Editor's Note: Welcome to R&R's newest monthly column! Bullet Points with Nathan Big will appear the last week of every month on our website, and in our eNewsletter. This means, in addition to the free monthly magazine, news items, videos, podcasts, and other content, you are guaranteed at least one fresh article from our four dedicated monthly columnists each month!

First Friday of the month: Restoring Success with Lisa Lavender
Second Friday of the month: The Intentional Restorer with Jon Isaacson
Third Friday of the month: Fresh Perspective with Idan Shpizear
Fourth Friday of the month: Bullet Points Marketing Brief with Nathan Big (landing page to come!)

Each columnist brings a different area of expertise to R&R - from technical know-how, to professional and personal development, to company culture, to Xactimate estimating, to marketing tips, and everywhere in between! R&R continues to be dedicated to be the leading media brand to the restoration industry.

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Are you ready to take your restoration & remediation business to the next level in 2021?

The key is a profitable digital marketing plan that brings in new leads like clockwork.

But getting it right can be tough and mistakes are expensive. Most reading this have been burned at some point, many lack confidence in digital marketing and some flat out have given up.

I know first hand how hard it can be, but the payoff is well worth the effort. When I finally dialed it in, I was able to grow and sell my restoration business quickly.

Having a digital lead generation plan in place keeps the trucks rolling and the profits flowing. And when you are ready to sell your business, it will be very attractive to new ownership.

Every month I will give you key bullet points for generating leads online.  I will break it down into simple to understand terms and easy to implement actions.  Follow along, accelerate your leadflow and let’s make 2021 your best year ever.

JANUARY’S BULLET POINT: GOOGLE LOCAL SERVICE ADS

Google Local Service ads (L.S.A.’s) are one of the fastest and easiest ways to get affordable leads from the internet.  I am surprised by how many restoration contractors I meet that are not running L.S.A.s. If this is you, don’t be left out. 

Let me break down what they are, how they work, how to sign up and how to rank above your competition so you can start getting more leads quickly.

WHAT ARE GOOGLE LOCAL SERVICE ADS?

When someone searches for a local service provider on Google, Local Service ads show up as a group of 3 ads from businesses that Google has screened and/or guaranteed. 

They are displayed at the very top of the page before any other results, such as Pay Per Click,  or Maps.

It allows you to advertise your business and get leads in the form of direct phone calls or messages that need a follow up. 

It’s a pay-per-lead service much like HomeAdvisor where there is a flat fee charged to all businesses based on their service area. 

HOW DO GOOGLE LOCAL SERVICE ADS WORK?

Potential customers can either call or send a message by clicking on your ad. From this point on, the lead is yours to turn into a customer.

It’s that simple, but it requires you to stay active. To ensure you continue to receive messages, respond to as many of them as you can. Failure to respond will result in poor rankings and the removal of the option to send a message from the ad.

HOW DO YOU SIGN UP?

It is free to sign up and someone on your staff should be able to complete the process online.

Simply complete the “Google Local Services Application” and Google will run a background check on you & your employees. 

Once you are approved you will get a badge from Google of either “screened” or “guaranteed” that will be displayed when you begin running your ads.

To sign up go to https://adwords.google.com/localservices/signup

HOW IS YOUR AD RANK DETERMINED?

Google will rotate the ads, but just signing up isn’t enough to consistently get into the rotation and to rank ahead of your competition.  Your ranking within the 3-pack or “Local Services Unit” is determined by a number of factors.

• Your proximity to potential customers’ location.
• Your review score and the number of reviews you receive.
• Your responsiveness to customer inquiries.
• Your business hours.
• Whether or not Google receives serious or repeated complaints about your business.

Feedback from restoration & remediation companies reveals that the most important factors for getting higher rankings are the number of reviews, the review rating and your responsiveness.

Very simply put, make sure you are getting good reviews and make sure someone from your company is logging into the dashboard daily and responding to inquiries.  

The Bottom Line

Although most find it hard to get the amount of leads they need, Google Local Service ads are a great weapon to have in your online lead generation arsenal. 

My recommendation is to spend the time and money necessary to run Google Local Service ads. The quality of leads is pretty good and the cost is competitive.  Most restorers report a solid return on investment.

So don’t get left behind.  Get started today with Google Local Service ads and you  will be on track to get more leads in 2021.

CLICK HERE to learn more and register for a FREE webinar on Thursday, Feb. 4.

If you want to learn more about Google Local Service ads you can download a detailed guide at http://RestorationMarketers.com/LocalServices