Local Service Ads (LSA) impact on GMB calls?

[JohnMarathonAir]

Hello. I'm just wondering if anyone would share their experience regarding whether, and to what extent, the addition of LSAs has impacted a top GMB ranking?

I'll share first. We have ranked #1 for multiple terms on GMB for several years. Covid greatly impacted our calls, but they started to improve until the first week the LSAs went into effect. Then they plummeted to basically zero. Then we added LSA, but often aren't in the top 3.

Now our calls are spotty -- nothing like before.

This could still be covid related, so it's hard to tell what impact the LSAs might be having.

What has been your experience -- if you aren't in the top for LSAs (but are listed) and still ranking well in GMB?

Also -- any tips on increasing ranking in LSAs?

Thanks very much.

 

[Nicole Basham]

Hello:

I'm not aware if there has been more recent research, but we encouraged our clients to invest in LSAs once we saw BrightLocal's research showing that 14% of all clicks on SERPs with LSAs went to those ads:

Local Services Ads Click Study: Where Do People Click on Local SERPs?

Do people click Google's Local Services ads? We tested 5,500 searchers to see which links on the first page of Google are clicked, and the reasons for each.

www.brightlocal.com

We've seen a lot of volatility in calls from GMB listings over the past 6 months, but a lot of this we attribute to folks not being physically in the same locations as before (i.e. they are working from home instead of calling in from an office in an urban core). For the most part, local as a channel is still up, and we are finding that clients are adding in even more local leads by having a presence in LSAs, PPC ads, local and organic results.

I'd also add that as more folks are learning about LSAs, there has been increased competition for these placements, particularly for verticals where the cost per lead is very low compared to other advertising channels and platforms.

We assume that a move to the bidding model for LSAs reflects the fact that Google now has the option of offering prime placement if you are willing to increase your cost per lead. This is only available in some markets for some of our clients, so we haven't been able to make any conclusions yet or see how much this impacts the quantity and quality of leads.

Looking forward to hearing what others have been seeing as well.

 

[Tony Wang]

I have a client that is highly ranked in the 3 pack. We've been using LSA since it rolled out, at least a couple years now. Can't say that I noticed a drop off in GMB calls; of course, there are so many factors, and it's hard to tell sometimes, but it definitely didn't drop off suddenly.

There is always going to be at least some siphoning off from organic calls by ads at the top. But until the DOJ stomps out the Google monopoly, we really don't have much choice