Why am I getting a message that my campaign is limited due to local services and bid limits?

Short Answer: The local services alert is a common message experienced by many, especially in industries like garage door and locksmith services. Google confirms that this alert is normal, even after advanced verification. What truly matters is that your ads are receiving impressions and showing to audiences. Regarding bid limits, these can often stem from your budget or maximum cost-per-click (CPC) settings. It’s best to begin with optimizing one campaign fully before duplicating it into others for better control and results.

Full Explanation

The message indicating that your campaign is limited due to local services is a frequent alert encountered across certain service industries, such as garage door and locksmith companies. Despite undergoing advanced verification, this alert commonly appears. Google has addressed this and reassured advertisers that it is acceptable. Essentially, this message does not imply that your campaign is faulty as long as your ads continue to receive impressions, which confirms that they are actively being shown to potential customers.

Regarding the bid limits, these restrictions typically relate to your campaign’s budget or the maximum CPC you have set. These bid limits can cause messages indicating limitations, as the platform controls how far your ads can extend based on these parameters.

Step-by-Step Breakdown

  1. Receive the alert about local services and bid limits.
  2. Understand that the local services alert is normal and expected in some service industries.
  3. Confirm that your ads are getting impressions, meaning they are active and viewable.
  4. Review your campaign’s budget and max CPC to check if bid limits are causing the message.
  5. Focus on optimizing one campaign first for better control and results.
  6. After the first campaign is properly optimized, duplicate it to create new campaigns.

Real Examples

Many garage door repair and locksmith companies face this local services alert. Even those that have undergone Google’s advanced verification still see the alert but maintain successful ad impressions. This consistency helps confirm the alert is more informational than problematic.

Additionally, companies noticing bid limit messages usually resolve them by adjusting their max CPC or budget, then observing how impressions respond.

Common Mistakes

  • Thinking the local services alert means the campaign is failing or disapproved.
  • Ignoring impressions and ad visibility as a sign of campaign health.
  • Attempting to launch multiple campaigns before fully optimizing a single one, which complicates management and control.
  • Not reviewing budget and CPC settings that can trigger bid limit alerts.

FAQs

Q: Does the local services alert mean my ads are not running?
A: No, if your ads are receiving impressions, they are running despite the alert.

Q: How can I fix bid limit messages?
A: Check and adjust your campaign budget and max CPC to avoid hitting bid limits.

Q: Should I run multiple campaigns at once?
A: It’s best to start with one campaign, optimize it fully, then duplicate it to maintain better control.

Key Takeaways

  • The local services alert is common and does not indicate a problem if your ads have impressions.
  • Bid limits arise from your budget or max CPC settings and can be managed by adjusting those values.
  • Start with optimizing one campaign for effective management before expanding to more.
  • Monitoring impressions is a key metric to ensure your ads are functioning correctly despite alerts.