Laura Moxham from YBA (Your Business Angels) helps moving and self storage companies understand how to get the best from Google Ads.

Laura was presenting at The Movers and Storers Show in the UK late last year.  Her company specialises in auditing companies’ Google Ad campaigns and websites to make sure they are performing well.  By making adjustments to the way in which an ad campaign is set up, and by ensuring that the website itself is working optimally, YBA aims to help its customers get more enquiries, at a lower cost of acquisition, and a better conversion rate.

Laura said that there are some common mistakes that companies make.  The first was not having accurate tracking to that they can spend their advertising money on what campaigns work best.  “What gets measured, gets improved,” she said. It’s also important to identify how customers are getting in touch, for example by phone, contact form, email, chatbot, etc. 

Campaigns should initially be aimed locally.  Only when the business locally has been exhausted should they be expanded.  It is possible to target Google campaigns to specific areas, not just a radius from a central point but, perhaps, a main road running through an area that gives easy access, for example, to a self storage site.  Keywords should be service specific or brand specific, and have a local focus. 

The website landing page should also clearly be targeted at the local area. They should be relevant, have a clear call to action that is obvious without scrolling, not unnecessary wordy and include appropriate endorsements such as trade association memberships, awards or customer reviews. Large pictures and videos can slow down the speed of response from websites unnecessarily. The site should be ‘thumb ready’ for mobiles.

Companies should also keep a close eye on local competitors to see if they have any incentives or seasonal offers to entice customers.  Sales offers can then be devised to compete directly if appropriate.

Finally Laura said that although Google is a useful tool, it is not ‘your best friend’.  Google is trying to make money out of you, it does not automatically work in your best interest. For this reason you should not blindly accept Google recommendations and you should turn off default settings and auto reply to ensure that you keep in control and avoid wasting ad spend.

Photo: Laura Moxham.