You’ve probably seen headlines about the ‘death of the high street’ in recent years. 

On the face of it, it seems like physical stores are on life support while eCommerce eats the world. But the numbers tell a different story. 

Research from Emarketer shows that the majority (83.7%) of US retail sales still take place in physical stores, with 60% of consumers starting their research online before making their final purchase in-person.

That presents a huge opportunity - and one many brands are missing.

If your PPC strategy doesn’t connect your digital presence with your brick-and-mortar locations, you’re leaving some serious revenue on the table.

While most marketers are laser-focused on driving online sales, there’s another high-impact lever to pull: bringing ready-to-buy customers into your physical stores.

That’s where Google Ads’ Local Campaigns come into play.

In order to help marketers bridge the often-overlooked gap between digital ads and physical storefronts, we spoke with PPC expert Teodor Yordanov, who shared his proven strategies for mastering Local Campaigns in Google Ads. 

Teodor is the Senior Paid Media Director at BookedUp Media and Marketise Me, with over £100M in managed spend across eCommerce and retail brands.

He’s helped brands achieve 210% month-on-month increases in store visits by combining local store visit campaigns with local inventory ads. Over the next few minutes, we’ll unpack Teo’s insights to help you do the same.

Watch our full discussion with Teodor here - or keep reading for the full breakdown.

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro
3:07 - Teo’s Google Ads generic search term script
5:00 - What are local store visits in Google Ads
6:50 - Why use Google Ads to drive in-store traffic?
8:32 - What are Local Inventory Ads & why are they effective
12:05 - Inefficiencies with location targeting for LIAs
13:48 - Teo’s advanced postcode targeting tool
16:50 - How to optimize local store visit campaigns
20:01 - Case study: 210% MoM increase in store visits
22:35 - Final thoughts

What are Local Campaigns in Google Ads?

Local campaigns in Google Ads are designed to promote your physical business locations across Search, Display, Maps, and YouTube. They help potential customers discover your stores when they’re nearby (and most likely to take action).

A key feature of these campaigns is the ability to track local store visits - a powerful, often overlooked conversion type.

In Google Ads, local store visits are a conversion action that tracks when someone who clicks on your ad later visits your physical store. 

It’s essentially the bridge from digital ad engagement with in-store foot traffic.

Google uses a range of signals to estimate store visits, including:

• GPS data from mobile devices
• WiFi connections near or inside your store
• Google Maps usage
• Opted-in location history from Android and iOS devices
• Verified Google Business Profile signals

As Teodor explains:

"They represent a measurable attribution metric that helps businesses understand how digital marketing efforts translate to real-world foot traffic."

Importantly, these metrics are aggregated and anonymised, ensuring user privacy while providing businesses with valuable insights.

Google combines this data with machine learning models to estimate how many users who interacted with your ads subsequently visited your store. The result is a clear view of how online campaigns drive offline actions - something that was notoriously difficult to track just a few years ago.

Teodor highlights that this is part of a broader trend in bridging online and offline marketing:

"It's fascinating how shopping habits have evolved. Most people do their research online first, but the final purchase often happens in-store."

By tracking store visits, you can optimize campaigns not just for online conversions, but for total business impact.

Why prioritise in-store visits?

At this point, you might be thinking ‘why focus on store visits when online sales are easier to track?’

As previously mentioned, online-offline collaboration can be incredibly lucrative, and is something that your competitors may be overlooking. Yet Teodor also recapped a range of other reasons why you’d want to prioritise in-store visits:

1. Enhanced customer experience

An in-person store visit provides a level of customer engagement that digital channels struggle to match.

"When someone comes to your shop, you've got a wonderful opportunity for your staff to connect with customers, recommend additional items, and create a proper shopping experience" 

Shoppers can see, touch, and try products, ask questions, and build trust with your brand in a physical space.

2. Higher average order value and conversion rates

Many retailers report that in-store purchases often have a higher average basket size compared to online sales. This is especially true in categories like furniture, fashion, beauty, and luxury goods.

Teodor’s experience mirrors this:

"For example, furniture retailers see a natural preference for in-store purchases because customers want to experience the product first-hand."

When customers visit the store, they’re often more committed and ready to buy, making each visit highly valuable.

3. Influence over impulse buys

Physical stores enable merchandising strategies and impulse purchase opportunities that online channels can’t fully replicate.

"There’s something powerful about being able to see a product on the shelf, pick it up, and decide to buy it there and then" 

This can drive incremental revenue beyond the shopper’s original intent.

4. Inventory efficiency and cost savings

Encouraging store visits helps move physical inventory without incurring shipping costs, returns logistics, or last-mile delivery challenges.

