The text of your ads that encourages people to click is called the PPC ad copy. Writing effective ad copy will help attract customers to your business. To effectively write ad copy, know your audience, use strong headlines, highlight what makes your business different, tell people what to do, use keywords, keep it short, and test different versions. This blog post by FOR® will explain everything to you.
Knowing Your Audience: The Key to Effective Ad Copy
Before you write your ad, you must determine for whom you are writing. Develop very specific descriptions of your ideal customers. It includes things such as age, gender, likes, or concerns any customer may have. In this way, it will be easier to write ads that are oriented towards them.
It’s also important to understand why people search for your product or service. Are they looking for information, trying to buy something, or comparing different options? Knowing this will help you write ads that meet their needs and encourage them to click.
Writing a Catchy Headline
But of course, the headline of your ad is what people are going to see first so that headline should be captivating. Following are some ways you can make an attention-grabbing headline.
- Your headline must relate to the targeted keywords. For example, you want to use a headline with an exact phrase if someone searches for “cheap running shoes.”
- Use emotive words, such as excitement or urgency. For example, “Last Chance to Grab Affordable Running Shoes!” depicts urgency.
- Headlines should be short, and simple. Avoid using jargon or overly complex terms combined in a manner that is unnatural.
Writing Persuasive Ad Descriptions
After a good headline secures your audience’s attention, you will try to persuade them to click on your ad. You should justify here why your product or service is what they are looking for.
First, you want to introduce them to what is unique about your product or service. This is called the value proposition. For example, “Our running shoes provide comfort, sustainability, and affordability.”
Your ad needs to focus on how the product or service will help people rather than the features. For example, instead of saying, “Our shoes are lightweight,” you could say, “Stay comfortable on long runs with our lightweight shoes.”
Lastly, finish your ad with a call to action. That means defining what you want people to do after reading the ad, like “Shop Now” or “Learn More.” A good call to action can also increase the number of people who click on your ad.
Using Keywords Wisely
The keywords are extremely important in PPC campaigns since people are searching for them, and they determine whether ads will appear or not. When writing a good PPC ad copy, you must strategically use keywords. This keyword should appear in the headline and at least once in the ad description. That’s because your ad will be more relevant to people’s searches and might just help you pay less per click.
But do not try to put too many keywords in one ad. It will badly affect the readability of your ad, and it will hurt its performance, too. Instead, use keywords naturally where they fit.
Testing Your Ads
Even with the best research and writing, not all ads are going to turn out successful. Because of this, testing multiple versions of your ads is important. This is called A/B testing. You can create two or more different ad variations and run them simultaneously against each other to see which one works better. Here are some things you might consider testing in your ads.
- Headlines: Test several headlines to see which one gets the most interest. For example, you can test a discount-oriented headline against a benefit-oriented headline.
- Ad Descriptions: There are various ways to display your value proposition. You may want to run a quality-based description against a price-focused description.
- Call to Action: Your call to action can have a huge effect on your click-through rate. Experiment with various CTA tests to find which yields the most clicks. When you are done running tests, take the time to thoughtfully consider the test results.
- Look at click-through, conversion rate, and cost per click to determine which ad version works better. Use this insight to improve your ads and PPC campaigns.
Using Ad Extensions
Ad extensions include additional links, information, or features added to an ad to increase its informational sensitivity, usefulness, and attractiveness. Ad extensions make the ad more captivating and yield a higher CTR. Some of the types of ad extensions are:
Site link extensions will add links directly to your ad, which can take users to specific website pages. For example, you could sell running shoes and have site links to “Men’s Running Shoes,” “Women’s Running Shoes,” and “Running Accessories.”
Callout extensions add text to your ad to highlight special benefits or features. Examples may include callouts such as “Free Shipping” or “24/7 Customer Support.”
Structured snippet extensions let you indicate your ad or something about your product or service. You could use structured snippets like “Brands: Nike, Adidas, and Puma” or “Styles: Casual, Athletic, Formal.”
Tips for ad extensions
Ensure that the ad extensions you use, match the people’s searches for whatever they are looking for. Keep your message consistent in your ad and in your ad extensions. Test different ad extensions to see which works best.
Monitoring and Optimizing Your Ads
Ad copywriting is iterative. If you want your ads to continue working effectively, you have to monitor and optimize them regularly. Here are a few key metrics to track.
- Click-through Rate (CTR): Informs about the number of views your ad gets and how many click-throughs you have. A high CTR indicates that your ad resonates with your audience.
- Conversion Rate: This is the number of people who clicked on your ad and actually did what you wanted them to do, such as purchasing something or registering for something. A high conversion rate indicates that the ad is effective in driving desirable action.
- Quality Score: Google Ads uses this metric to determine the relevance of your ad, keyword, and landing page. A high quality score could lower your cost per click while giving you better ad positions.
- Cost Per Conversion: This figure will give you the most accurate idea of how much it costs to acquire a customer per time using the pay-per-click ad. The goal is to keep the cost as low as possible.
Following these metrics will allow you to iterate on ad copy to continually optimize performance. If certain ads underperform, there is no reason not to revisit and revise them. You may have to change headlines, rewrite ad descriptions, or test new calls to action.
Conclusion
Writing effective ad copy for your pay-per-click campaigns is both an art and a science. It requires a thorough knowledge of the target audience, appealing messages, proper keyword placement, and constant ad optimization. By following the tips in this blog, you can create ad copies that attract clicks and notch customers. Remember that the secret to success is to learn and improve constantly, which is testing, refining, and watching your PPC campaign thrive.
If you have any questions, or if you want to share your experiences, you can contact Toni Hukkanen, the head of FOR® Branding and Marketing Agency.
