Solved: Google Ads for Southampton (A Step-by-Step Fix)

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out! Happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance on getting a Google Ads strategy sorted for Southampton. It's a common stumbling block, people often think just setting the location is enough, but it's a bit more involved than that to get it working properly and not just waste money.

The main issue is usually shifting your mindset from just "advertising" to "solving an urgent local problem". Once you nail that, everything else like keywords and ad copy falls into place much easier. I'll walk you through how we approach this for local service businesses.

We'll need to look at your Ideal Customer's Nightmare... not their postcode

Right, first things first. Forget about targeting "everyone in Southampton". It's the fastest way to burn through your budget. Your ads will be shown to people who couldn't care less about what you offer. The most common mistake I see is businesses defining their audience as something like "homeowners in Southampton aged 30-65". This tells you precisely nothing useful and leads to generic, ineffective ads.

Instead, you need to get obsessed with your customer's specific, urgent, and often expensive problem. Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) isn't a demographic; it's a problem state. It's a 'nightmare scenario'.

Let's say you're a plumber. Your ICP isn't just "a person in Southampton". It's:

• -> A parent in a semi-detached house in Shirley (SO15) at 7am on a Tuesday, staring at a burst pipe flooding their new kitchen floor, panicking about getting the kids to school and the cost of the damage.
• -> A landlord in Portswood (SO17) who just got an angry call from a tenant because the boiler has packed in on the coldest day of the year, and they're threatening to withhold rent.

See the difference? These aren't just people. These are specific nightmares. When you understand the panic, the urgency, and the context, you can write ads and choose keywords that speak directly to that pain. You stop selling "plumbing services" and start selling "a fast, reliable solution to your flooded kitchen". This is the absolute foundation. Before you spend a single penny, you need to have a crystal clear picture of the nightmare you're paid to solve. Everything else we discuss will be built on this.

This deep understanding of the problem is what separates campaigns that get a steady stream of profitable leads from those that just generate expensive clicks. You're not interrupting their day; you're appearing at the exact moment they're desperately searching for a hero. Your ad needs to be that hero's calling card.

I'd say you need a Local Keyword Strategy, not just a keyword list...

Once you've defined the nightmare, you can figure out what your potential customer is frantically typing into Google at that moment of crisis. This is where your keyword strategy comes in, and for a local business, it's all about intent.

You need to ignore broad, informational keywords. Someone searching for "how to fix a leaky tap" is in DIY mode, they're not ready to hire you. They're a tyre-kicker, not a customer. You want to capture people with commercial, local intent. They've already decided they need to pay someone to fix the problem, and they need them now, and they need them to be local.

Your keyword list should be built around these three pillars of local intent:

1. Service + Geo-modifier: This is the most obvious one. People searching for a specific service within a specific area.
   Examples: "emergency plumber in southampton", "boiler service bitterne", "electrician Totton".


2. "Near Me" Searches: Increasingly common, especially on mobile. Google knows the user's location, so "near me" is an explicit signal they want a local provider.
   Examples: "gas engineer near me", "24 hour electrician near me".


3. Service + Postcode: This is a brilliant one for hyper-local targeting. People often use postcodes to narrow their search down to their immediate area, signaling high intent.
   Examples: "drain unblocking SO14", "locksmith SO16".

You need to build out lists for every single service you offer. Don't just lump "plumber" all together. You'll want seperate lists for "boiler repair," "burst pipe repair," "radiator installation," etc. It's more work upfront, but it's the only way to ensure your ads are hyper-relevant to the search query, which Google rewards with better ad positions and lower costs.

A final point here is negative keywords. You need to be ruthless. Add negative keywords for things like "jobs", "course", "training", "free", "DIY", "youtube". You don't want to pay for a click from someone looking for a plumbing apprenticeship when you're trying to find a homeowner with a flooded kitchen.

You probably should structure your campaigns properly...

This is another area where people go wrong. They create one campaign, one ad group, and dump all their keywords and ads into it. This is a recipe for disaster. It means someone searching for an "emergency boiler repair" sees an ad for "general plumbing services". It's not specific enough, so they won't click. And Google will penalise you for it.

A tidy account structure is non-negotiable. Think of it like a well-organised toolbox. You know exactly where the right tool is for the job. Here's how we structure campaigns for local service businesses:

Campaign Level: You might have different campaigns for different core services, especially if they have very different profit margins or customer types. For example:

• Campaign 1: Emergency Call-Outs (High urgency, high value)
• Campaign 2: Planned Installations (Lower urgency, very high value, longer sales cycle)
• Campaign 3: General Repairs & Servicing (Medium urgency, medium value)

Ad Group Level: This is where you get really specific. Each ad group should focus on ONE single service. The keywords in that ad group should all relate directly to that one service, and the ads should speak to that one service only.

Let's take the 'Emergency Call-Outs' campaign as an example. You would have ad groups like:

• Ad Group 1: Emergency Plumber (Keywords: "emergency plumber southampton", "24/7 plumber near me", etc.)
• Ad Group 2: Burst Pipe Repair (Keywords: "burst pipe repair SO14", "fix leaking pipe southampton", etc.)
• Ad Group 3: Blocked Drains (Keywords: "unblock drain southampton", "drain jetting near me", etc.)

