1. Good connections with the keyword and text ads 2. A call to action in your ad 3. Create specific ads for each group of keywords - not an advertisement for all 3. Testing, testing, testing ...
Attention - Interest - Desire - Action 5 lines, limited characters and a number of editorial policies to abide by means ad writing can be tricky. So let’s break the ad down line by line. I’ll use a common Marketing acronym here to help explain what the ad copy should achieve: Attention Interest Desire Action - The headline should grabs users’ attention and make them aware of your offering. - Description line 1 should spark users’ interest in your offering. - Description line 2 should develop a desire to obtain your product or service. - And finally, the Display URL should consolidate a user’s decision to take action. Let’s look at this idea in more detail: 1. Headline Rather than putting the name of your company in the headline, a more successful approach is to include keywords that triggered your ad. Users will be looking for an ad that they are confident will provide them with a solution to their need or problem. And thus, they will look for an ad that contains in the headline the search terms they typed in. What’s more, if your headline matches the user’s search query, the keyword in the headline will become bold, and as a result draw more attention to your ad. Ever wondered why the headline of some ads seems to match exactly what you searched for? Chances are the advertiser is using Dynamic Keyword Insertion. This feature dynamically inserts a keyword into your heading, making the ad even more relevant to the user. Setting this up is simple. Simply copy the following into your headline and choose a default heading which the headline will revert back to if the user’s search query is too long: {KeyWord:Choose A Default Heading} 2. Description Line 1 Now that you’ve grabbed your audience’s attention, here is where you need to capture their interest with the main feature of your product or service. How does your offering provide a solution to their problem? You only have 35 characters so get straight to the point, miss out unnecessary words like ‘and’, ‘of’, ‘in’, ‘at’, etc. if they don’t provide any added value to your message and include your common keywords again to further increase ad relevancy and thus your quality score. 3. Description Line 2 Now it’s time to turn their interest into desire for your product or service. What is your unique value proposition? In other words, what key benefits do you offer that your competitors do not? Low price? Expertise? High quality? Customisation? Special offers? Free delivery? Fantastic range? Free quotes? Money back guarantee? Next, make sure you include a call-to-action to further develop that desire and turn it into action. What do you want users to do once they get to your website? A call-to-action could be ‘Buy Online!’ ‘Order Today!’ ‘Call Us Now!’ ‘Apply Online!’ ‘Get A Free No Obligation Quote!’ ‘Sign Up Today For 20% Off!’ ‘Buy Now For Next Day Delivery!’ 4. Display URL The Display URL is still very much a part of your ad. Use it to confirm a user’s decision to take action by making it stand out from other URLs by capitalising the first letter of every word. Eg. www (dot) ExampleWebsite (dot) com. Furthermore, provided the domain is correct, you can add anything after the forward slash. Make sure you don’t miss out on this extra text space - Use it to mention your common keyword again. For example, if I was advertising a Rock-Paper-Scissors explanations website, I might set up various ads (in separate ad groups of course!) with display URLs such as Example (dot) com/Rock, Example (dot) com/Paper and Example (dot) com/Scissors. Not only will this make the ad more eye-catching for the user and provide assurance that the page they will be taken to contains the exact information they need, but by mentioning the common keyword yet again you will further increase your ad’s relevance and thus your quality score. And remember, if the searched for keyword is contained anywhere in the ad it will show up in bold. In addition to the important considerations we’ve explored above, let’s look at some general best practices to consider when you’re writing your ad texts: 5. Don’t underestimate the importance of good formatting It sounds obvious but make sure you triple check your ad copy for spelling and grammar mistakes. It would be a shame to miss out on potential clicks due to a poor first impression because of spelling errors! In addition, follow best practice of Capitalising The First Letter Of Each Word In Your Ad. This makes the ad look more attractive, professional and eye-catching. And finally, use all the available space in the ad. White space in an ad makes it look like the advertiser couldn’t be bothered to finish the ad or that the product or service doesn’t have much to offer. 6. Make sure you tailor your ad to your target audience Think about your target market. What are their demographics? What factors affect their buying decision? Asking yourself these kinds of questions will help you when it comes to writing the ads and deciding the kind of language to use. For example, if a user is searching for “low cost holidays”, then including things like “Prices From £100 Per Person” and “Book Now To Save 20%” would be important to include in your ad. Whereas, someone searching for “luxury getaways” would be more interested in an ad that highlights the first class facilities and quality service. By making your ads clear, you can deter people who are unlikely to convert from clicking on your ad and wasting your budget. 7. Be specific, informative and up-front The whole purpose of splitting up your campaign into separate ad groups is so that you can write specific ads depending on what a user is searching for. Are they searching for an online florist where they can order a bouquet of roses? If so, make sure they see an ad with a headline such as “Buy Stunning Roses Online” rather than a generic ad such as “Buy Flowers Online”. The former is much more likely to result in a better CTR. Do you serve a particular city or region? If so, specify the name of the area in your ad. It can be reassuring for potential customers to see that you are a local business and this can give you an advantage over national companies. Specify the price of your product or service. If it’s competitively priced, then this will attract more people to click on your ad. If it’s on the higher end of the pricing scale then it’s better that the price-conscious user finds out before clicking on your ad and wasting your budget. I hope those tips are useful! Remember to experiment with a number of different ads to see which results in the best return on investment for you!
Knowing what is important to your advertisers is most important. I also think using plenty of subheadings is important. Break down the text in small sections. I too think Tom donated a very useful explanation.