How to Set Up a Google Ads Campaign for Local Businesses
If you’re running a local business, visibility is everything. You need to show up when people in your area are actively searching for the services you provide. That’s exactly where Google Ads comes in. And here’s the good news—you don’t need to be a digital marketing expert to get started. You just need the right strategy.
Paid advertising through Google Ads helps local businesses reach targeted audiences, drive traffic, and generate consistent leads.
In this guide, I’m going to walk you through how to set up a Google Ads campaign for beginners, specifically designed with local business digital marketing in mind. Whether you're running a home care agency, a cleaning service, or a law firm, the steps here will help you get seen, get clicks, and get customers.
Let’s break it down.
Why Google Ads Matter for Local Businesses
Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) allow your business to appear at the top of search results, instantly. This is a game changer for local businesses who need visibility in a specific service area.
Here’s why it works:
✅ You target only the people who are actively searching for your services.
✅ You set your own budget—perfect for small businesses.
✅ You control when and where your ad appears.
✅ It complements your SEO efforts and generates quick leads.
💡 Example: A local landscaping business started running Google Ads targeting "landscaping services in Charlotte." Within 30 days, they saw a 40% increase in call volume, all from people within their local area.
Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up a Google Ads Campaign
Here’s how to get started with a Google Ads campaign for beginners:
Step 1: Create a Google Ads Account
Head over to ads.google.com and sign up with your Google account. Google walks you through an initial setup flow, but skip the “Smart Campaign” option—you want to create a campaign in Expert Mode for more control.
Once you’re in, you’ll land on the dashboard.
Step 2: Choose Your Campaign Goal
Choose a goal that matches what you want to achieve. For most digital marketing campaigns for local businesses, you’ll choose one of these:
Leads (to drive calls or form submissions)
Website traffic
Local store visits (for brick-and-mortar businesses)
💡 Tip: If you're a service-based business like home care or HVAC, go with "Leads" so you can track phone calls and form completions.
Step 3: Choose the Campaign Type
For local businesses, the best campaign type is typically:
Search Network – Your ads appear at the top of Google search results when someone types a relevant query. This is high-intent traffic—people are already looking for your services.
You can experiment with Display Network or Local Campaigns later, but start with Search.
Step 4: Set Your Target Location
This is the critical part of local business digital marketing—make sure your ad only shows to people in your actual service area.
🔹 You can set your target by:
City
Zip code
Radius around your business location
Step 5: Set Your Budget and Bidding Strategy
Start small and scale up as you go.
🔹 Daily Budget: $10–$20/day is a good starting point for most local businesses.
🔹 Bidding Strategy: Choose Maximize Conversions or Maximize Clicks if you’re just starting. Google will help you automatically adjust bids to get results.
💡 Tip: As you get more conversions, you can switch to Target CPA (Cost per Acquisition) for more efficiency.
Step 6: Create Ad Groups and Choose Keywords
This is where you tell Google which search terms you want your ad to show up for.
🔹 Ad Groups: Think of these as categories of services. For example:
"In-home care"
"24-hour senior care"
"Respite care services"
🔹 Keyword Types:
Exact match – [“home care in Toronto”]
Phrase match – “home care near me”
Broad match – home care services
Start with a mix of exact and phrase match to keep your targeting tight and budget in check.
💡 Keyword Tip: Use Google's Keyword Planner to find search terms with high intent and low competition—key to efficient lead generation.
Step 7: Write High-Converting Ads
Here’s where your ad copy makes all the difference.
🔹 What to Include:
Headline 1: What you do – “Reliable Home Care Services”
Headline 2: A benefit – “Available 24/7 in Atlanta”
Headline 3: CTA – “Call for Free Consultation”
Description: Add more detail and reassurance – “Experienced caregivers. No long-term contracts. Serving seniors in Metro Atlanta.”
🔹 Call Extensions & Location Extensions:
Add your phone number so users can call directly from the ad.
Add your business address to boost local trust.
Step 8: Set Up Conversion Tracking
This is non-negotiable. If you don’t track conversions, you won’t know what’s working.
🔹 Track actions like:
Phone calls
Form submissions
Clicks on “Book Now” buttons
Use Google Tag Manager or connect Google Ads with your CRM to track real lead conversions.
Step 9: Launch and Monitor Your Campaign
You’ve set your budget, chosen your keywords, written your ads—it’s time to launch.
🔹 Monitor Daily:
Impressions
Clicks
CTR (Click-Through Rate)
CPC (Cost Per Click)
Conversions
Use this data to adjust your ads, pause underperforming keywords, and double down on what’s working.
💡 Optimization Tip: After two weeks, pause low-performing keywords and test new headlines and descriptions. Google rewards continuous improvement.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
❌ Targeting too wide of an area – Stay hyper-local.
❌ Using only broad match keywords – You’ll burn through your budget.
❌ Skipping conversion tracking – You’ll have no idea if the ad is working.
❌ Writing generic ads – Be specific. Speak to your audience’s needs.
❌ Set-it-and-forget-it mindset – You need to tweak, test, and optimize.
Why Google Ads Are Worth It for Local Businesses
When done right, Google Ads are one of the most predictable and scalable digital marketing tools for local business growth. You’re putting your message in front of people who are already looking for exactly what you offer.
You’re not guessing. You’re showing up. And that changes everything.
Let’s Build Your Google Ads Campaign Together
You don’t have to figure it all out alone. At Pardinus, we specialize in digital marketing campaigns for local businesses, including full setup, optimization, and management of Google Ads campaigns for beginners and pros alike.
📞 Contact us today and let’s build a Google Ads campaign that attracts the right customers, gets real leads, and grows your business.
