Now that I have your attention, let’s talk about writing an effective PPC ad. There are plenty of articles out there that will tell you the proper way to write an ad. But, just like in other areas of search engine marketing, there is no template for success – you must find what works well for your business and what appeals to your unique customers.
As an advertiser, you are given anywhere from 100 to 150 characters to convey your message, and your ad is displayed on a results page with 10 of your competitors. So given your limited space and the clutter, it is essential that your ad attract your customer by using these techniques. Use your keywords. Not only will your ads appear more relevant, but also these keywords will often be bolded in your ad.
Be specific. This will definitely make your click through rate soar, and it will also lead to more conversions.
Write plenty of ads. Don’t be afraid to write upwards of 20 ads for one campaign. This is just another way to be specific – If your audience feels like they are being catered to, they are more likely to click your ad.
Avoid Gimmicks. In my opinion, words like those in the headline of this blog, tend to deter searchers rather than attract them. But, create a couple of ads using them, they will attract some customers. Use exclamations sparingly, it gives the impression that you are yelling, plus there are restrictions on using excessive punctuation.
From my experience the ads with the highest click through rate are those that present the facts in a clean and concise manner. You might find yourself using abbreviations to make your message fit into your limited space – but it can lead to ambiguity in your ads. It is best to just try to use smaller words.
If you guide your ad writing by these principles, you can create ads that are successful as well as unique to your business and your consumers.
[Web 3.0: The Simple Life is part four in a series of blogs that will summarize a presentation I delivered at the Northwest Arkansas Marketing Summit on September 20th concerning using technology to grow your business. Part one can be read here, and part two here, and part three here.]
If Web 1.0 was characterized by the two words “content” and “commerce,” and Web 2.0 by “personalization” and “relevancy,” then Web 3.0 might be “connection” and “automation.” As great as the Internet is in all its Web 2.0 glory, the reality is that the web is still a broken and inefficient network of unconnected information. Current estimates assume that there are somewhere between 15 and 30 billion internet pages. The fact that our best estimates allow for a 15 billion page margin of error says something about how inefficient the Internet is. Sites like Yahoo and Google scour the web, using logarithms to organize sites based on content and relevancy. Engineers at these companies and many others we have not yet heard of are working hard to create new and more efficient ways to help computers organize and draw conclusions from all of the online data. These technologies that are working to create a “smarter web” could be the foundation of what becomes known as Web 3.0 in the next 5 years or so.
How might Web 3.0 work? Imagine you’ve had some lingering wrist pain from all of your web surfing. A program can search for specialists in your area and determine their availability. It will cross reference your insurance database to ensure they are an approved provider, review your calendar, and schedule an appointment. The address, phone number and time will be synced with your car and your phone. When you’re in the parking lot you’ll be automatically checked in. You’re insurance information and medical information was synced up with the office when your appointment was scheduled so there’s no need to fill out paperwork. Or, maybe I’m reviewing websites regarding an upcoming trip to Vegas. Anytime I see something online that looks of interest to me I flag it as a yes, no, or maybe. A program reviews my likes and dislikes and begins to make recommendations. It also reviews my calendar, open table times at the restaurants I liked, and begins to create optional agendas. The program also knows my budget and what I have set aside in my bank account for this vacation and only recommends agendas I can afford. It saves me money on airfare so I can afford a nicer hotel. With a click, my preferred agenda is approved and the program makes all the reservations. Privacy is a concern that some people will have when thinking about the potential of Web 3.0. In reality, we are quite comfortable in sacrificing our privacy for convenience. Every time we use a credit card to pay for something we are sacrificing our privacy for convenience. We are becoming more and more comfortable in relying on technology to organize our lives and will continue to experiment with technologies that can “simplify” our lives. It’s still speculation to know what Web 3.0 might become, but with the exponential growth of the Internet we can be certain that it will continue to play a larger and more significant role in organizing and scheduling our careers, relationships, and entertainment. My final posting in this series will cover four ways that companies should be using Internet technology to grow their brand.