If you’re doing paid search you not only have to have a logical account structure and solid keyword list, but you also have to have really compelling ads. So how do you write killer PPC ads? These tips will help you craft ads that stand out from your competitors and get clicks from qualified searchers.
Use Keywords
Using keywords will help your ads stand out because they will appear bolded when someone searches for them. It’s important not to get too carried away though because if you just jam a bunch of keywords into an ad it won’t be very readable and will likely be ignored.
Include a Call to Action
Get searchers excited by telling them what to do next. Short quick calls to action work best for PPC ads like Buy Now, Get It Now, Shop Now, Sign Up Today, Try It Free, Buy for Less, Download Now, and Get Started.
Use Proper Landing Pages
Don’t just send all of your traffic to your homepage. Make sure that the landing page you’re using is highly relevant to what was searched for to trigger the ad. If you’re designing specific landing pages for your PPC ads, make sure that you test elements like wording, overall layout, button placement, color scheme, and fonts to ensure that you’re using the best combination for that page.
Include Your Value Proposition
Telling searchers why they should pick your ad over your competitors’ ads is crucial because it can determine if you stand out enough to get the click. Value propositions in ads can take a number of different shapes, but here are some examples: Lowest Prices Online, Huge Selection, Same Day Shipping, 40% Less Than Retail, Free Shipping, Family Run Business for 50+ Years, Made in the USA, 30 Day No Hassle Return Policy, and Custom Made.
Consider Grammar
Capitalization in ad text is a matter of personal opinion. Some advertisers prefer to only capitalize the first letter of just the most important words, some capitalize the first letter of any main words like the title of a book or article, and some capitalize the first letter of every word. It’s a good idea to test the capitalization in your words regardless of which method you choose to go with initially.
When it comes to punctuation, this can have a very big influence on how your ad is formatted when it appears in the top positions (positions 1-3). Ending the first line of your ad text with a period or question mark will cause the line to be bumped up and join the headline so your ad will actually only have 2 lines of text and then the display URL. Ending the first line of your ad text with a comma, dash, space, or letter will leave your ad in the same format as if it was on the right side (in positions 4-9); so your ad will have 3 lines of text (a traditional headline and then 2 lines of regular ad text) and then the display URL.
Get Snazzy
There are a lot of extra things you can integrate into your ads or add onto your ads to make them unique. The best extras are:
Let us show you why we’re Michigan’s best paid search company! Contact us today to find out what we can do for your business!
Kate Pierce is the owner of LionShark Digital Marketing LLC, a West Michigan internet marketing company. Her areas of expertise include Paid Search, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Web Consulting for small businesses, Copywriting and Local Online Marketing. She lives in the Grand Rapids area with her husband and enjoys cooking, watching sports and spending time outdoors. Like a true digital marketing expert (i.e. geek), she loves talking about marketing theory and SEM trends… so beware!
Photo from Flickr (Steve Jurvetson)
Use Keywords
Using keywords will help your ads stand out because they will appear bolded when someone searches for them. It’s important not to get too carried away though because if you just jam a bunch of keywords into an ad it won’t be very readable and will likely be ignored.
Include a Call to Action
Get searchers excited by telling them what to do next. Short quick calls to action work best for PPC ads like Buy Now, Get It Now, Shop Now, Sign Up Today, Try It Free, Buy for Less, Download Now, and Get Started.
Use Proper Landing Pages
Don’t just send all of your traffic to your homepage. Make sure that the landing page you’re using is highly relevant to what was searched for to trigger the ad. If you’re designing specific landing pages for your PPC ads, make sure that you test elements like wording, overall layout, button placement, color scheme, and fonts to ensure that you’re using the best combination for that page.
Include Your Value Proposition
Telling searchers why they should pick your ad over your competitors’ ads is crucial because it can determine if you stand out enough to get the click. Value propositions in ads can take a number of different shapes, but here are some examples: Lowest Prices Online, Huge Selection, Same Day Shipping, 40% Less Than Retail, Free Shipping, Family Run Business for 50+ Years, Made in the USA, 30 Day No Hassle Return Policy, and Custom Made.
Consider Grammar
Capitalization in ad text is a matter of personal opinion. Some advertisers prefer to only capitalize the first letter of just the most important words, some capitalize the first letter of any main words like the title of a book or article, and some capitalize the first letter of every word. It’s a good idea to test the capitalization in your words regardless of which method you choose to go with initially.
When it comes to punctuation, this can have a very big influence on how your ad is formatted when it appears in the top positions (positions 1-3). Ending the first line of your ad text with a period or question mark will cause the line to be bumped up and join the headline so your ad will actually only have 2 lines of text and then the display URL. Ending the first line of your ad text with a comma, dash, space, or letter will leave your ad in the same format as if it was on the right side (in positions 4-9); so your ad will have 3 lines of text (a traditional headline and then 2 lines of regular ad text) and then the display URL.
Get Snazzy
There are a lot of extra things you can integrate into your ads or add onto your ads to make them unique. The best extras are:
- Dynamic Keyword Insertion
Dynamic Keyword Insertion (or DKI as it’s known by paid search professionals) allows you to insert the searcher’s actual search query into your ad to increase its relevance. - Vanity display URLs
This is the practice of including text on the end of your display URL to entice searchers by making your URL look highly relevant to their search. - Sitelink extensions
Sitelinks let you link to other pages of your site in the ad itself. Using sitelinks is a great way to direct traffic to pages that contain related products/services, illustrate the variety of products/services that you offer to searchers who may not be familiar with your business, and even display promotions that are running. The best part is that they make your ads bigger so you get more real estate on the search engine results page for the money! - Location extensions
Businesses with physical addresses can use location extensions to have their closest location appear alongside their ads. - Call extensions
Call extensions are a way to have your phone number display with your ad to searchers so that if they’re using a mobile device they can call directly from the ad instead of having to try to look up the number on your site or remember it as they dial. If you let Google assign you a Google number you can even track clicks on your phone number and conversions from calls! - Review extensions
Review extensions are newer and allow you to link reviews for you company on third party sites to your ads so that searchers can see positive mentions of your business by former customers. This is a great new way for businesses that are well established and have lot of happy customers to showcase that in their ads.
Let us show you why we’re Michigan’s best paid search company! Contact us today to find out what we can do for your business!
Kate Pierce is the owner of LionShark Digital Marketing LLC, a West Michigan internet marketing company. Her areas of expertise include Paid Search, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Web Consulting for small businesses, Copywriting and Local Online Marketing. She lives in the Grand Rapids area with her husband and enjoys cooking, watching sports and spending time outdoors. Like a true digital marketing expert (i.e. geek), she loves talking about marketing theory and SEM trends… so beware!
Photo from Flickr (Steve Jurvetson)
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