Don't get fooled by their brevity— pay per click ads (e.g. Google Adwords, Facebook ads) can be very challenging to write. Within the character limits, you need to come up with a succinct copy that will convince your users to visit your page.
Your copy should be very appealing to your target audience to the point where a quick glance is enough for them to see the value of your offer. When it comes to ad copy practices, we can’t tell you exactly WHAT to write, but we can guide you on HOW to write effective and convincing copy. Make the most out of your paid advertising by following these simple pointers:
Time Bears Fruit: Don’t rush on writing your PPC ad. It may be short, but that doesn’t mean you should devote less time to it. Research on how your competitors are performing and observe the style of their ads. This gives you a heads up on what customers already see, so you can tailor your own ads to stand out from the rest.
Relevance Rules: Keep the content of your ad close to the keywords that are typically used by your audience whenever they are searching for solutions related to your products and services. When they see the words they entered in the search engines in your actual ad copy, it’s very likely they will identify with your ad and click it.
Value Over Views: It’s important to keep your ads focused on your targets’ pain points. When writing the headline, tell your prospects what they want to hear and not what you are offering. Focus on the solution to their problem. If you can make your prospects feel that you value their needs over the traffic you’d get from their clicks, then you will earn their trust.
Action Will Ace: Make your ads sound alive with a meaningful call-to-action. This is something that your ad should never miss. Structuring your ad this way will make it sound a lot more inviting for your prospects and urge them to do something – in this case – clicking your ad to take advantage of your offer or service.
Specificity Helps Searching: Writing specific ads for specific keywords makes your copy a lot clearer. Add statistics and numbers to make your ads look more attractive and convincing. In a price competitive industry, always pre-qualify clicks by disclosing prices up-front. You may get a lot of exposure for your ads, but your goal is to get the people who are actually willing to pay your price. Make sure to check the tone and structure, though—we all hate those headlines where words are stuffed together without even making sense.
The Truth Triumphs: Discard any element of deception. Do not promise more than what your product or service can deliver. Many online marketers have clung to the trickery of “clickbaiting” or creating titles that set high expectation but fail to deliver what people wanted or hoped to see. Customers do not hide their disappointment when they felt they’ve been betrayed by the brand’s message in the ad, and this shaming (usually spread online) can scar a company’s reputation. What’s the use of traffic when it doesn’t translate to actual transactions? Remember: Half-truths will only turn off your potential customers.
To keep it clean, your ad should be “clickworthy”—giving content that actually answers what your target needs. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different techniques, tone, structure and keywords for your copy. Your audience will see your PPC ad as clickworthy because of the valuable solution it can provide.