Read time 8 mins

Get Foot Traffic up with Local Inventory Ads

19/10/2018 - Digital Marketing

It’s likely your PPC and SEO campaigns ultimately have one goal – to boost sales.

This is achieved by increasing awareness and visibility of your brand online. On the face of it, you would expect this world of attraction to stay in the digital realm.

But by using local inventory ads in your digital marketing strategy, there’s an opportunity to get more on-the-go searchers into your physical stores. This can be done by providing near real-time information on what’s available in certain stores, giving people the chance to get their hands on physical goods and items sooner.

Unfortunately, there’s a bit of an art to getting this right. But fear not! Un.titled is not the kind of company to leave you hanging. Take a look at our guide to local inventory ads and let’s see if it’s something you can add to your business plan.

Person using Google Shopping on a smartphone

What are local ads?

Essentially, local ads enable the promotion of products that are sold at a store close to the searcher’s location. That’s the crux of it, but take a look at how Google words it if you want clarification.

Additionally, these ads can also be tailored to shoppers based on their device. So if somebody is out and about, they’re most likely using a mobile device to search for products. A local inventory ad can give them a clear idea as to where to head next – namely your store.

Getting Local Ads Right

Naturally, if you green light local ad usage, you want to make them worth your while. So if you’re a retailer with certain products that are only available in store, local inventory ads can let shoppers know exactly where they can pick them up from.

If there are searches for products sold both in-store and online, the shopper’s location can dictate whether a local inventory ad or an online shopping ad is run. This is done based on how close they are to the physical store when they search.

You can also make bid adjustments for instances when shoppers are closer to your physical store. This increases the chances of a shopper opting for your physical store when out and about.

You can also increase bids at optimum times. Positive bid adjustment during shop opening hours for example can enhance the relevancy of the ads seen by those conducting searches. High traffic days and higher traffic times present a further opportunity for even stronger bid adjustments. It’s all about giving potential customers information in a pertinent, relevant way that helps to connect your online and offline interactions.

Highlighting Pertinent Information

Put yourself in the shoes of somebody who searches online for products using a mobile device. What do they want to know? What information can help sway their purchasing decision?

Think about it. You want to include:

The distance from where they are to your nearest store
How many of these searched for products you have in your inventory
The time your physical store is open until

You also want to:

Make sure the information you display is accurate. Don’t say you have plenty of a certain product in store when in fact you’re fresh out. Customers aren’t going to like that one bit, so be sure to keep your inventory ads up to date.
Remember that if a product is available online as well as in store, you don’t want to try and force a customer to your store if that’s not on their agenda. Be sure to include a link allowing searchers to buy online.

If all of this seems like too much of a hassle to manage in-house, why not let the pros handle it whilst you can enjoy the results and focus on other areas of your business? Say hello to our team and let’s discuss your requirements.