One of the most effective ways for accountants to appeal to potential customers in their area is with geotargeting advertising. By targeting ads to specific geographic areas, you can control who sees your ad and when they see it. With the right approach, you can market to an already-warm audience of people who are most likely to be genuinely interested in your services.
Below, we explore the basics of local geotargeting and some of the top geotargeting advertising tips for accountants. We’ll cover how to define your target market, exclude areas your office doesn’t serve, how to create compelling advertisements, and how to track and measure your campaign analytics. We’ll also show you how you can manage your accounting firm’s geotargeting and other marketing strategies all from one place with Surefire Local.
Local Geotargeting: What Is It & Why Is It Effective?
Geotargeting is a marketing technique that involves marketing specifically to customers within a certain area. It also includes targeting ads to certain demographics, ensuring that only people who meet the qualifying criteria set by the advertiser will see the ad.
For example, you can target advertisements for people within a certain area of your office, excluding anyone outside of driving distance. You can further target your ads to display only for people of a certain age or who work in a specific field or industry.
The Benefits of Geotargeting Advertising for Accountants
Reach the Right Customers
As an accountant, your target market is likely small businesses, solo entrepreneurs, and families or individuals in your area. One of the main benefits of local geotargeting is that it allows businesses to reach the right customers. By targeting ads and offers to people in a certain area or who are part of a certain demographic, accountants can ensure that they are reaching people who are more likely to be interested in professional financial services.
For example, if you’re a small firm or solo accountant in Los Angeles looking to take on more clients, you can target your ads to small businesses with fewer than 20 employees in Los Angeles County. Your ads will only display to establishments that meet your criteria, so you are only paying for ads that are reaching the right people.
Increase Visibility in Local Searches
Another benefit of geotargeting is that it can increase visibility in local searches. Local searches are becoming more and more common as people use search engines to find businesses near them, and when potential customers search for accounting firms or services online, they will most likely include their location in the search. If your business appears in these local search listings, you will be significantly more visible to potential customers who are already looking for the services you offer.
Boost Engagement with Targeted Ads
Geotargeting is so effective in part because it allows you to show ads that are more relevant to them and the location they are in. When people see ads that are more relevant to them and their location, they are more likely to pay attention and click on them because the ads feel more personal and tailored to their experience. This boosts audience engagement and can lead to higher conversion rates and more business for your accounting firm.
For example, if you’re an accountant who specializes in doing taxes for individuals and families, you can target your ads to people during tax season. You can also exclude businesses, so your ad is only reaching people who would actually consider utilizing your services.
Easy Geotargeting Advertising Tips for Accountants
Define Your Target Market
Before you launch a geotargeting ad campaign, it’s important to have a clear understanding of your target market. This means defining your ideal customer in terms of location, demographics, and interests. Once you know who you’re marketing to, you can begin to create ads that are relevant and engaging.
You can also create buyer personas. A buyer persona is a fictional representation of your ideal customer that can be used to help you visualize who you’re advertising to and how your content should appear. If you don’t have a clear understanding of your target market, you’ll end up spending more money on campaigns that are less likely to be effective.
Exclude Markets Your Business Does Not Serve
Once you’ve defined your target market, it’s important to exclude any geographic areas where your accounting firm does not operate. This ensures that your ads are only being shown to people who can actually become customers. For example, if your accounting firm only serves businesses in New York, you would want to exclude all other states in your campaign settings.
It also helps to prevent wasteful spending on clicks from people who are outside of your service area. Your marketing budget only goes so far and you don’t want to be spending any of it on ads that will be displayed to people who couldn’t get to your office even if they wanted to.
Use Location & Call Extensions
One strategy you can use to increase the efficacy of your geotargeted accounting ads is to include location and call extensions. These extensions allow people to quickly see your business address and phone number right from the ad, and they can usually click to call. This makes it easy for them to get in touch with you by removing real or perceived obstacles between potential customers and your establishment.
To set up location extensions, go to the “Ad Extensions” tab in AdWords and select “Location.” From there, you can enter your business information and choose which ads you want the extension to appear on.
For call extensions, simply go to the “Ad Extensions” tab and select “Phone.” Then enter your phone number and choose which ads you want the extension to appear on. To add a location extension, go to the “Ad Extensions” tab in AdWords and select “Location.”
Create Compelling Ads
Even with the right targeting, your ads still need to be compelling if they’re going to be effective. This means creating ad copy that is relevant and interesting enough to make people who see them want to click through.
To do this, start by thinking about what makes your accounting firm or services unique and what benefits you offer that appeal to your target market and set you apart from the competition. Then brainstorm some headlines and descriptions that highlight these selling points while still staying within the character limit for each ad type. Then, include a call-to-action that encourages people to take the next step.
Test, Measure, & Adjust Your Campaigns
As with any marketing effort, it’s important to test out different versions of your geotargeted ads before settling on a final design. This helps ensure that you’re using the most effective messaging, images, and calls-to-action for your target audience. Testing also allows you to track important metrics so you can gauge how well each ad is performing.
Once you’ve collected enough data about a geotargeted ad campaign, you can analyze it and carefully adjust the ad as necessary. If an ad isn’t getting much attention, you can try changing the headline or adding more relevant images. Consistently tweaking small details like these can result in significant improvements over time.
The Bottom Line
Geotargeting is Effective for Accountants
Geotargeting is a particularly effective marketing strategy for accountants because it allows firms to solicit business from their local audience and target relevant ads to the right people. This is especially important for small businesses and solo accountants who may not have the budget or resources to reach a wider audience. It’s also great for accountants who want to do more in-person business and transition away from strictly remote work.
Follow Best Practices for Optimal Results
To get the most out of your geotargeting campaigns, be sure you’re following best practices. Defining your target marketing, using extensions, and creating engaging ad campaigns are only a few things you should be doing to maximize your geotargeting ROI. Consulting with a professional digital marketing team can help you discover more geotargeting advertising tips for accountants, so you can continue to make your campaigns even more effective.
Get Help with Surefire Local’s Marketing Software
Navigating geotargeting campaigns along with all of your other marketing initiatives can be time-consuming and complex if you’re logging into multiple accounts to get it done. Surefire Local’s business intelligence marketing software aggregates data and syncs changes to your profiles and campaigns all from one place.
Request a demo today to learn more about how you can make the most of geotargeting for accountants by calling (703) 884-8442. Our team will help you get started creating and managing geotargeted ad campaigns that are designed to drive results and more quality leads to your accounting firm. You can also fill out our quick online form and one of our geotargeting experts will get back in touch with you as soon as possible to schedule your live personal demo of our marketing software.