Writing Great PPC Ads

What separates a good ad from a bad ad? – essentially an ad that makes money for the advertiser vs. one that takes money and drags you down and eventually puts you out of business. Below you will find the tips and core requirements for writing a great pay-per-click ad.

Creating an ad and creating a great ad are not the same thing, though. Anyone can create an ad. And in some instances, that ad will work just fine for whatever purpose it was created. But if you really want to get the most from your PPC program, you should be adept at creating great ad descriptions that quickly catch potential visitors and entice them to come to your site. It may seem like an easy task, but in truth it’s pretty difficult.

With a typical search engine description, the object is to entice as much traffic to a site as possible in the hopes of converting that traffic into customers. PPC requires a different approach. You don’t want to pay for unlikely prospects, so the description used in your PPC ads should be designed to eliminate those who are just window shopping, while attracting those who want nothing more than to buy your products, hire your services, or sign up for your newsletter. For this reason, your PPC ad description should describe exactly what your business offers. At the same time, proven marketing copy techniques should be employed to ensure that the description is enticing enough to attract ideal prospects.

Writing ad copy for search engine listings is not only about knowing the right formula for creating good ads. Following good copywriting guidelines gets you past tough search engine editors, and in front of potential consumers. Understanding that, here are some suggestions for writing great ad copy:

• Use your keywords: Including your keywords in your advertisements can increase the efficiency of those ads. Additionally, if you’re using the keywords that you’ve selected, then your ads are likely to appear in conjunction with related topics, making it easier for you to entice traffic. A great tool for researching keywords is WordTracker. Click Here to sign up for their free trial. Its easily the best keyword research tool available and used by millions of webmasters.

• Qualify your traffic: Creating an advertisement that people will click on is not enough. You must create an ad the right people will click on. Not all traffic is equal. Even people who search with the same phrase might have different needs. One purpose of your ad is to appeal to your target audience, while signaling to anyone else that your business would not be a good fit for their differing needs.

• List features and benefits: In your ad description, include at least one feature and benefit for the product or services that you’re advertising with the PPC program. Generally, you have very little space in which to include a description, so choose the words that you plan to use very carefully. People buy based on emotions, so you will always generate better results when you promote benefits, not features.

• Use a call to action: Too often, advertisements are created without including a call to action. However, studies show that including a call to action will increase your conversion rates. For more on creating call to actions which really work, Susan’s article, 8 Tips for a Stronger Call to Action is a fantastic read.

• Stand out: Many PPC advertisers in the same areas will have very similar PPC advertisements. If you can create ads that stand out from these other, more generic ads, you have a much better chance of having an effective PPC program. It will be worth spending some time to plan creating an ad that helps you stand out from the crowd. That extra effort will be well worth the results.

Those who write relevant powerful ad copy have a clear advantage in a world where PPC ad platforms boast more accurate, relevant ad algorithms and are able to get the most out of their budget. A strong PPC campaign can more than pay for itself when executed correctly. However, if you don’t heed the guidelines above, you could end up losing money.

Written by Andy MacDonald from Swift Media UK
Posted on April 25th, 2008 and filed under Promote your blog
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