How to create Google Ads landing pages that generates leads & clients
For years local service businesses thought Google Ads interface is the most important part of their Google Ads campaign.
But let me burst your bubble, Google Ads account interface isn't the most important part of Google Ads acount.
That trophy goes to your landing page.
Your landing page is the most important part of your Google Ads campaign.
You see, your account interface (keywords, Ads copy, targeting e.t.c) is like the raw material used in producing a product.
While your landing page is the factory where raw materials are transformed into a finished product (leads and clients).
So doing keyword research, Ads copies and location targeting are all geared towards driving potential customers to your landing page.
You could still get a fairly good result if your account structure is bad but if your landing page is bad, your results will be bad no matter how good your account structure is.
What is a landing page
A landing page is a stand alone page on your local service business website.
It isn't your local business website home page or service pages.
It is a page designed and structured specifically to convert ad clicks to leads and clients.
It's like this, your campaign gets you traffic (website visitors) but your landing page converts those ad clicks to leads or clients.
If your landing page is properly designed, you'll generate more leads and clients at a very low cost per lead/client (CPL).
In this article, I'll be showing you how to create a Google Ads landing page for your local service business that converts almost all your ad clicks to leads.
2 Recommended Landing Page Builder For Local service businesses
#1. Thrive Architect From Thrivethemes
Thrive architect is my favorite landing page builder. Its a wordpress plugin meaning you can't use it outside wordpress platform.
With thrive architect, you don't need any coding knowledge. With it's drag and drop visual page builder, you will create awesome and high converting landing pages.
Plus, it has 274 landing page templates to choose from.
Its very cheap and it has two payment plans - recurring plan of $19 per month and one time payment of $67.
If you choose the recurring plan, you get to enjoy other great plugins from thrivethemes like the landing page A/B split testing plugin.
But, if you don't want the recurring payment plan, you can still make a one time purchase of any plugin you want to run with thrive architect.
If you want to get the best result, I recommend you buy the thrive architect with the A/B split testing plugin.
#2. Unbounce Landing Page Creator
At $79 per monthly recurring payment, unbounce is one of the must expensive landing page builder.
With unbounce, you don't need any coding knowledge. You will use their drag and drop page builder to create awesome landing pages without coding.
If you don't have a wordpress website, then unbounce is good for you but if you have a wordpress website, then thrive architect is your best option
Thrive architect will help you create awesome and high converting landing pages at a fraction of the cost without being forced to a monthly billing.
4 Characteristics of a high converting landing page for local service businesses
#1. Must Be Simple
I'm always speechless each time I see a local service business sending their ad traffic to their website home page or service pages.
There are a number of reasons why this is a very bad idea.
You see, your home page and service pages are built with SEO in mind; not for Google Ads.
They are built to rank very high on search engines.
But unfortunately, what works for SEO won't work for Google Ads because both are totally different.
An ideal Google Ads landing page is supposed to be devoid of internal or external links, its content is straight to the point with a call to action and no informational overload.
But if you try this with SEO, you are bound to fail.
Do you now see the difference and why you should separate your SEO pages from Google Ads landing pages?
#2. Must Be Built For Conversion
Google Ads landing pages are supposed to be built with one goal in mind - Converting Google Ads traffic to leads.
Its not supposed to rank very high on search engines. Its not supposed to have a skyscraper content.
Why you need to focus on conversion
You need to focus on conversion because you are paying for each ad click.
Because of that, your strategy is supposed to be converting ads traffic to leads and clients as much as possible by taking them to a high converting landing page.
#3. Your landing page must focus on just one conversion goal and local service
Your landing page must be focused on one conversion goal and service, anything more than one conversion goal and service will reduce the potency of your landing page.
You shouldn't give them any links (both external or internal) to navigate outside the landing page.
If your conversion goal is to get people to call your local office or fill a free consultation/quote form, then that should be the goal of your landing page.
The same thing goes if the landing page is for a particular local service or sub-service.
A landing page is supposed to be for a single service or sub-service, not for a multitude of law services or sub-services.
If you provide more than one legal service or sub-services, then you have to create different landing pages for them.
#4. Your landing page must match the language of your Ad copy and the intent of your customers
When your landing page matches the language of your Ad copies and the intent of your customers, it will make them emotionally attached to you.
They will be emotionally attached to your business because your landing page delivered what they needed and the promise you made on the Ad copy.
The easiest way to meet the intent of your customer and the promise you made on your Ad copy is to mention your keyword and the promises made in your Ad on your landing page.
Below is a great example of a landing page that matched the intent of the searcher (keyword) and met the promises on the Ad copy.
Below is a good example of an ideal Google Ads landing page
Why is the above landing page great for Google Ads
- Its focused on just one service which is Bankruptcy
- it doesn't have any escape root (internal and external navigation)
- it has only one conversion goal (Free consultation request)
- The landing page isn't over loaded with content
- It's very easy to understand what the landing page is all about and what they offer.
- The landing page states clearly what potential clients stands to get if they request a free evaluation.
And Below is an examples of a bad landing page
What makes the above landing page bad for Google Ads
- They used their website home page which is the best way to lose money in Google Ads
- The landing page has a lot of exit doors (external and internal links)
- The landing page isn't narrowed down to one specific service
- The landing page isn't focused on one conversion goal
- The landing page has a lot of noise that can distract potential clients from scheduling a free evaluation
How many landing pages should you create?
The number of landing pages to create does not only depends on the number of services you render but it also depends on the number of sub-service within a service.
