What Is Local PPC Advertising And Why Should You Consider It

There are currently two basic versions of localized PPC - the traditional PPC ad on a search engine that is programmed to appear when the user searches using a location in their search phrase, and a hybrid of PPC with various online telephone directories and online shopping markets.

Developers have gradually come to realize their suspicions that many people research products/services online, but then buy at a local outlet are in fact true. This fact affects all sizes of businesses. Large corporations with good ratings among shoppers also face this problem. I myself was ready to purchase a new flat panel monitor from arguably the best manufacturer via online, but canceled my order once I realized that if I was unfortunate enough to have a problem with the monitor, I would have to ship it back for repair. Instead I walked across the street and bought my monitor at a local outlet of one of the major chains. I knew the monitor I bought was of slightly inferior quality, but I also knew if it fails, all I have to do is walk it across the street for repair.

Given this behavior, which has been reinforced by many reliable research reports, it only makes sense that the conversion rate of visitors into buyers may be higher if a PPC ad is targeted to the visitor's geographic region.

On the other side of the coin, local businesses are often reluctant to put marketing money into a website, much less a PPC campaign, because they know that the majority of the traffic that will visit their website is probably too far away to actually purchase from them or may not feel comfortable ordering merchandise online. Research conducted by WebAdvantage found that 59% of merchants they surveyed would use PPC ads online if they could target their local market.