In a brick and mortar business, the customer service a sales person provides, plays an important role in closing a sale. This process is a bit more complex when it comes to an online store. The searcher usually goes through Google’s search engine, clicks on an ad that best suits his search, goes to the website and makes a purchase. From this process, it is clear that the first point of contact between a potential customer and the online seller is the ad.
The most important part of your Google AdWords ad is the headline. Many people would first read the headlines and pick all relevant ads before reading the description lines and display URL. So unless your headline captures the searchers’ attention, they will not click on your ad.
Benefits of an effective ad
An ad that stands out from the rest will generate more clicks.
Your account’s overall Click Through Rate (CTR) will be higher because of the higher volume of clicks.
A higher CTR will cause your ad to get a higher Ad Rank through better Quality Score.
Improved Quality Score helps decrease Cost Per Click (CPC).
With a lower CPC, your campaigns will receive more daily clicks which will increase traffic to your website.
An increase in traffic going to your website can potentially improve your conversion numbers.
Improved conversion numbers can increase your Return on Investment (ROI) of your Google AdWords Campaign.
The most common and easiest way to optimise your ad is to include your keywords in your ad headline. This helps to show searchers that your ad is relevant to their search. Undeniably this strategy is effective but there are various other ways to further improve your headline.
Proven Tips That Work!
1. Never use the word “Buy” in your headline
Adding the word “buy” in your headline increases the probability that the searcher will ignore your ad and move on to the next one. The word should rather be used as a call to action at the end of the ad, after you have explained why your product should be purchased.
2. “Free” is an effective word to use
Using the word “Free” in your headline will attract the attention of the searchers and will encourage them to keep reading your ad to find out more. Also, offering something for free will help in interacting with more potential clients. For example, if you are a car mechanic, you can use a headline like “Free Car Inspection”
3. Do not use your company name in the headline
Google AdWords provides very limited characters to write an ad and therefore makes it very difficult to deliver your message in such few words. Using your company name in the headline is actually a repetition as your company name will be mentioned in the display URL. Only use your company name in the headline if your campaign is focused on brand awareness only.
4. Use questions to increase interest in your ad
Using a question in your headline will attract the attention of the searchers and will encourage them to keep reading your ad to find out more. For example if you are promoting a weight loss product, a question like “Want to Lose Weight?” will definitely attract the attention of the searcher.
5. Include Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI) in your headline
DKI is a method used to insert keywords from your keyword list into your text ads. The displayed keyword is the one that triggers your ad when a relevant search is made. This improves the relevancy of your ad to the search. If you want to learn more about DKI, click on this link.
6. A few words that can add value to your headline
Breakthrough, Unique, Secrets, Shocking, Special Offer, Limited Offer, Proven, Invaluable, Sale
In summary improving your Google AdWords ad copy helps with improving your Click through Rate (CTR) which is essential in improving your overall Google AdWords account. There are various ways to improve your CTR. Using a negative keyword list will also help improve your CTR. If you want to learn more about negative keywords see our recent post.
This article was posted by Manesh Ram. Manesh is Google AdWords certified and SEM Campaign Manager at Traffika. You can follow Manesh on Twitter @maneshram.