Solved: Stop Google Ads Wasting Budget Outside Philadelphia

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out! It's a really common headache you've got there. Tbh, managing local PPC campaigns in a city like Philadelphia is tricky because of how the metro area bleeds into other states and suburbs. I've seen loads of accounts where half the budget is vanishing into clicks from New Jersey or Delaware because the settings weren't tightened up properly.

I'm happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance on this. The trick to winning in a local market without wasting budget isn't just about bidding on the right keywords; it's about building a geofence so tight that Google has no choice but to show your ads only to the people you actually want to serve. If you get this right, you can effectively bully the bigger national competitors out of your local patch because your relevance will be so much higher.

I've broken this down into a few deep sections below, covering everything from the hidden location settings Google tries to hide from you, to the specific keyword strategies that work for service businesses in dense cities.

The "Philadelphia" Problem: Why Your Location Settings Are Leaking Cash

First off, let's talk about the geography. Philadelphia is a nightmare for default Google Ads settings. You've got the city itself, the Main Line suburbs, and then right across the river, you've got Camden and the rest of South Jersey. If you're a service business that only operates in PA, or maybe even just specifically inside the city limits, Google's default settings are basically designed to waste your money.

When you set up a campaign, you select your location, right? You type in "Philadelphia". Simple. But here's the catch: Google has a setting buried in the "Location Options" tab (you usually have to click 'More Settings' to even find it) called Targeting.

The default is: "Presence or interest: People in, regularly in, or who've shown interest in your targeted locations."

This is the budget killer. "Interest" means if someone in California (or even the UK!) searches for "Philadelphia electricians" because they are moving there, or maybe they are just researching, your ad shows. Or, more annoyingly, someone in Cherry Hill, NJ, searches for your service. Because they commute to Philly or Google thinks they are "interested" in Philly, your ad shows. If you don't cross the bridge, that's a wasted click.

The Fix: You must change this setting to "Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations."

This forces Google to look at the user's physical device location or their frequent location history. It cuts out the "interest" fluff. We're currently running a campaign for an HVAC company in a competitive area where we are seeing costs of around $60 per lead. A major factor in maintaining this efficiency is ensuring we flipped this switch to stop them getting clicks from three states away just because people were searching for "HVAC repair" and had previously looked up something about the city.

Radius vs. Zip Codes: The Art of the Geo-Fence

So, you've fixed the intent setting. Now, how do you actually define "Philadelphia"?

Most people just select "Philadelphia, PA" as a city. The problem with this is that city limits are arbitrary lines on a map that don't reflect how people actually travel or search. If you are in the lawn care business, maybe you want the wealthy suburbs but not the downtown concrete jungle. If you are a high-end consultant, maybe you only want Center City.

I usually recommend a Zip Code strategy for granular control. This allows you to exclude specific pockets where you know the ROI is low. For example, if you know you never get qualified leads from a certain neighbourhood because the income level doesn't match your pricing, just exclude those zips. It sounds harsh, but we are paying for clicks here. You gotta be ruthless.

Alternatively, use Radius Targeting, but layer it. Don't just do one big 20-mile circle. Do this:

• Tier 1: 5 miles around your office (Bid +20%)
• Tier 2: 10 miles around your office (Bid +0%)
• Tier 3: 15 miles around your office (Bid -20%)

This effectively tells Google: "I want leads from everywhere, but I'm willing to pay more for the ones closer to me because they are cheaper to service." If you have to drive an hour in Philly traffic to get to a job, your margin takes a hit. Your bids should reflect that.

Negative Locations: The Exclusion List

This is where you stop the bleed from the borders. You can't just target Philly; you have to explicitly tell Google where you are NOT. I'd go into your location settings and add "New Jersey" and "Delaware" as negative locations (Excluded locations). Even if your radius technically doesn't touch them, GPS drift and IP address signals aren't perfect. Explicitly excluding the state or counties next door adds an extra layer of safety. I'd also exclude "New York" just to be safe, as the ad signals can get crossed in the dense north-east corridor.

