Buyer beware! Many a novice business owner has charged into the pay per click advertising world (PPC, for short) with high expectations of mega targeted traffic at small cost and come away with an empty wallet, few or no sales, and a vow never to waste money again in that arena!
One of the keys to solving the PPC dilemma remains hidden from many folks view. Usually the campaign owner focuses on keyword strategies and maximizing ad placement.
Often, the businessman forgets about the importance of saying the right things in his ads . . . yes, that always critical (in any kind of advertising) component we hear so much about - "ad copy."
There is a real art to both grabbing the prospect's attention and leading him to click on a link using just a few scant words that arouse his desire for further information on a targeted subject.
Here are a few simple tips to remember about PPC copy and pre-writing ads that get the message across forcefully in a short few words.
1. PPC advertising copy must lead to a profitable "click through rate" or CTR. Your copy must ensure that enough prospects click on the ad to allow for conversion percentages that will more than pay for both the advertising and an acceptable rate of return from sales.
Have both CTRs and conversion rate goals that are set, in advance, for every campaign so that bottom line response to ad copy is a measurable statistic. If measurements aren't tracked, how will the owner know if a campaign is earning or losing advertising dollars?
2. Often advertisers will notice a decrease in keyword prices as CTRs increase. The search engines reward higher performing ads - so well performing ad copy, in turn, leads to a higher return on dollars expended in the campaign.
What this suggests is tip #2: start out slowly and increase dollars spent on a particular campaign only after you have modified and tweaked your ad copy for the highest conversion possible.
Many advertisers waste a lot of money right at the campaign outset before they have had a chance to test various aspects of their ad copy.
3. Ad copy should be targeted to prospects that are ready to make a purchase at that moment. Studies have shown that prospects go through a set of stages from first gathering general information about a subject, to then narrowing brands down with reviews and product information, to looking for specifications, colors, sizes, etc, to checking for pricing, availability, guarantees, and finally to narrowing the purchase down to the one alternative that seems to best fit all the criteria in the buyer's mind.
PPC ad copy needs to appeal to the prospect that is in the final stage of this purchase time line if the goal is a quick sale. If the copy is geared to someone doing a preliminary review of the subject field, chances are he won't be interested in finalizing a purchase just yet and the CTR, if it comes, will be too low to be profitable.
4. PPC ad copy should naturally flow from the ad right into the landing page and the sales copy. The best way to ensure this smooth transition is to carry forward those same keywords and targeting from the ad into the sales copy. Some advertisers lose the prospect immediately when he clicks on an ad then sees nothing on the landing page related to what he thought he would find.
5. PPC ad copy must jump off the page and scream "CLICK HERE!" Surfers are so used to being bombarded with constant ads that they have learned to skim a web page with amazing speed. If the ad doesn't stand out in some way, chances are good that the ad will be ignored.
In our fast paced world, our minds process information extremely quickly and tend to search for something out of the ordinary, or a little different - something that "catches our eye." Bland and boring ad copy is easily and purposefully bypassed without a second glance.
6. Focus, focus, focus. Make sure the PPC ad is focused squarely on the message you want to send. If the "hook" is that you have something new and more up-to-date than other alternatives, don't talk about price, guarantee, or fast shipping. Your USP (unique selling proposition) is often what differentiates your purchase advantage of others' - but it doesn't have to be.
Maybe your ad copy is for a very limited one time offer, or the annual fall clearance, or Mother's Day Special. Whatever the main point is, make sure the ad copy focuses on that one thing.
7. Avoid "broad and wide" and concentrate on "narrow and deep." This principle is sister to staying focused with your ad copy. PPC copy is very limited in length so very concise and specific language needs to be used which focuses exactly on the message you want to send given your targeted keywords.
Avoid writing to brand your product - you're after a sale and the most targeted of customers who is ready to click the ad and make a purchase.
Ad copy in many product PPC campaigns often doesn't get the thoughtful attention it ought to because the words are so few. But when you think about it, that's all the more reason why every word needs to be carefully considered!