"You've already got your inventory sitting in your shop that needs to move. You don't have to worry about shipping costs when customers buy in person" 

This can be particularly impactful for multi-location retailers looking to optimise stock turnover across their network.

5. Stronger local brand presence

Every store visit helps build brand presence and loyalty within the local community.

"Every person that walks through your door helps you build your presence in the community in a way that digital just can't match" 

This local presence becomes a valuable asset, supporting both short-term sales and long-term brand equity.

6. Capitalising on high intent local search

Perhaps most importantly, local search behaviour demonstrates strong buying intent:

"Google’s data shows that about three quarters of users who search for products nearby will visit a related business within 24 hours"

By aligning your paid media strategy to capture this intent, you can drive meaningful results that complement your online sales efforts.
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In summary, prioritising store visits isn’t just about balancing online and offline. It’s about:

• Enhancing customer experience
• Driving higher-value sales
• Moving inventory more efficiently
• Building stronger local brand relationships
• Capturing high intent moments

For retailers with a physical presence, Local Campaigns in Google Ads shouldn’t be an afterthought -  but instead a core focus of their paid media strategy.

Local inventory ads: the perfect complement

According to Google, retailers who use local inventory ads in addition to Shopping ads notice both a 21% increase in shop visits and a 9% increase in online conversions for products available in store.

Local inventory ads (LIAs) are a powerful tool that work hand-in-hand with local store visit campaigns, and - when done properly - can significantly boost results.

These ads display real-time product availability for nearby stores directly in Google Shopping results, allowing potential customers to see which products are in stock at their local store. 

"Local inventory ads bridge the gap between online shopping and local availability. Shoppers can see what's in stock nearby and visit today rather than waiting for delivery."

Here are the key advantages of incorporating LIAs:

1. Real-time local stock visibility

Shoppers can instantly see if a product they’re searching for is available at a store near them. This not only builds trust but also encourages faster purchase decisions.

2. Hyper-relevant high intent targeting

LIAs are triggered based on proximity and local search behaviour. Someone searching ‘running shoes near me’ or ‘furniture in stock London’ is showing clear intent to buy soon - LIAs capture that moment.

3. Increased visibility in Google Shopping

LIAs give you a competitive edge:

"Advertisers that use local inventory ads have a significant advantage in the Shopping tab with the local filter"

You can surface your products to high-intent local shoppers before competitors who only run standard shopping campaigns.

4. Seamless local storefront experience

LIAs create a rich local storefront on Google, showing:

• Live inventory availability
• Store opening hours
• Directions to the store
• In-store promotions and click-and-collect options

"It reduces the friction and makes a store visit much more likely"

5. Faster path to purchase

For many shoppers, knowing they can pick up a product today is far more attractive than waiting 1-3 days for delivery.

"That thought of 'I can get it today' is very powerful"

The bottom line?

LIAs complement local store visit campaigns perfectly by surfacing relevant products to nearby customers, increasing store traffic, and ultimately driving more sales.

Challenges and pitfalls to avoid

Of course, success with Local Campaigns and LIAs isn’t automatic. Teodor highlights several common pitfalls marketers must watch out for:

1. Inaccurate or outdated inventory data

One of the biggest risks is disappointing customers by showing products as in-stock when they’re not.

"If a customer comes in because your ad showed an item is in stock but it’s sold out, they'll be frustrated"

This can damage trust and reduce the likelihood of repeat visits.

Solution: Implement a robust real-time inventory feed. Sync data from your POS or inventory management system to Google’s local inventory feed frequently - ideally multiple times per day.

2. Complex setup and verification

LIAs require a multi-step setup process:

• Creating a local product inventory feed
• Verifying each store location
• Complying with Google’s data accuracy checks
• Potential on-site inventory verification by Google (for some verticals)

"For brands with many locations and thousands of SKUs, this can be substantial work - but well worth the effort"

Solution: Plan ahead. Work closely with your technical team or feed management partner to ensure a clean, accurate setup.

3. Incomplete attribution

"Without proper integration, we wouldn't know which products customers bought in store" 

Google’s store visit conversions give directional data, but to get more granular insights:

• Integrate POS or CRM data
• Send offline conversions back to Google Ads
• Assign values to store visit conversions based on average order value

4. Over-reliance on radius targeting

Many advertisers default to radius targeting for local campaigns, but as Teodor highlights:

"Real movement doesn't happen in a straight line. Rivers, motorways, transport links all affect how far people will actually travel to a store."

In short, radius targeting draws a perfect circle around a location - but that shape rarely reflects how people actually move through cities and suburbs.

