Target vs. Untargeted Ads, Rookie DYI Advertising Mistake Commonly Found In Contractors

This week shortly after a local networking event, I had a quick “elevator talk” with a local appliance repair contractor, he voiced his concerns about the high cost in his PPC (Pay Per Click) and that the leads are unpredictable as well, ranging from low and high ticket jobs. He wondered what are some alternative solutions to generate more leads. 

After hearing this, I noticed it was another case of a DIY advertising blunder. Oftentimes when contractors or small businesses start an advertising campaign on their own, the first thought is to advertise for the company and all of its services. The thought might be that it would be more efficient by consolidating the ad into one, however, the result is quite the opposite. 

By compiling all keywords and services provided into one ad, the sales conversion drops significantly and efficiency of ad cost also decreases dramatically. Here’s why: 

Sales conversion drops due to the fact that from the searcher’s point of view, you are not a specialized service provider. For example, if a searcher is looking for a repair on their high end refrigerator and the ads shown are an ad for a local appliance repair shop vs a specialized ad targeting refrigerator repair, the latter would without a doubt have better results. 

As for ad cost efficiency drop, the unspecialized ad is used to bid for higher cost ads which will still generate clickers, but have a higher chance of prospects opting out and choosing an alternative. Spending your ad cost with no conversion. 

So when it comes to advertising for contracting services, my advice is to first identify the high ticket items within your service, then research the costs per click using google keyword planner. Compare the cost to revenue of each service, then create ads targeting those services specifically with a controlled budget. 

This will give you the competitive advantage over your competitors for each service they may have not targeted and a better control of budget across the board. 

When it comes to the sales writing, take into account features vs benefit. It is much more effective to describe the benefit of each targeted service instead of describing all the features of your company. Click here to read about the importance of features vs benefits in last week's blog! 

For any questions or inquiries, contact us now!

Credit to Good Rebels for their broad target vs target ad research.