August 9, 2016

By Intrigue

 

Headline

The headline of an AdWords ad is arguably the easiest part of the ad to write. Headlines should include the keyword you are bidding on and the geography if there is room. If you are following best practices, your ad group will be focusing on one specific keyword phrase. “Nail salon Guelph” is an example of a keyword phrase. The headline writes itself in this example: Nail Salon In Guelph. The idea behind such a simple headline is relevance.  Increasing the relevance between the search query and your ad will have effects like:

  • Lower cost per click
  • Higher average position on search query page
  • Higher CTR

Description Lines

You have 70 characters to make an impact on the user. There are two elements I include in my ads to make the most of the 70 character limit. The first is to use positive emotion in your ad to help the user imagine their life with the product or service. I believe that users are more likely to click on an ad that focuses on a positive outcome than an ad that is focusing on the negative problem that the user is trying to solve. For example, if the product you are offering eliminates body odour, write ad copy like “Smell Fresh All Day Long! instead of “Are You Embarrassed About B.O?”. The second element to include is a call to action. What do you want the user to do? Call? Email? Purchase? People surfing online are overwhelmed with choices and often feel subconscious anxiety about making a decision. By providing them with the next step, you are alleviating that stress. “Shop Our All Natural Deodorant” or “Call Us To Book Your Nail Appointment” are two examples of a clear call to action.

There is one last thing I wanted to mention regarding description lines. If you format the first description line to end with a period, exclamation point, or question mark your ad will look different. For example:

Guelph Massage Therapy Ad

Massage Therapy Ad 2

In the second ad example, the headline is longer. This happens automatically when you add punctuation at the end of the first description line.

Display URL

Finally, make use of the display URL! It is another area which you can use to insert your focus keyword. The display URL is for display purposes only. Your ad is directed to a final, hidden URL that you set up with your ad.  Looking at the same example as above, you can see the display URL in green.

Massage Therapy Ad 3

These days, there are up to four ads at the top of Google SERPs. Writing effective ad copy can be the difference between someone clicking on your ad or the one below yours. Don’t miss your opportunity!

Intrigue is a Canadian digital marketing company delivering solutions to help businesses get noticed and found. Guided by a commitment to empower leaders to strengthen communities, Intrigue offers website design and development, branding, online advertising, content marketing, graphic design, video production, SEO, and analytics. Take your marketing to the next level and Get Noticed. Get Found.® intrigueme.ca

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