What’s the best marketing tactic in the book? It’s simple: You need to send the right message to the right people. If you don’t know your target audience or how to speak directly to them, you’re only going to lose mountains of leads to the competition.
So, what does your target audience look like? In paid advertising, audiences are groups of people who demonstrate specific behaviors, perform certain actions, or share details with you. For example, you’re probably targeting local homeowners willing to spend extra money for a beautiful home. With the right audience targeting, you can get the best bang for your buck by targeting the people who are most likely to convert.
Ready to upgrade your power washer marketing strategy with powerful paid ads? Here’s how to convert more pressure washing leads into paying customers with smart audience targeting.
In Google Ads, audiences are groups of users that are segmented based on interests or demographic data.
To get your message in front of potential pressure washing leads, you need to harness the power of audience targeting. Think about it this way: You want to reach the right people to generate new leads, and that means using your marketing resources and time in the right places and for the right people.
This way, you can serve ads to the right people at the right time—when they’re watching videos, scrolling through apps, or browsing websites. Another benefit? You won’t have to worry about wasting hard-earned marketing dollars on clicks that will never convert. Sounds like a win-win, right?
You can use audience targeting to refine your Display, Search, Hotel, and Standard Shipping campaigns. When you’re adding an audience to your campaign, you can choose from a wide range of audience segments for hyper-relevant targeting. For instance, you might target people who have recently purchased homes or people who have recently visited your website.
Once you’ve picked the right audience segments for your campaign, Google will serve ads to people who are likely in those specific categories. Google allocates users into different audience categories based on their activity on third-party websites and ads.
Getting started with your first Google Ads campaign is pretty easy, but finding the right strategy for your pressure washing business? Not so much. If you’re not targeting the right people, you’ll never see a return on your investment. And if you’re already using Google Ads but not driving results, it’s time to rethink your targeting strategy.
Whether you’re a marketing newbie or PPC pro, here’s everything you need to know about Google’s new audience segments to get your business in front of qualified power washing leads.
When you target affinity segments, you’ll serve ads to users based on their purchasing behaviors and long-term interests. Use this option when you’re targeting homeowners who have shown interest in power washing services over time (think: someone who regularly schedules power washing appointments).
Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box when it comes to affinity segments—even if that means targeting people with similar interests. For example, you might target local homeowners who search for home improvement tips, home renovation, or driveway cleaning.
With custom segments (previously custom affinity segments), you can serve ads to specific users by entering keywords, URLs, and apps related to your pressure washing services. Then, based on your bidding strategy and campaign goals, Google will choose an audience segment based on Reach, Consideration, or Performance.
For example, you might want to target local homeowners searching for DIY home improvement tips. To do this, define your custom segment by entering their interests (keywords), relevant URLs to home improvement websites, and related apps.
You’ve probably already noticed that there’s no remarketing option on Google Ads anymore. But there’s good news: You can still target users who have already interacted with your business using your data segments.
For example, you might serve ads to people who have previously visited your website, watched your videos, or shared their contact information with you. Google’s new audience type comes with well-timed targeting, so you can target people who’ve interacted with your business when they’re most likely to make a purchase. You can also help customers find you by serving ads when they’re actively searching for your business on Google.
Regular demographics targeting serves ads based on gender, age, parental status, and household income. You can also exclude specific demographics so you don’t serve ads to certain segments. For example, demographic targeting can help you avoid showing ads to people who rent apartments.
Meanwhile, detailed demographics targets users based on long-term life facts. Currently, there are 35 detailed demographics to refine your targeting options. These segments are available for Search, Discovery, Shopping, Video, and Gmail campaigns.
You can also target users around life events, like buying or selling a home. Google analyzes user behavior to pinpoint when major milestones happen. In turn, you can personalize your messaging strategy to reach the right people at the right time with an irresistible offer.
Remember: Life events aren’t frequent, so you’ll usually target a smaller audience than other audience types. Still, life events typically correspond with major purchasing decisions (see: opportunities to upsell). For example, if someone is planning to sell their home, they’ll probably search for home services to boost their home’s value.
In-market audience segments are users searching for specific queries. For example, if someone searches for power washing services, Google Ads tracks their queries and identifies that they’re looking to hire a power washing company. Then, Google will serve relevant power washing ads to that person.
If you’re willing to spend more per click, in-market segments can help you reach customers closer to the bottom of the funnel. You just need to get noticed, highlight your expertise, and show customers why you’re the best choice for the job. If you’re just getting started, you’ll probably want to target /Home & Garden/Home Improvement and /Home & Garden/Home & Garden Services/General Contracting & Remodeling Services.
Once you’ve figured out which audience segments are right for your pressure washing business, it’s time to refresh your Google Ads campaign. That said, it’s important to keep in mind that audience targeting isn’t available for all campaign types.
Here’s how to add audience segments to an existing ad group or campaign.
Congratulations! You’ve successfully set up audience targeting in Google Ads, but your hard work isn’t over yet. Here’s how to optimize your targeting strategy to boost your ROI and expand your reach.
If you want to maximize your advertising budget, you’ll need to tap into some analytics to guide your marketing decisions. The good news? Google Analytics has a section that shows you the interests of your website visitors, so you can see exactly what your users are into by category.
Once you’ve taken a deep dive into your analytics, you can personalize your ads for specific demographics. Maybe you’ve noticed that a decent segment of your website visitors are music buffs—can you incorporate music into your video ads? Alternatively, should you try serving ads on Spotify?
If you’re not A/B testing yet, here’s your sign to start. It’s the best way to test your content before actually putting it out there—and it can help you avoid flushing your marketing dollars down the drain.
Basically, A/B testing splits your audience into two groups, A and B, who participate in a test run of your content. This way, you can figure out which creative strategies, ad copy, and targeting options generate better results.
If you already have a few general ads, consider how to tailor them for different audiences. Let’s say you’re launching a new campaign about a seasonal pressure washing promo. You have the ad for local homeowners ready to go. But can your promo impact local businesses, and can you switch up the language to target a different demographic?
When you target audiences, always keep your buyer persona in mind. Your ideal buyer should be at the heart of your PPC ads so you can drive the best ROI for your business.
You already know that you need a steady stream of power washing leads to grow your business, and that’s where Google Ads can be your marketing MVP. But there’s a catch: You need a smart advertising campaign to take your business to the next level—and that starts with a smart audience targeting strategy.
At Company 119, we’ve helped countless contractors turn paid search into a profitable strategy. Give us a call today to get your message in front of the right people.
