Why Should Each City Have Its Own Campaign?

The short answer is that having a separate campaign for each city provides better control over the cost per click. Managing everything under one campaign can lead to overspending on clicks that don’t align with your budget or expectations in different locations.

Full Explanation

When you consolidate all cities into a single campaign, the bidding strategy tends to become uniform. This means you might end up paying more for clicks in areas where the cost should be lower. By creating individual campaigns tailored to each city, you can adjust the maximum cost per click based on local market conditions and value perception.

For instance, the average cost of a service like carpet cleaning varies between boroughs or neighborhoods. If your willingness to pay for a lead in Staten Island is $30 but rises to $70 in Manhattan due to higher average prices, a single campaign won’t allow you to reflect those differences accurately. Separate campaigns enable you to set distinct bids that match the economic realities and competitive landscapes of each city.

Step-by-Step Breakdown

  1. Assess Local Market Prices: Understand how much you are willing to pay per lead in each city based on service costs and profitability.
  2. Create Separate Campaigns: Set up individual campaigns for every city instead of grouping all together.
  3. Set City-Specific Bids: Customize your cost per click limits reflecting the expected value for each location.
  4. Monitor and Adjust: Track campaign performance city by city and fine-tune bids to keep costs optimized.

Real Examples

Imagine you run cleaning services in New York City. In Staten Island, your target lead cost is $30 because the average house carpet cleaning charge is lower there. Meanwhile, in Manhattan, the cleaning rates are higher, and you’re comfortable paying up to $70 per lead. Running one campaign across all boroughs would make it difficult to accommodate these different budgets effectively, likely causing overspending or missed opportunities.

Common Mistakes

  • Combining Cities Into One Campaign: This causes loss of cost control, making it hard to optimize bids per location.
  • Ignoring Local Pricing Differences: Treating all markets the same generally leads to inefficient spending.
  • Not Updating Campaigns: Failing to adjust bids based on changing local costs or performance data.

FAQs

Can I manage costs effectively with one campaign across cities?
It’s challenging because a single campaign lacks flexibility in bid setting per city, often leading to overpaying in lower-cost areas.
How do city-specific campaigns help with budgeting?
They allow you to allocate budgets and adjust bids targeting each city’s unique market conditions and customer value.
Is it more work to run multiple campaigns?
While it requires some initial setup and monitoring, the improved cost control and performance benefits outweigh the extra effort.

Key Takeaways

  • Separate campaigns per city provide tailored control over cost per click, aligning spend with local market values.
  • Grouping all locations in one campaign risks overpayment in lower-cost areas and inadequate bids in higher-cost zones.
  • Adjusting bids city-by-city maximizes return on ad spend by reflecting realistic pricing and competition.
  • Careful monitoring and adjustments are necessary to maintain optimal campaign performance.