Locals Ads Guide

I’m Daniel Dimsey and in this guide I’ll walk you step‑by‑step through the exact Google Ads setup I use for moving companies and removalists in 2025. This is a practical, no‑fluff approach that covers the four pillars of every profitable campaign, the single biggest beginner mistake that kills results, and the exact targeting, bidding and ad construction tricks that make your budget work harder.

Quick overview — what you’ll get

• How to research high‑intent keywords and CPCs for your city
• Campaign structure and objectives that actually convert
• Why you should start on clicks (not conversions) and how to set your max CPC
• Precise location targeting that avoids wasted spend
• Ad copy built around four core pillars: relevancy, social proof, calls to action and discounts
• Practical tips for match types, extensions and budgets

1. Start with keyword research — don’t build the campaign yet

Before you touch the campaign builder, open Google Ads → Tools → Planning → Keyword Planner → Discover keywords. Type in the common search someone would use to find your service (for example, “moving company near me”) and change the location to your exact city so the CPC ranges are relevant.

Look for the highest monthly search terms like “removals near me” or “movers near me” and note the top‑of‑page bid ranges (example: low range ~$9, high range up to ~$27). These numbers tell you what competitors are paying to appear at the top — and they should guide your max CPC decisions.

What to save from keyword research

• The exact high‑intent keywords people search for
• Average monthly searches for prioritisation
• Top‑of‑page bid low & high range (use the high range when setting your initial max CPC)

2. Campaign objective and conversions

When creating a new campaign choose the “Leads” objective. Add the conversion goals you care about — typically:

• Website lead form submissions
• Phone calls from the ad or website

If you haven’t set up conversion tracking yet, get it in place as soon as possible (I have a full walkthrough showing that separately). For now, set the campaign type to Search and the goal to website visits so the ad clicks go to your quote form landing page.

3. Bidding: the number one beginner mistake (and how to avoid it)

The biggest early mistake is starting a new account on automated conversion bidding. If Google doesn’t yet have conversion data for your site it will spend aggressively trying to get clicks from anyone — and you’ll burn budget quickly.

Start with Manual (or Maximize) clicks and set a maximum cost per click. Use the high range CPC from Keyword Planner as your cap. Example: if the high range is $24, set your max CPC to $24. This gives you control while Google learns what works.

Once you have reliable conversion data (I recommend ~30+ conversions in a 30‑day period), switch to conversion‑based bidding so Google can optimise using your own data.

4. Campaign settings you must change

• Remove Google Search Partners and Google Display Network — they’re difficult to track and can waste money.
• Location targeting — use Advanced Search and add the exact suburbs/towns you service. Don’t rely on a single giant radius if you want long‑term control (suburb targeting allows bid adjustments by area).
• Location option — change from “Presence or interest” to “People in or regularly in your included locations” to avoid showing to people merely searching about an area you don’t serve.
• Language — set to the languages your customers use.
• Audience segments — add relevant audiences but keep them on OBSERVATION (not TARGETING). This lets you adjust bids later without restricting delivery.
• Avoid Performance Max / AI Max for search campaigns unless you have very large budgets and can test extensively.

5. Keyword match types — exact is king for movers

Import your high‑intent keywords gathered from Keyword Planner and change match types to exact match. Exact match prevents your ads from showing on tangential or loosely related searches that waste budget. In Google Ads, exact match is represented by square brackets, e.g. [movers near me].

Do not leave keywords on Broad match when you’re starting — broad match often wastes money on irrelevant queries.

6. Ad copy — the four core pillars that make someone click

Your ads should focus on four pillars: relevancy, social proof, a clear call to action, and discounts (optional). A fifth, bonus pillar is FOMO (limited time offers).

• Relevancy — use keyword insertion so the ad headline mirrors what the user searched (e.g. the headline shows “Movers Near Me”). Pin this headline to ensure it appears in position one for maximum relevance.
• Call to action — use a direct CTA such as “Get your quote in 60 seconds” or “Book a free quote today”. Pin this as headline two if you want it shown consistently.
• Social proof — include trust signals in the description: “5★ rated”, “200+ moves this year”, “locally owned”.
• Discounts / promotions — mention any limited offers or % off to drive urgency.

Example ad structure:

1. Headline 1 (pinned): Keyword insertion — exactly what they searched
2. Headline 2 (pinned): CTA — “Get your quote in 60 seconds”
3. Description 1: Short service explanation
4. Description 2: Social proof + discount or FOMO

Pinning headlines gives you control and clarity about which elements drive conversions — don’t worry about Google’s Ad Strength metric; pin what you want to test and track.

7. Ad assets and extensions that increase conversion

• Images — use personal photos of your crew on the job or your team. They build trust instantly.
• Phone number — add a call extension so people can tap to call directly from the SERP.
• Sitelinks — link to relevant pages like “Furniture removal”, “Interstate moves”, or a promo page so users land exactly where they expect.
• Promotions / price assets — if you have a discount or starting prices, add them here.

8. Budget calculations and expectations

A simple starting rule I use: take your max CPC (for example $24) and multiply by 10 to set a daily budget. So $24 x 10 = $240/day. That should deliver a minimum of 10 clicks per day (often 15+).

Typical moving company conversion rates on well‑built landing pages sit around 25–30%, which would equal roughly 2–5 quote requests per day at those volumes. This is just a starting point — track your real numbers and optimise.

9. When to switch to conversion bidding

Once your campaign records about 30 conversions in a 30‑day window, switch the campaign bidding to conversions (e.g. Target CPA or Maximise conversions). By then Google has enough first‑party data to pursue people likely to convert for your business.

10. Quick optimisation checklist

• Check search terms regularly and add negative keywords to cut irrelevant traffic.
• Adjust bids by suburb: increase bids where conversion rates are high and reduce where they’re poor.
• Test ad copy: keep the pinned headlines you want and rotate the other assets to see what lifts conversion.
• Monitor phone call conversions and form submissions separately to see which channel performs best.

Final notes

This is a proven framework for running profitable Google Ads campaigns for movers and removalists in 2025. Start with the keyword research, protect your budget with max CPC bidding, use exact match for intent, lock your location settings to “people in” your service area, and build ads around relevancy, social proof, clear CTAs and promotions.

If you want more advanced optimisation tactics and templates I use across Google and Facebook for home service businesses, I run a full Home Service Marketing course that dives deep into campaign optimisation, creative, automations and scaling.

Get started, test, and iterate — once you have clean conversion data the results compound quickly.

Ready to implement?

Follow the steps above in this order: Keyword research → Campaign setup (Search + Leads) → Start on clicks with a max CPC → Exact match keywords → Precise suburb targeting → Ad copy using the four pillars → Add extensions and images → Budget using max CPC × 10 → Optimise and switch to conversions after ~30 conversions.

“Start with clicks, protect your budget, then let data drive automated bidding.”