Guide to lead generation for local businesses

01 What is lead generation?

Simply put, lead generation is the process of turning strangers who don’t know about your business into people who have demonstrated an interest in your products or services – i.e., prospective new customers or “leads.” For example, a website might offer visitors a free coupon in exchange for their email address, then use email to turn that lead into a paying customer (a conversion).

Tracking conversions is an important part of lead generation. To track leads in Google Ads, you’ll start by defining which desirable behaviors you want to track as “conversion actions.” After setup, you’ll begin to receive automated reports on things like your cost per conversion, conversion rates, how many interactions it took before conversion happened, and more. If you’re curious to learn more, check out this guide to setting up conversion measurement on your website.

02 What is local lead generation?

Now that you understand lead generation, let’s look at some of the unique aspects of local lead generation, which focuses on generating leads within a specific geographic location. Unlike a global e-commerce brand that can get leads from an audience of millions around the world, a plumber can only consider the few hundred or thousand customers within visiting distance. Therefore, local lead generation strategies typically need to be much more targeted than standard lead generation

03 How to generate leads for local business

There are various ways to generate leads for a local business, each offering value in its own way. Let’s take a look at a few common digital marketing examples, starting from the broadest to the most targeted:

• Content marketing: Content marketing is the practice of creating valuable content that helps attract prospective customers with media such as videos or blog posts. Content marketing can be a slow trickle but helps build credibility over time.
• Social media marketing: Social media is a great way for businesses to build community and connect with their customers directly.
• Local SEO lead generation: Local search engine optimization (SEO) helps businesses appear in organic (unpaid) search results when prospects search for something like “catering services near me.” Optimization for a local business can include tasks such as completing your Google Business Profile, encouraging positive reviews, optimizing your website, and creating content that uses specific keywords.
• Google Ads (with location targeting): Moving past organic search, Google Ads lets you run paid search campaigns to appear at the top or bottom of the search results page, based on several factors such as the keywords you bid on, the quality of your ad copy, the strength of your bid, and geographic location. With Google Ads, you can get really granular with both your budget and your targeting to fine-tune your visibility.
• Local Services Ads (LSA): Local Services Ads, available to businesses in many service categories, is a solution designed specifically for local services businesses to appear in localized, intent-driven searches. These ads work on the pay-per-lead model and appear at the very top of search results for highly localized, intent-driven searches. As a simple, get-to-market solution, there’s no need to build a website or conduct keyword research, and leads are sent straight to your phone.

04 How do Local Services Ads generate quality customer leads?

Unlike broader marketing efforts that aim to capture general interest, Local Services Ads help you build an online presence by connecting directly with customers actively searching for the kinds of services you provide, within your service area. Typically, leads from these kinds of local business ads tend to be highly motivated.

Signing up for Local Services Ads also makes your business eligible to receive a Google Guarantee, Google Screened, or License Verified by Google badge. After successfully completing the approval and vetting process, you’ll receive one of these three badges, which tell prospects that your business has been verified by Google. In the case of the Google Guarantee badge, it also indicates that Google is even willing to offer a money-back guarantee.

This means you could be starting off with a reputation for dependability before that lead comes in via a phone call, email, text message, or booking, moving you closer to a sale.

05 How do I budget for success with local lead generation?

As a local business that may have limited resources, every dollar spent needs to get the most bang for your buck. This is another area where Local Services Ads can help. Thanks to its steady flow of high-intent leads and a payment model where you only pay for leads, not clicks or impressions, Local Services Ads can provide a clear way to measure your return on ad spend (ROAS).

When setting your budget, you can start by estimating a rough cost per lead. This can be influenced by a few different factors, such as:

• The type of service or industry: Some services naturally have higher or lower lead costs.
  
• The level of local competition: More businesses trying to get leads in your area usually means higher costs.
  
• Your specific geographic location: Even without high competition, some areas are more expensive because of population density or other economic factors.
  

You can use this information to help determine how many local leads you could generate based on your budget, or use our budget calculator to get an estimate. Regularly reviewing campaign performance metrics can help identify your most effective marketing efforts so you can reallocate your marketing budget accordingly.

06 Ready to unlock growth with local lead generation?

Lead generation is a critical driver of growth for local businesses, and understanding how it generates results can help you to allocate your budget more effectively.

Unlock growth by getting more customers in your door with local lead generation from Local Services Ads.