For example, if you render three distinctive law services like bankruptcy, family law and criminal law, then you won't only need to create three seperate landing pages for each of the three services but you will also need to create a landing page for each of the sub-services within the three services.
Before you go crazy creating landing pages take note of this:
Before you create a landing page for any law services or sub-services, make sure those services or sub-services keywords have enough monthly search volume to justify such huge investment in time and resources.
Sometimes one landing page is enough for a service and all it's sub-services.
How to structure Google Ads landing page for local service businesses.
Your Google Ads landing page is divided into three important structures namely - above the fold, middle fold and button fold.
Structure 1. Above the fold
Above the fold structure is the first element of a website you see when a web-page first opens on a browser.
Below is an example of above the fold structure on a landing page.
It is also the first impression they have of you and it is what makes them to stick around and also what assures them they are in the right place.
If you miss it here you will get a very high bounce rate (people leaving your website immediately they arrive without doing anything).
That is bad considering the fact that Google Ads CPC is one of the highest in the industry.
Wasted spend isn't it?
Below are elements of a successful landing page above the fold structure for a local service business
Tittle
Your title is very important because it's the first text a potential clients reads when they arrive.
Your title should be short and acknowledge the problem of your potential clients.
Below is a good example of a title on a bankruptcy law firm landing page
Why your Google Ads landing page title should acknowledge your client problems
According to hubspot, internet users attention span is reducing as a result of huge information they have at their finger tips.
People don't read anymore like they used to.
They merely scan pages and don't have time to read huge chunks of test.
When they are referred to your website from paid search, the first thing they scan is your title and if your title isn't what they need, they will hit the back button.
One way to make your title fit what your potential customers are looking for is to add your target keyword in your title.
Below is a good example with a custom home builder:
Description
Your Google Ads landing page description is where you will elaborate more about your service offerings, and its benefits.
Its a very important element and it helps your potential clients know more about your service, offers and it's benefit.
Adding your target keywords here will help increase relevancy and engagement.
But don't over-do this. Only add your keywords on the description if;
- it's absolutely necessary and it makes sense
- if you didn't add your target keyword in your title
Below is a good example of a Google Ads landing page description for a bankruptcy attorney
Call to action
A Call to action is a directive to accept an offer given on a landing page.
No body will willing call or fill a form on your landing page if you don't ask them to do so.
Your call to action must be very compelling for it to have any meaningful impact.
It must explicitly tell your potential clients the next step to take in order to accept your offer.
Just saying "click here" on your call to action button is not compelling enough.
It only tells what to do without recapping what will be gotten by clicking the button.
The call to action would have been strong enough if it says "Click Here To Request Free Consultation"
Below are examples of a strong and weak call to action
STRONG CALL TO ACTION | WEAK CALL TO ACTION |
|---|---|
Request Your Free Case Evaluation | Click Here to start |
Request Your Free Quote | Get Started |
Below is an examples of a call to action button on a landing page
Hero Image
A hero image is the photo you see on the background of the above the fold section.
The job of the hero image is to immediately draw your audience in and show them what you do with an image that depicts your service.
The hero image is usually in the background of the above the fold section.
Below is an example of a hero image on a landing page
Structure 2. Middle Fold
Your landing page middle fold is where you'll explain what a potential client stand to get when they request a free consultation or a quote.
This is also the best place to add trust signals such as social proof (testimonials, awards and ratings.
It's also where you expatiate more on your service offerings and it's benefits.
Here, you can go more aggressive on content than above the fold but don't go overboard.
Use easy to scan bullet points and headers to explain what your potential clients will get from your offer and keep things as brief as possible
Below is an example of a middle fold structure on a legal landing page
Elements of Middle fold content
1. What to expect during a free evaluation, consultation or quote
A lot of Google Ads landing pages just scream "hey there, contact me" without telling the customer what will happen when they (customer) contact the local business.
Stating here what will happen when a person fills a form or calls will help alleviate fear and build trust.
It'll also encourage potential customer to accept your offer.
Note: only tell them what they'd get from your offer here, if you didn't do so on the above the fold structure.
2. List of sub-services
Making a list of your sub-services will help people who are searching with a broad term but whose problems can be solved by one of your sub-service feel they are in the right place.
The more potential clients feel at ease on your landing page, the better it is conversion wise.
3. Talk a little about your local business
The next must important section to add in the middle fold is to talk a little about your local business.
Since you will eventually work with them, it's ideal to give them a glimpse of whom they will be working with.
It can also take this a step further by also showcasing a list of your team members.
4. Testimonials and social proof
This is where you will boost your claims with testimonials and reviews from past clients.
If your your local business has won any notable awards, you can also showcase it here.
Structure 3. Bottom Fold
This is the last structure of your landing page. It's where you rap things up with a call to action.
Must landing pages I see make the mistake of not adding a call to action at the bottom of their landing page.
This is very bad because must people don't have the time to scroll back up to fill a form.
The easier you make it for people to carry out your instructions, the higher your conversion rate will be.
And adding a call to action here will enable your potential clients to quickly follow your instructions without scrolling back up.
Easy, right?
Conclusion
According to searchenginejournal, the average conversion rate of Google Ads for all industry is 3.75%.
But banking on average is for losers. It isn't for winners. I have seen a conversion rate of 20% to 40% way above the industry average.
If you follow the outlines on this article, you won't settle for mere industry average.
But will soar far above the industry average and generate legal leads at a very low cost per lead (CPL).
