One last thing to consider before you begin writing your PPC ad text is what the immediate benefits
of your product or service are. These, too, will be used in ad text, so take the time to write out
several benefits that you might draw from as you’re writing your ad text.
Once the preliminaries are done, you can begin to write your text. This job starts with your audience.
Very often, when someone is writing ad text, they fail to take into consideration the audience
they’re trying to reach. Each generation of people communicates differently, so different tones and
styles of writing will be needed to reach them.
A good example is the difference between today’s teen generation and the senior generation. If
you’re trying to reach teens with your video editing software, you’ll want to write your advertisement
in a language that will catch their eye and be understood. So, if your advertisement includes
the call to action, “Show the world you’re an emo!” those teen users will immediately understand
it means, “Show the world you’re part of the emotional crowd.” Senior visitors would not get that
unless they happen to have grandchildren who have explained that the term emo in teen-speak is
a designation for a group of people who openly share their emotions (incidentally, emo can also
be a sub-designation for groups like Goths, Punks, and Metal Heads).
On the other hand, if you were trying to reach the seniors, your slogan might be something like,
“Share your precious memories.” To a senior, this says, “Hey, we can help you share your recollections
with anyone you want.” To a teen, it says boring!
If you know your audience, you can write ad text that is specifically targeted to the most qualified
potential visitors for your site. Sometimes, you’ll want to reach more than one group of people. In
this case, you’ll want to write different ads for each group of people. Don’t try to reach everyone with
one ad. You won’t. Instead, you’ll come closer to reaching no one at all.
Each PPC program has its own unique requirements for ad text, so take the time to learn the
requirements for the PPC program that you’ve selected. Also, the only PPC programs that rank
advertisements solely on the amount that the ad’s owner bids on placement are with secondary
search engines like Marchex and Kanoodle. Most PPC programs from major search engines use an
algorithm that combines the amount paid for each click with the relevance of that ad and how
compelling the position of the ad is to the user. Ad position is everything. For example, Google
ranks ads appearing in different places either at the top or side of a page. How relevant and compelling
your ad is, combined with the amount that you’re willing to pay per click, will determine
where in that placement scheme your ad will land.
The take-away is that if your ad text is well written and performs well, you could potentially pay
less for the ranking you want, or pay the same and achieve a better ranking than you expected.
There are, however, a few ad text requirements that will apply to nearly all PPC programs:
- Include keywords in your ad text. As you’ve already seen, ads that contain keywords
can perform up to 50 percent better than ads that don’t include them.
- Make your offer. Tell potential visitors what you have and why they want it. Just be careful
not to exaggerate claims about the benefits of your products and services. Keep your
claims accurate and compelling.
- Call visitors to action. Study after study has proven that using a call to action actually
does work. Include a call to action in your ad text to motivate the potential visitor to click
through the ad to your web site to accomplish whatever it is you want them to do. One
word of caution, however. Many PPC programs will not allow, or strongly recommend
against, using the phrase, “Click Here Now.” It’s a seriously overused phrase that conveys
no motivation at all.
- Include keywords. Keywords should be used in both the ad title and in the body of the ad
text if possible. Keywords are what make PPC ads relevant and compelling. And when your
ads are relevant and compelling, you get far more exposure for a smaller cost per click.
- Create a sense of urgency. It’s one of the oldest sales tricks in the book, but it still works
amazingly well. Create a sense of urgency in your potential visitors by using words such
as “limited availability,” or “expires soon.” Have you ever been told by a salesperson that
you’re looking at the last or one of the last items available, whether it’s a car or television
or something else? Did you feel a sense of urgency to make the purchase much more
quickly than you would have if there were many of that item left? That’s the purpose of
creating urgency — it drives the user to take whatever action is your ultimate goal with
the advertisement.
- Draw clicks, not views. Write your advertisement with the intention of enticing users
to click on it. Though you shouldn’t use the phrase “Click Here Now,” that should be the
goal of your advertisement. The purpose in PPC advertisement is to draw potential visitors
to your site. With that in mind, you should design your PPC ads to draw clicks, not
simply impressions. It’s not enough for users to see your advertisement. You won’t build
any brand recognition, and users won’t see it now and return to your site later. They’ll
view it, forget it, and move on. Be sure that your ads are designed to collect clicks, not
eyeballs.
- Write your ad long and cut it. Writing your ad long is a copywriting trick that helps
in reducing the ad to only the most relevant and enticing ad text. Begin by writing your
ad in full sentences, using each of the preceding elements, and then cut those sentences
down to only the strongest words that will entice potential visitors to click on them. Look
at the ads that already appear in the PPC program that you’ve selected. This will tell you
how long your ad should be and what works for others. You can then build on that to
create ads that work for you.
- Use strong, powerful words. Because you’ll have a very limited amount of space in
which to write your ad, be sure that you’re using the most powerful words that you can
conjure up. For example, instead of using the word “skilled,” use the word “professional.”
And instead of “markdown,” use “discount.” Strong, powerful words convey more meaning
and emphasis, and they do it in less space than other words or phrases.
- Experiment tirelessly. Experiment endlessly. If your PPC ad is perfect right out of the
gate, it will truly be an anomaly. What’s more likely to happen is that you write a PPC ad,
it performs okay, and then you try something a little different. That’s how it should be
with PPC ads. It takes constant attention and testing to find the right combinations of
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words, punctuation, keywords, and placement to hit the “sweet spot” in PPC advertising.
And even once you do, you’ll likely find yourself having to readjust the ad frequently
because of changes in your products or services. Plan a little time (an hour or two) to put
into your PPC ad campaign. Only through experimentation and testing can you achieve
PPC success.
PPC advertising has plenty of appeal. It’s quick, it’s effective, and it’s nowhere near as expensive
as other types of advertising. But don’t be fooled. PPC advertising isn’t all sunshine and light. It
requires work and commitment to find the methods and combinations that work for you. Once
you’ve done that, you have to make the click worth the visitor’s time. And you do that by creating
great landing pages.
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