So you setup your Google Campaign, you picked the best keywords, you set your maximum CPCs (manually of course), you used the secret formula to find your perfect ad budget, and then you excitedly wait for the clicks to start rolling in… but three weeks later you still haven’t gotten any. What went wrong? The answer is Google Ad copy. Here are 7 things you can do to write Google Ads that help you stand out in a good way and make your competition jealous of your juicy click through rates.
1) Leverage Specific Keywords When Possible
One of the best ways of writing copy that converts well is to use the specific keyword that your visitor is searching for in your copy. In most cases, you will want to reuse your keyword inside headline one so the very first thing that your visitor sees is specific to what they are looking for. It doesn’t end there, try to use your keyword throughout the descriptions as well, using the keyword multiple times can sometimes seem repetitive while writing your ads, but for the searcher, it signals that your ad is relevant and contains the information they are looking for. For example, if someone searches for ‘Best Local Food’, then your ad should also specifically say ‘Best Local Food’.
2) Match Search Term Specificity
This is another tip centered on the searcher’s keywords. When you are writing ads for specific keywords make sure you are matching the search specificity. This is difficult to explain at first but here is an example of three search terms with various levels of specificity; ‘Food’, ‘Best Tasting Food Near Me’, and ‘Cheapest Nachos in Sacramento’. These different levels of specificity will change more than your specific keywords, they also demonstrate slightly different search intents that should be mirrored throughout the rest of your ad copy. The most effective place to do this is inside your ad descriptions.
For example, if the search term for your ad is ‘Food’ you can get away with talking generally about how great your food is, how fair the price is, or how quickly you can make the food. As of now, you don’t really know exactly what your searcher is looking for, so you have some freedom to mention your best selling points in an effort to catch their eye. On the other hand, if the search term is ‘Cheapest Nachos in Sacramento’, the search intent is obviously much more narrow, so you can write your copy knowing that the searcher wants cheap nachos and they want to get these nachos in Sacramento. If you are targeting a local market, here are some other ideas to help.
3) Before You Start Writing Ad Copy, Identify Whether Your Audience Listens to Emotion or Logic
Is it emotion or logic that drives your audience?
If you can answer that question you can cater your ad copy to help your ad outperform and stand out. While logical statements like ‘The Best Nachos In Sac | Served In 10 Minutes or Less’ are needed, however in many cases it’s going to be emotional statements that help visitors make a decision to click on your ad. Something like, ‘Delicious Nachos | Momma’s Special Recipe’. In many cases, it is a good idea to test both emotional and logical appeals when you are starting to advertise to a new audience so you can directly compare to see which performs better.
**Spoiler** In most cases your best performing ads will have both emotional and logical appeals.
4) Clever Copy Trumps Clear Copy, Especially In Google Ad Copy
This is an interesting one, copywriters have long argued whether clear or clever copy converts better, however, when it comes to Google Ads there is a clear winner. The reason is due to the nature of Google Ads, you have very limited characters and can only share so much in your ad. Searchers instinctively know this. When they search terms on Google they aren’t looking for a full explanation in their search results, they are looking for a link to more information. They are looking for the result that seems most relevant to the information they are searching for and they click on your ad with the understanding that the link will bring them to the appropriate information.
If your ad can be relevant to their search and clever at the same time, you are not only going to stand out but you will also earn some brownie points with your new visitor. Put it this way, imagine your searcher is commuting to San Francisco (hopefully the poor soul filled up on gas), do you think they would rather take the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) and stare at a dark concrete wall while crammed shoulder to shoulder with strangers, or drive the Golden Gate Bridge and see the beautiful view in the comfort of their own car? Either way, they are going to get to San Francisco but the Golden Gate Bridge at least offers a better experience on the way.
5) Don’t Be Afraid to Stand Out From the Crowd With Your Ad Copy
This isn’t just the typical ‘just be you’ advice that you hear all across the web. When I say don’t be afraid to stand out, you first have to know what the rest of the crowd is doing so you can purposefully and intentionally do things to stand out from your competitors. Google Search ads aren’t new anymore, and there are thousands of ad variations that you can find online, take some time and really get to know what your audience is seeing every day. If you don’t know how to see your competitors’ ads you can use the Ad Preview Tool here, or just type your keywords into Google to see what pops up.
When people get bored of the same old thing, they start to tune out the old, boring stuff. If your Google Ad can show them something that is out of the ordinary it will not only catch their eye, it will be refreshing for them, which in most cases will earn you that click.
6) Utilise Dynamic Keyword Features
So you may ask how you are supposed to not only match specific keywords, but match search specificity while emulating each search terms’ emotional and logical appeals in a clever and unique way, right? It gets to be a lot quickly, and the good news is that Google thought so too, introducing Dynamic Keyword Insertion.
Dynamic keyword insertion allows you to write the searcher’s keywords directly into your ad copy. This means that you can directly add any of your ad groups keywords in one ad, so you don’t have to create a hundred different ads for each possible search term combination. If you want to learn how you can use these features check out Google’s guide here.
7) Categories To Help You Start Copywriting
Even the best copywriter hits a block at some points. If you are ever struggling to come up with good ad copy, here are a couple categories to spark some ideas. Start with the one that will resonate with your audience the most, you will find that once you start writing, more ideas will start to flow.
- Features of Your Product or Service
- Benefits of Your Product or Service
- The Problem You Fix For Your Customer
- Your Unique Solution to Your Customer’s Problem
- Testimonials
- ‘Top of the Class’ Positioning
There you have it, 7 ways you can get more clicks with your Google Ad Copy. Want some more ideas on how you can increase your CTR’s? Check out these 11 ways to increase your CTR’s. Stay caffeinated my friends!