jobs", "salary", "courses", "training"
• Names of other towns or cities you do not serve
• Industry job hunter terms ("apprenticeship", "vacancy")

Step 10: Monitor and Iterate

For the first 30 days, check the account at least twice a week. Look at:

1. Search Terms Report. Add new negatives every visit.
2. Top performing keywords. Bid up on the ones converting.
3. Click through rate on ads. If below 4 percent, rewrite ad copy.
4. Conversion rate on landing page. If below 3 percent, the page is the issue.