Strategies for crafting compelling paid search ads
Anyone looking to boost their health has likely heard that you can’t exercise your way out of a bad diet. You need both a healthy diet and exercise for your body to perform at optimal levels. Of course, this isn’t a health blog, so why bring it up? There’s a similar relationship between ad copy and design. Both must be effective to drive results; no matter how killer your video is or how flashy your graphics are, your ad can’t outwork bad copy.
That is especially true for paid search, a form of pay-per-click advertising. For many, it can be hard to stand out from competitors who are bidding on the exact same keywords. With countless other brands vying for the same digital space, how can you make your brand stand out from the crowd? The answer lies in the power of a well-crafted paid search ad. With limited characters, creating impactful search copy requires a blend of art and science. Below are some tips for excellent paid search ads that will make your brand stand out.
Content, content, content
Both Google Ads and Microsoft Ads allow search ads to include 15 headlines of 30 characters each and 4 descriptions of 90 characters each. Combinations of all you provide are shown together, but only a maximum of 3 headlines and 2 descriptions will be shown at a time. Many advertisers do not bother to include the maximum number of assets. That’s a miss. Take every opportunity to increase reach by utilizing every asset available.
Here’s why it’s important. As a part of a larger move towards automation, Google introduced cycling ads, which other platforms incorporated shortly after, with the purpose of allowing ads to match more closely to user queries. The more headlines and descriptions that are included in an ad, the more options the engine must cycle through to produce the most successful combination that is most likely to earn a click.
A word of caution: it is important that your headlines and descriptions are not repetitive. Using unique assets, with a mixture of long and short headlines, will allow the engine to fully utilize its automation capabilities. An advertising partner like Rhea + Kaiser can help you develop fresh ideas for your ad copy from experts who know what works.
Let users know why you rock
When crafting your ads, include headlines that allow you to cut through the noise and differentiate yourself from competitors. Consider these questions when crafting a headline:
Emphasize any unique features your business has to give users a reason to choose you. Of course, headlines shouldn’t only reflect your company. They also need to reflect your audience and what they are searching to solve or understand. Tap into the emotional response of your audience with words that evoke happiness, curiosity, excitement, fear or frustration.
When you understand what motivates your audience, you can use emotional triggers to create a connection and appeal to their needs and desires.
It’s also important to test different approaches to your copy to know which performs best. You may want to create one ad set that focuses on the features of your product and services, and another that speaks to how your product or service can solve the challenge your audience is experiencing.
Ask customers to take action
Help users understand what action you want them to take by utilizing several call to action (CTA) headlines and descriptions within your ad copy. Although it is important to highlight business features, you also want to let potential customers know what comes next.
You can ask searchers to fill out a form, download an article, or simply learn more about your product. Using this type of language will make your ad more compelling and noticeable to users. Below is an example from an R+K campaign. Notice that we use multiple CTAs to drive action.
Strong CTAs can also benefit your budget. A clear CTA that helps visitors understand what you want them to do can weed out people who aren’t interested, saving you the cost of a click.
Take up space
Both Google Ads and Microsoft Ads offer features called ad extensions that are exactly what they sound like, additional items outside of headlines and descriptions to extend your ad to make it more appealing. These are great to use if you want your ad to take up more space on the search engine results page. Ad extensions are also likely to increase the volume of clicks your ad receives. There are numerous asset options, and each serves a different purpose. Here are a few examples of assets.
Never stop improving
Search ads do not just need to be well-written, they need to be updated often and consistently. Changes to your website or any relevant landing pages should prompt a change in your ads. You should even consider updating your ads every couple of months, based on the assets that are performing the best. This way, repeat users are exposed to updated content. Additionally, updated content might prompt a user who did not click before to reconsider. Google even offers an A/B testing feature that allows you to try out different variations of your ad copy to see what performs best without sacrificing quality and budget.
Partnering with experts like Rhea + Kaiser can help you leverage search ad excellence to hook your audience. We offer paid search expertise and valuable insights that will help you run a successful digital advertising campaign. Learn more about our digital advertising excellence by dropping us a note.
You can learn more about our paid search expertise and strategic knowledge here.