In order for you to make the most of your AdWords campaign, the first thing you need to do is to grab people?s attention. Your text ad is arguably your most important tool when reaching potential customers, and so it?s obviously crucial that you get it right. Here are our hints and tips on how to create a relevant and attractive text ad, and, of course, we?ll highlight some common mistakes for you to steer clear of.
1. Get Your Customers To Take Action
As marketers, we all crave conversions. That?s why we?re here. So it?s all very well and good getting a consumer to click on your site but, at the end of the day, what we really want them to do is to carry out a conversion. Whether this be making a purchase or signing up for your newsletter, it?s crucial that your text ad tells the user what you want from them.
Some advertisers can spend so long agonising over their text ad that they forget one very important thing: they don?t make it clear what their website is actually for. Let?s say you?re selling something, your text ad needs to tell consumers what they can buy from you, how they can purchase, and if there are any special promotions currently running.
The power of the verb is unequalled in this situation, and should be used to persuade your consumer to take action. Words like ?purchase?, ?follow? or ?sign up? sound like such obvious phrases to use, that it?s frightening how many AdWords campaigns forget to include them. It?s clear and to the point. It tells the user exactly what you want them to do, and heightens the chances of them doing it.
2. Remember The Thumbs
Mobile devices are rapidly taking over the world, and your text ad needs to look good on the go. Consumers looking at your site whilst on the move are much more likely to want to know where you?re based or to even give you a quick call.
Google offer location extensions and call extensions, which will show your location and phone number to the user and therefore make it easier for them to contact you. This information needs to be easily accessible, as mobile users tend to get distracted when needing to search too far for something. The Golden Rule is that if it can?t be done with a thumb, then your users won?t do it.
You might also consider creating text ads solely for your mobile users. Due to the rapid growth of users on mobile, this may even be the smart option. You can use the mobile version of your website as your landing page, and offer specials suited to a mobile audience. Remember that if your ad doesn?t look right on mobile, that user won?t be coming back.
3. Keywords Are King
You need to use keywords to ensure that your text ad tells users why it?s relevant for what they are looking for. We all know that keywords can be incredibly tricky to nail down, but it?s incredibly important that you get them right for your AdWords campaign.
For example, if you?re selling expensive men?s watches then your headline could be ?buy designer men?s watches.? This tells the customer exactly what you are selling and is also a call to action, as mentioned above. Sounds easy, right? Well, the real trick to keyword optimisation is getting the right customers to your page. If your keywords aren?t spot on, then you?ll have visitors looking for watches outside of their price range and ultimately becoming another figure on your bounce rate.
I?d love to be able to sit here and tell you exactly which keywords you need to be using, but it depends entirely upon what you?re offering. Whatever your business is providing, you must spend a lot of time optimizing your keywords.
4. Tell People What Makes You So Great
So you?ve used relevant keywords to show up on a relevant user?s Google search. Your ad looks great on mobile and you?ve made it clear what you?d like the user to do. Fantastic! But you aren?t done yet.
Your text ad needs to make it clear to people what makes you unique. Why should they shop with you? Why should they sign up for your newsletter? You have to tell people what makes you stand out from the crowd. Sell yourselves! Are you selling washing machines and offer free delivery? Then tell people about it! Think long and hard about what your website offers users, and don?t be afraid to flaunt it.
In simpler terms, you need to showcase the products, services and offers that make you competitive. Do this, and you?ll have a much greater chance of a conversion.
5. How It Can All Go Wrong
There is so much room for error when it comes to your text ad, so we?ll just focus on a few of the big ones. It sounds incredibly basic, but you must make sure that your ad is of an incredibly professional standard. That means no spelling or grammar errors. It makes you look unbelievably amateur and you will lose a lot of customers from a misplaced comma.
Your URL?s must be clear and concise, so that the user knows exactly where your site is taking them. You need to also keep an eye out for extra spaces and incorrect CAPITalisation.