What is PPC for Landscapers?
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising helps landscaping businesses reach new customers online. The use of ppc advertising is an extremely effective digital marketing strategy for landscaper marketing to bring in leads quickly and to learn about the local market for your landscaping services.
How PPC Works
With pay per click ads, you only pay when someone clicks on your ads. When potential clients click on your ad, you’ll have the ability to expose them to your marketing message. Usually this involves sending prospects who click to your website where you’ll have the opportunity to convert those prospects into paying customers who are willing to pay for the landscaping service that you are advertising for.
Where Landscape Contractors PPC ads May Appear
PPC Advertising on Search Engines
When using PPC to generate online marketing leads for your landscape renovation business, search engines will generally yield the best results. This means running PPC ads on the Google and Microsoft Bing search engines.
PPC ads show up on search engines when people search for landscaping services that your landscaping company offers.
In the screenshot below, you can see Microsoft PPC ads for a search “landscaping retaining wall construction near me” when conducting a search on the Microsoft Bing search engine. Ads dominate the search results for many queries on both Google and Bing search engines to the point that you have to scroll down to move past the ads.
A search for landscaping services on the Bing Search Engine is dominated by PPC Ads at the top of the results
PPC Ads in Other Locations (Avoid)
In addition to search engines, PPC ads can also appear on regular websites – usually along the right hand column or sometimes in between paragraphs on websites. They appear as clickable text. You may also see PPC ads on Social Media websites.
At least when starting to run landscaping ads, avoid running PPC ads on “search partners” or the “Display Network” as your best chance for getting a solid return on investment on PPC is to stick to search engines only (at least to start).
Benefits of PPC for Landscaping Businesses
Direct Response Marketing = Instant Landscaping Leads
PPC ads are a type of direct response marketing. On search engines, the ads put your landscaping business in front of residential homeowners who are desperately in need of your landscaping services at that moment.
With home services like landscaping, the more urgent the nature of the service that you provide, the more likely it is that you’ll get an immediate call. A homeowner who searches for “french drains” after heavy rain is extremely motivated to call you to fix their problem right now. On the other hand, someone who is looking for “backyard landscaping ideas” is much less likely to call you immediately for your landscaping services.
Precise Targeting Options
With search engine marketing, you can target your PPC ads by location, time of day, and device. This helps you reach the right customers at the right time.
Know Your ROI
Tracking your return on investment is easy with PPC. You’ll know how many leads and sales come from your ads. You’ll even know which ad campaigns are performing best. As an example if your landscape maintenance services ads are generating a lot of leads at a good price and your landscape design services ads are burning through a lot of ad spend without generating customers, you’ll know where to best focus your limited marketing resources.
Your Landscaping PPC Campaign
A strong PPC plan can boost the bottom line of your landscaping company. Let’s look at key steps to create winning campaigns. Note this is an overview of how landscapers can set up ad campaigns on Microsoft and Google. For a step by step guide on how to set up PPC for Google, check out our Google Ads for Landscapers article.
Keyword Research and Selection
Start with thorough keyword research. Use our landscaping keywords list for landscapers as well as tools like Google Keyword Planner to find terms people use when looking for landscaping services. Pick a mix of broad and specific keywords. Include phrases like “lawn care near me” or “garden design services.” Don’t forget long-tail keywords such as “drought-resistant landscaping ideas.”
Google’s Keyword Planner Comes up with a List of Suggested Keywords Based on Seed Keywords that You Provide
Make a list of negative keywords too. These stop your ads from showing for unrelated searches. Words like “free” or “DIY” might not fit your business goals. Be sure to check out our downloadable list of over 3,500 negative keywords that are meant to protect your advertising budget.
Once you have relevant keywords, you’ll group similar keywords into tight themes. This helps you create focused ad groups. It also makes your campaigns easier to manage and track.
Understanding Your Target Audience and Demographics
Know who you want to reach. Are you targeting homeowners or businesses? What age group? What income level? Use this info to craft your message and choose where to show your ads.
Look at your current clients. What traits do they share? This can help you spot new markets to target. Use Google Analytics to learn about your website visitors. It shows age, gender, and interests of people who click your ads.
Tailor your bids based on location, time of day, and device. This helps you reach the right people at the right time.
Crafting Effective Ad Copy for Maximum Impact
Write clear, catchy ads that speak to your audience’s needs. Highlight what makes your landscaping services special. Maybe you offer eco-friendly options or same-day quotes. Put these key points in your headline.
Use action words to create urgency. “Transform Your Yard Today” or “Get a Free Quote Now” can boost clicks. Include your keywords in the ad text. This makes your ad more relevant to searches.
Test different versions of your ads. Change headlines, descriptions, or calls to action. See which ones get more clicks and leads. Keep the best-performing ads and remove the ads that aren’t working.