Keyword Strategy: Don't Let "Broad Match" Eat Your Lunch

In local PPC, the battle is fought on relevance. If you use Broad Match keywords (e.g., simply typing plumber philadelphia without quotes or brackets), Google is going to match you to all sorts of rubbish. They might show you for "plumbing supplies philadelphia" or "how to become a plumber in PA". You don't want job seekers or DIYers.

I'd stick to Phrase Match ("keyword") and Exact Match ([keyword]) initially.

For example:

• "emergency plumber philadelphia"
• [plumber near me]
• "boiler repair philly"

The "Near Me" Trap: Everyone wants to rank for "service near me". It's a goldmine, but it's also expensive. If you bid on "near me" terms, your location targeting MUST be perfect. If your radius is too wide, you'll show up for someone 25 miles away. They'll click, see you are too far, and bounce. That's money down the drain.

Also, watch out for competitor names. If you leave your keywords too loose, you might show up when someone searches for "Bob's Plumbing phone number". Unless you have a specific strategy to conquest competitor traffic (which is expensive and often yields angry callers looking for Bob), you should add competitor names to your Negative Keyword list.

Localising Your Ad Copy

If you want to compete for local keywords, your ads need to scream "I am local." National lead gen companies (like Angi or Thumbtack) will have generic ads like "Top Rated Plumbers - Fast Service." You can beat them by being specific.

Use the neighbourhood names in your headlines. "Serving Manayunk & Roxborough" hits way harder for someone living there than "Serving Philadelphia". It builds instant trust. "Oh, they're round the corner."

Also, use a local phone number. If you use a tracking number (which you should), make sure it has a 215 or 267 area code. A toll-free 800 number makes you look like a call centre, not a local expert.

Landing Pages: The Deal Closer

You can have the best settings in the world, but if you send traffic to a generic homepage, you'll lose them. Local searchers are impatient. They want to know two things: "Can you solve my problem?" and "Do you service my area?"

If you service the suburbs as well, create separate landing pages. Have a page for "Main Line Services" and another for "Center City Services". The headline on the page should match the ad they clicked. This increases your Quality Score. A higher Quality Score means Google charges you less per click. It's the only way to beat the guys with deeper pockets.

Make sure your address and map embed are visible on the landing page too. It sends a signal to Google that you are legitimately local, which helps with ad ranking.

Negative Keywords: The Defensive Line

I cannot stress this enough: your negative keyword list will make or break your profitability. You need to tell Google what you don't want. Since you are in a specific metro area, you need to exclude:

• Competitor names: Unless you have a conquesting strategy.
• DIY terms: "how to", "training", "course", "jobs", "salary". You want customers, not employees or students.
• Cheap terms: "cheap", "free", "pro bono". Unless you are the budget option, these clicks rarely convert well.
• Out of area locations: "NYC", "New York", "Pittsburgh", "Harrisburg", "Baltimore". Even though your geo-targeting should catch these, people sometimes search "Plumber Philadelphia vs Pittsburgh salary" or weird combos. Block them.

Data & Tracking: Don't Fly Blind

Finally, for a local business, calls are usually the main conversion. You need to set up Call Tracking (like CallRail or Google's forwarding numbers). If you don't track calls, you won't know which keywords are driving actual business versus just form fills. I've seen campaigns where the cost per lead looked high on paper, but when we factored in phone calls that weren't being tracked properly, the ROI was actually massive.

You also want to link your Google Business Profile to your Ads account. This allows you to run "Location Extensions", which show your address right in the ad. It helps with the click-through rate massively.

I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:

Local PPC is a bit of a minefield if you just use the default settings, but once you tighten the screws, it's one of the most reliable ways to generate leads. It just takes a bit of patience to get the structure right.

If you find yourself getting stuck with the setup or just want a second pair of eyes on the account before you turn on the spending tap, it might be worth getting some expert help. We offer a free consultation where we can look at your specific location challenges and map out a strategy that fits your budget. No pressure at all, just happy to help you avoid the common pitfalls.

Hope this helps!

Regards,

Team @ Lukas Holschuh