It’s more important than ever to make it easy for patients to find you online. At Audigy we are focused on continuing to find new ways to keep your brand in front of as many eyes as possible. One of the latest tactics we are utilizing is leveraging the search power of Google Maps.
Google Maps now has over a billion users and is becoming a powerful tool for paid-search campaigns. Recently, Google has introduced local search ads to take advantage of the growing number of location-related searches made by consumers. The ads are eligible to show on the Google Maps app; on the Google Maps mobile, desktop, and tablet sites; and on Google.com expanded maps results.
For your practice to be eligible for local search ads, there are a few things that must be done. First, you must be running Google AdWords for your practice. Second, your Google My Business profile must be completely filled out. Third, you must be utilizing the location extension in Google AdWords.
Much like a regular search ad, the paid listings show above the organic listings and are flagged with either a green or purple “ad” tag. Google charges for these ads on a cost-per-click basis and pulls directly from the daily AdWords budget. Clicks include getting location details, getting directions, website clicks, and mobile click-to-call.
The local search ads are subject to the same type of auction as the regular search ads. Google determines the ads they will show using a variety of circumstances, including query context, location, search/browsing history, interests, behaviors, time of day, and demographics.
Here is what the ad looks like on Google.com expanded map results:
Here is what the ad looks like on the Google Maps mobile app:
And here’s an example from the Google Maps desktop site:
If you are interested in learning more about our paid-search program or have any questions regarding your current paid-search campaigns, please reach out to us at [email protected].