Google Local Services Ads
There are two Google PPC offerings available on the Google search engine: Google search ads and Google Local Service Ads. These ads are designed to allow local businesses to appear above the search results (even above traditional search ads). In the search below, you can see Google Local Services Ads for the search “landscapers near me”. They even include a Google Guaranteed badge which signifies the business has been vetted by Google.
Google’s Local Service Ads appear above traditional search ads in the search results
To be fair, Google Local Services Ads aren’t truly PPC advertising as you only pay if the ads generate a lead for your business (as opposed to just a click). That said, you may wish to devote some of your ad spend towards the Local Services Ads.
Website Design and Your Landing Page
Landing Page Optimization for Higher Conversions
Your landing page is a page on your landscaping website where potential customers land after clicking your ad. All the hard work you put forth creating your ad campaign is worthless if your website isn’t able to convert a prospect into a paying landscaping customer.
Here are some general guidelines for your website:
- Web Design – Your web design must be logical and easy for your users to navigate.
- Engaging Website Content – Use clear, eye-catching headlines that match your ad copy.
- Showcase Your Work – Prove to prospects that you’ve “been there – done that” when it comes to your landscaping services. Add high-quality images of your best landscaping work – especially if it was performed in their area.
- Obvious Call to Action – Include a strong call-to-action button that stands out. There is no magical color for a call to action – just make sure that your call to action catches your website visitors eye and stands out by contrasting with the rest of your web design.
- Ask for the Absolute Minimum – Keep forms short and simple – or else prospective customers may get fed up and leave. Ask only for essential info.
Structuring PPC Account and Campaign Elements
A well-organized PPC account helps you target the right customers and manage your ads better. Good structure lets you control spending and improve results.
Organizing Campaigns and Ad Groups
Start by creating separate campaigns for each main service you offer. For example, make one campaign for lawn mowing and another for tree trimming. This helps you set budgets and track results for each service.
Inside each campaign, make ad groups for specific types of that service. A lawn mowing campaign could have ad groups for weekly mowing, one-time cuts, and seasonal cleanups.
Use clear names for your campaigns and ad groups. This makes it easy to find and update them later.
Group similar keywords together in each ad group. This lets you write ads that match what people search for. It also helps you set the right bids for each group of keywords.
Selecting Specific Services for PPC Targeting
Choose which services to promote based on your goals and budget. Focus on services that make you the most money or that you want to grow.
Look at what people search for online. Target services with high search volume and less competition. This can help you get more clicks for less money.
Consider seasonal trends. If you’re in a northern climate, promote snow removal in winter and lawn care in spring. This matches what customers need at different times of year.
Test different service combinations. You might find that some services work better together in PPC ads than others. Use data to guide your choices and improve your results over time.
Enhancing Local Visibility with Local SEO and SEO
In addition to PPC Ads, There are Multiple Ways to Get Landscaping Leads for Your Business
Local SEO
Local SEO improves your Google search rankings. Focus on optimizing your Google Business Profile (GBP) listing. Add your NAP information ( business Name, Address, and Phone number. Use local keywords in your web pages. Document your local landscaping jobs on your website to establish local relevance with both search engines and your customers.
SEO for Landscapers
Somewhat related to Local SEO, Landscaping SEO involves optimizing your website for landscaping related searches. Proper SEO can help you rank high up on the search engine results page – especially for informational user queries. An example article might be “lawn care tips for springtime in Denver”. For more information on how SEO can benefit your landscaping business, please check out our Landscaping SEO article.
FlexLeads Landscaping PPC Services
At FlexLeads we offer many different digital marketing services to help your landscaping business grow.
Landscaping PPC Management Services
Landscaping PPC management involves creating, implementing and maintaining PPC campaigns for your landscaping company. As a digital marketing agency, we are PPC experts and will create and maintain successful ad campaigns on both Google and Bing search engines. These PPC management services go beyond extend to related ad units like Google Local Service Ads.
Local SEO
We can help get your business started with Local SEO by optimizing your Google Business Profile and getting you the necessary local citations for your website. Both efforts can help your landscaping company appear in the Gooogle Map pack for local search results.
SEO
We can develop a content plan for your landscaping or lawn care business to provide helpful informational content that will bring new and previous customers to your website. The goal of SEO content is to be extremely relevant to their landscaping and lawn care needs.
Landscaping Website Design, Implementation and Maintenance
The majority of your landscaping marketing efforts result in a prospect arriving on your website. Your website design and content must be properly structured to convert that qualified prospect into a lead for your landscaping business.
Email Marketing
Reaching out to previous landscaping customers with helpful periodic emails can lead to both referrals and repeat landscaping business. Email content should focus on being helpful. Provide seasonal tips and tricks for previous landscaping installations that you have performed for your past customers.
