This guide breaks down every step—from setting up campaigns to optimizing bids—so even if you’ve never run a PPC campaign before, you’ll know exactly what to do.

1. Why This Strategy Works

• High-Intent Travelers: People searching for activities in Venice often want something next—like Santa Monica’s sunset pier. Capturing them as they ‘leapfrog’ is a goldmine.
• Low Competition Zones: Many advertisers target one beach or the other, but few combine both with geo-targeting.

2. Setting Up Your Google Ads Account

1. Create or Login: Go to ads.google.com and sign in.
2. New Campaign: Click +New > Create Campaign > Website traffic (or Leads, depending on your goal).
3. Select Goal: Choose Website visits to drive clicks, or Leads if you have a form on your landing page.
4. Campaign Name: Use a clear name like VB-SM Crossover R1 (for Radius 1 mile).

3. Defining Your Geographic Areas

1. Venice Beach Campaign:
   • In Locations, choose Enter another location.
   • Search Venice Beach, CA and click Radius.
   • Set 1 mile, 3 miles, and 5 miles, creating three separate ad groups or campaigns.
2. Santa Monica Campaign:
   • Repeat with Santa Monica Pier, CA at the same radii.
3. Overlap Campaign:
   • Center a campaign at the midpoint on Pacific Coast Highway (e.g. Santa Monica Canyon, CA).
   • Use a 3-mile radius to capture people between both beaches.

4. Grouping Your Ads by Intent

Create Ad Groups within each campaign:

• Rentals: Keywords like bike rental venice beach, bike santa monica.
• Food & Drink: beach food trucks venice, cafes santa monica.
• Transport: beach shuttle venice to santa monica.
• Activities: sunset cruise santa monica, beach yoga venice.

Tip: Keep each ad group focused on one theme and include 5–10 related keywords.

5. Writing Your First Ads

For each ad group, write two ads:

1. Headline (up to 30 chars): Include the location + benefit, e.g., Venice → SM Pier Ride.
2. Description (up to 90 chars): Add a clear offer, e.g., Rent bikes from $15 & enjoy sunset at the pier!.
3. Extensions:
   • Callout: Free helmet, quick pickup.
   • Sitelink: Book Now, See Sunset Schedule.

6. Setting Bid Adjustments

1. Within 1 mile: +25% bid adjustment.
2. Within 3 miles: +10%.
3. Within 5 miles: 0% (base).
4. Beyond 5 miles: –10%.

Why? You pay more to reach those closest to your pickup point, where conversions are likeliest.

7. Creating Your Landing Page

1. Headline: “Bike Rentals Near Venice → Santa Monica Pier”
2. Map: Embed a small Google Map with markers at both locations.
3. Pricing Table: Show rates for Venice pickup vs. Santa Monica pickup.
4. Testimonials: One or two quotes from happy riders.
5. CTA Button: “Reserve Your Ride” in a bold color.
6. FAQ Section: Common questions (helmet rules, shuttle options).

8. Launching & Monitoring

• Start Small: Set a daily budget you’re comfortable with (e.g., $20/day).
• Check Daily: Look at clicks, cost per click (CPC), and conversions.
• Geo Reports: In Locations tab, view performance by radius.

9. Optimizing Over Time

1. Adjust Bids: Increase for high-performing zones, decrease for low.
2. Refine Keywords: Pause low-click terms, add new ones from Search terms.
3. A/B Test Ads: Swap headlines or descriptions every 2 weeks.
4. Landing Page Tweaks: Change CTA text or button color if conversions stalls.

10. Expanding the Strategy

• Seasonal Offers: Summer sunset packages, holiday events.
• Voice Search: Add FAQ schema so “Where can I rent a bike near Venice Beach?” is answered by Google.
• Local Partnerships: Team up with a café for combo deals, advertise both.

Now you have a complete, step-by-step blueprint to capture tourists bouncing between Venice Beach and Santa Monica—even if you’ve never run ads before.