Smart Bidding by ZIP Code: The Santa Monica Playbook for Local PPC Success

In 2025, Smart Bidding isn’t just about automation—it’s about precision. For local businesses in Los Angeles, dialing in your campaigns by ZIP code and feeding those insights into your CRM can unlock serious gains. This playbook shows how we used ZIP‑based CRM signals to help a plumbing company in Santa Monica increase leads, lower CPA, and gain hyperlocal advantage in Google Ads.

Why Smart Bidding Needs Local Data in 2025

Google Ads Smart Bidding uses machine learning to set bids based on predicted conversion likelihood. But when you’re serving a city as fragmented as Los Angeles, blanket targeting isn’t enough.

Without hyperlocal context, you’re:

• Wasting spend in ZIPs that rarely convert
• Overlooking ZIPs where users are ready to call
• Feeding Google’s algorithm incomplete data

Smart Bidding works best when you feed it what it can’t see: CRM-level context tied to ZIP code, lead quality, and offline conversions.

A Real Example — Plumbing PPC in Santa Monica

We worked with a plumbing company targeting five ZIP codes in Santa Monica. Here’s what we found after tagging every inbound lead by ZIP code via forms and call tracking:

ZIP Snapshot:
📍 90403 → 37% of leads, 22% lower CPA
📍 90405 → 13% of leads, high bounce rate
📍 90401 → Strong mobile clicks, low booking rate
📍 90402 → 9% of leads, mostly after-hours
📍 90404 → Moderate volume, best AOV

Armed with this data, we reshaped the campaign—not just to target locations, but to let Google Smart Bidding optimize within those ZIP zones using better signals.

Feeding ZIP Signals into Google Ads

Step 1: Add a hidden ZIP field on forms and call tracking that identifies caller location

Step 2: Push form submissions + call data into a CRM (we used HighLevel)

Step 3: Tag each lead by ZIP and quality tier (Booked, Qualified, No-Show, etc.)

Step 4: Use Zapier or Google Ads API to push tagged conversions into Google Ads with custom labels like Lead_90403_Qualified

Step 5: Set up location-based Smart Bidding with conversion actions segmented by ZIP performance

Result? Google learns where your best leads come from and adjusts in real time—boosting top ZIPs, cutting waste from low-intent areas.

Campaign Restructure Results

After ZIP segmentation and CRM tagging, here’s what changed:

• CPA dropped 31% in 90403
• Bounce rate reduced in 90405 after excluding certain mobile placements
• Qualified call volume increased by 22% across 90401 and 90404
• Time-to-book improved as high-ROAS ZIPs were prioritized during peak hours

ZIP targeting + CRM feedback created a tighter optimization loop.

How to Set This Up for Your LA Business

Whether you’re an HVAC pro in Venice or a dentist in Beverly Hills, here’s how to launch your own ZIP Smart Bidding campaign:

1. Choose 3–5 high-volume ZIPs from your current conversion data
2. Implement call tracking and include a hidden ZIP field on forms
3. Segment leads in your CRM based on ZIP and conversion quality
4. Push those leads into Google Ads with conversion labels
5. Monitor which ZIPs perform best and allow Smart Bidding to adjust

Optional: Create ZIP-level audiences and apply Smart Bidding modifiers based on past conversion rates.

Bonus: Combine ZIP Bidding with Local Ad Extensions

Adding local context boosts ad visibility. Here’s how we did it:

• Created ZIP-specific sitelinks (e.g. “90403 Emergency Service”)
• Rotated callout extensions for each ZIP (e.g. “Serving 90404 Homes Fast”)
• Scheduled assets to match peak hours by ZIP (especially for 90402’s after-hours calls)

This lifted CTR by nearly 18% overall.

Not Just for Plumbers — Other LA Use Cases

This ZIP + CRM bidding system works across industries:

• 🦷 Dental practices – Target Beverly Hills vs. Venice ZIPs with different procedures
• 🔧 HVAC companies – Segment Pacific Palisades vs. West LA for emergency vs. seasonal installs
• 💉 Medspas – Use ZIP-coded audiences for Botox vs. body contouring campaigns
• 🐜 Pest Control – Identify ZIPs with more rodent calls vs. termite issues

Hyperlocal = hyper-relevant.

Key Takeaways: Why ZIP-Based Smart Bidding Works

• Gives Smart Bidding better signals via your CRM
• Aligns your PPC spend with real-world lead quality
• Hyperlocal targeting means less waste, more wins
• Builds long-term first-party data assets (a must post-cookie)

Want Help Structuring Your Local Smart Bidding Strategy?

Let our team walk you through the setup, or run a quick ZIP-by-ZIP audit.

👉 Request a Free Google Ads Audit
👉 See Our Local Case Studies