This structure is powerful because it allows for perfect message match. The user's search query, your keywords, your ad headline, and your landing page content all align perfectly. When someone searches "burst pipe repair southampton", they see an ad with the headline "Burst Pipe Repair in Southampton" which takes them to a page all about your fast-response burst pipe services. This relevance is what Google loves, and it's what convinces a user in a panic that you are the right person to call.

You'll need ad copy that builds instant local trust...

Your ad is your 3-second pitch. In that tiny space, you have to convince a stressed-out person that you are local, trustworthy, and can solve their problem right now. Generic copy won't cut it. Every word counts.

Here are the core principles for writing local ad copy that works:

• Lead with the Solution & Location: Your first headline (Headline 1) is the most important. It should mirror their search query as closely as possible. If they searched "emergency plumber southampton", your headline should be "Emergency Plumber Southampton" or "24/7 Plumbers in Southampton". This is an instant confirmation you're relevant.
• Highlight Urgency & Speed: Use words like "24/7 Service", "1-Hour Response", "Call Now for a Fast Fix", "Serving Southampton Today". This taps into their panic and offers immediate relief.
• Build Trust & Credibility: Use your other headlines and descriptions to add trust signals. "Gas Safe Registered", "15+ Years Experience", "Checkatrade Approved", "Hundreds of 5-Star Reviews".
• Have a Clear Call to Action (CTA): Tell them exactly what to do. "Call Us Now for a Free Quote", "Get a Quote Online in 2 Mins". Make it unambiguous.

And absolutely use ad extensions. They're free, they make your ad bigger, and they give users more ways to contact you.
-> Sitelink Extensions: Link to specific pages on your site like 'Our Services', 'Pricing', 'Testimonials'.
-> Call Extensions: Puts your phone number directly in the ad. On mobile, it's a clickable button. This is probably the most important one for an emergency service.
-> Location Extensions: Shows your business address and a map marker. A massive trust signal that proves you are a genuine local business.
-> Callout Extensions: Short snippets of text to highlight key selling points, e.g., "No Call-Out Fee", "Family-Run Business", "Guaranteed Work".

Here’s a practical example of how to transform a weak, generic ad into a powerful, local one.

The 'After' version is specific, local, urgent, and trustworthy. It's not just an ad; it's a solution staring them in the face at their moment of need. That's the difference that gets the click and the call.

You need to think about your budget and what to expect...

"How much should I spend?" is the million-dollar question. The answer isn't a fixed number; it's based on maths. You need to work backwards from your goal.

First, you need a realistic idea of what a lead might cost. For local services in the UK, the Cost Per Lead (CPL) can vary massively depending on the service and the competition in your area. Based on our experience with similar campaigns, here's a rough guide:

• We've run ads for childcare services where the CPL was around $10 per signup.
• Our best consumer services campaign for a home cleaning company got a cost of just £5 per lead.
• However, we're currently running a campaign for an HVAC company in a competitive area, and they're seeing costs of around $60 per lead.

For a service like a plumber or electrician in Southampton, you're probably looking at a CPL somewhere in the £20-£50 range. Let's be conservative and say £35 per lead to start with.

Now, how many leads do you want per month? Let's say you want 30 new leads, roughly one a day.

Your starting budget = Desired Leads x Estimated CPL
Your starting budget = 30 x £35 = £1,050 per month on ad spend.

This is a sensible starting point. It's enough to gather data and see what's working, without breaking the bank. As you optimise the campaigns and your CPL comes down, you can either keep the budget the same and get more leads, or reduce the budget and maintain the same lead flow.

This simple calculation is often a revelation for business owners. It takes the guesswork out of budgeting and turns it into a predictable investment in growth. Use the calculator below to play around with the numbers for your own business.

And here is the main advice I have for you:

Getting this right is a process, not a one-time setup. It involves careful planning, structured implementation, and ongoing monitoring and optimisation. It might seem like a lot, but following a logical process like this is what makes the difference between success and failure with Google Ads.

This whole process can be pretty daunting, I know. It's not just about flicking a few switches in Google Ads; it's about understanding marketing strategy, customer psychology, and the technical details of the platform. Lots of business owners try to do it themselves, waste a few thousand pounds on clicks that go nowhere, and then conclude that "Google Ads doesn't work".

The truth is, it does work, extremely well, but it requires expertise and a dedicated focus that most business owners simply don't have the time for. That's where working with a specialist can make a massive difference. We live and breathe this stuff every day. We've seen what works and what doesn't across dozens of industries, so we can get you to profitability much faster and avoid those costly initial mistakes.

If you'd like to chat through your specific situation in more detail, we offer a completely free, no-obligation initial consultation. We can have a look at your website, discuss your goals, and give you a more tailored plan of action. It's a great way to get some expert eyes on your business and see if we might be a good fit to help you grow.

Hope this helps!

Regards,

Team @ Lukas Holschuh