Teo built a Google Sheets tool integrated with the Google Maps API to fix this problem. It allows advertisers to:

• Input postcodes around a store
• Calculate real-world driving distances
• Identify which areas are realistically reachable
• Prioritise the most efficient postcodes for location targeting

This approach results in custom-shaped targeting areas based on travel time and accessibility - not just distance as the crow flies.

Solution: Use postcode-based targeting (with Teo’s Google Sheets + Maps API tool) to build smarter geographies based on actual customer behaviour. Use postcode-based targeting to build smarter geographies based on actual customer behaviour. This free tool allows you to plot a radius around a postcode, further enhancing targeting options.

5. Neglecting campaign structure

Running one-size-fits-all campaigns across both local and national audiences leads to inefficiencies.

"Splitting campaigns into local and national segments allows for tailored messaging, budgeting, and optimisation."

Solution: Always segment your campaigns and optimize separately for local and national goals.

Campaign structure for maximum impact

Teodor’s biggest piece of advice? Split your campaigns into local and national segments.

Local campaigns

• Target postcodes near each store
• Optimise for both:
  
  • Store visits (with store visit conversion tracking)
  • Online sales
• Use dynamic store visit values if possible (via POS/CRM integration)
• Prioritise LIAs

National campaigns

• Exclude local postcodes
• Optimise solely for online sales
• Use separate creative and offers (e.g. online-only promotions)

Why split?

"It allows you to tailor messaging and budget strategy. For local, you can emphasise visit today or click-and-collect. National campaigns focus on delivery and online promotions."

It also enables you to:

• Scale LIAs by increasing budgets on local campaigns
• Optimise for each channel’s strengths
• Avoid overlap and cannibalisation

This is how Teodor achieves performance gains that many believe aren’t possible with Google’s standard LIA approach.

Real-world results: 210% more store visits

To demonstrate what’s possible, Teodor shared a recent case study.

He worked with a furniture retailer where 70% of revenue came from in-store purchases - but they weren’t effectively driving foot traffic via paid media.

The initial issues:

• No campaign split between local and national
• Inefficient radius targeting
• Underused LIAs

Teo’s approach:

1. Segment campaigns
2. Implement postcode targeting
3. Optimise budget to high-converting locations
4. Layer in LIAs with real-time stock
5. Continuously refine targeting based on store visit data

The results?

"We saw a 210% increase in store visits month on month because we were able to scale locally and put more money into the locations that bring more revenue."

This was achieved while also improving online sales efficiency by reducing wasted national spend.

How to get started: Google Ads Local Campaign checklist

Feeling inspired yet? Here’s a checklist containing everything you need to get started with Local Campaigns in Google Ads:

1. Audit your physical store readiness

• Verified Google Business Profiles
• Accurate store hours, address, and photos

2. Set up local inventory ads

• Create a local product inventory feed
• Verify store locations
• Ensure real-time inventory accuracy

3. Implement advanced location targeting

• Use postcode-based targeting (try Teo’s tool)
• Analyse and refine based on actual performance

4. Structure your campaigns correctly

• Split local vs. national
• Optimise for both online and offline goals
• Use tailored creative and budgets

5. Enhance attribution

• Implement store visit conversion tracking
• Integrate POS/CRM data where possible
• Feed offline conversions back into Google Ads

With this foundation in place, you’ll be well-positioned to:

• Increase store visits
• Drive more revenue from physical locations
• Improve overall PPC efficiency

Final thoughts

As Teodor stated:

"The beauty of this strategy is it works across industries. We’ve implemented it for furniture, pet supplies, and more - and consistently see strong results."

If you’re running paid media for any brand with physical locations, Local Campaigns should be part of your strategy.

In fact, you’re straight up leaving money on the table if they aren’t. 

By combining local inventory ads, smarter targeting, and split campaign structures, you can drive both online and offline growth - and prove your impact in the real world.

Start testing, iterate based on the data, and you might just unlock your next big growth lever.

Key resources:

• Teo's Google Maps Formulas (for calculating driving distances) - Teo’s tool for getting custom-shaped targeting areas based on travel time and accessibility. 
• Free tool for plotting a radius around a UK postcode - This can solve the inaccuracy of standard location targeting by helping advertisers map realistic driving distances around postcodes.
• Teodor’s script for removing generic brand terms - not strictly related to local campaigns but mentioned at the start of the podcast episode, Teo created this script to help marketers remove generic search terms from branded campaigns.
• Google’s guide to local inventory ads

Make sure you’re following Teodor on LinkedIn for additional PPC insights, free scripts, and resources. 

And for more expert PPC guides and insights, subscribe to the Paid Media Lab on YouTube, or follow the Paid Media Lab on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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