One of the best ways to save money on Google Ads (or Bing Ads, for that matter) is to write better ads. Better ad copy increases CTR, which in turn increases your Quality Score. Quality Score is pretty much the only metric that advertisers should focus on to run more cost-effective campaigns.
Here are a few tips to write better ads
- Mirror the user’s objective.
- Include numbers or statistics in your headlines.
- Appeal to user’s sense of entitlement.
- Include emotional triggers in your ads.
- Create unique, keyword-rich display URLs.
- Prioritize your best copy.
- Preemptively respond to common objections.
- Focus on the benefit.
1. Mirror the User’s Objective
Nobody clicks on an ad because they think, “Wow, what a cool ad.” They click ads because they want to accomplish something and solve a problem. To this end, one of the most effective ad writing
strategies at your disposal is to mirror the user’s goal in your ad copy.
When you sit down to write your ads, think of the user and what they want to accomplish – then phrase your ads in a way that directly appeals to this desire.
2. Include Numbers or Statistics in Your Headlines
Advertisers will do practically anything to get you to click on their ads, but all they really need to do is make your life easier, cut the crap, and get to the point. An excellent way to do this is by including numbers or statistics in your ads, preferably in the headlines.
3. Appeal to Users’ Sense of Entitlement
This may sound like preying on the selfishness of your prospects—because it is. Without inadvertently sounding like a grumpy old man yelling at kids to get off my lawn, we live in an increasingly selfish society in which many people exhibit a blatant sense of entitlement. As unpleasant as this can be, it can prove a valuable opportunity for advertisers savvy enough to take advantage of it.
4. Include Emotional Triggers in Your Ads
Nothing spurs people into action like a powerful emotional response—especially online. This principle is what makes clickbait so effective; people read something, experience a strong emotional reaction to it, and then click through. This technique is one of the most powerful at your disposal when writing PPC ad copy.
5. Create Unique, Keyword-Rich Display URLs
Many advertisers overlook the potential impact that a display URL can have on the success of their ads. Newcomers to PPC may not even realize that the display URL (the URL that appears in their ads) and the destination URL (the actual URL of the page to which visitors are directed upon clicking an ad) can be different.
The display URL can serve two purposes – it can be something more interesting and relevant to the copy of your ads, and it can (and should) contain your top keywords. Even if your destination URL doesn’t contain the keywords you’re bidding on, your ads can still appear in search results if you include them in your display URL.
6. Prioritize Your Best Copy
Google offer a couple of different search ad formats – Expanded text ads and responsive search ads. They both have the option for multiple headlines and descriptions. But in some instances not all headlines and descriptions will show in the search result.
It is therefore wise to frontload your best copy into the first two headlines and the first description line. That way, you can be sure you’re always serving compelling messages to users—regardless of their device preferences.
7. Preemptively Respond to Common Objections
Even if you’re operating in a crowded market with many competitors, oftentimes the choice between you and a competing business will come down to one of two objections – how much it’ll cost, and how much hassle it will be. Fortunately, you can preempt both of these common obstacles with a little forethought and some smart copy.
8. Focus on the Benefits
Remember how we discussed that we live in an increasingly selfish society? This should never be far from your mind when writing ad copy, especially when it comes to the body copy itself. Nobody cares about why your company is supposedly awesome. They only care about how you can make their lives easier.
Writing great PPC ads takes time and practice. However, by following the tips above and avoiding the mistakes of others, you can improve the quality of your ads (and your click-through rates, and your Quality Scores…) faster and see a greater return from your ad spend.
If you need some help writing your ads, feel free to give us a call. 0800 001 925
