There are various skills and art forms needed to craft a successful PPC text ad campaign. One of those is writing good ad copy. But anyone can do that, right? It’s just a simple case of putting your message across in that small box that Google (or Bing, etc) give you. Easy…
Well, hold on because there is more to writing successful Google text ad copy than meets the eye.
As every business is different, there is no simple template that you can pick up and plunk on your text ads campaign. And what works for one industry may not work for another.
But if you’re looking at ways to structure an effective PPC ad, there are some ground rules you can follow to write converting copy for Google Ads.
To make one thing clear: In this article we are talking about writing copy for text ads in search engine results, such as Google or Bing. Writing ad copy for Facebook is a whole other ball game (although there are some similarities).
You can check our Facebook Ad copy tips here.
It’s not about YOU, it’s about THEM
We’ve all been there, listening to some sales guy’s pitch that has just gone on and on about how great the product is.
But the question still remains; What’s in it for me?
Who cares if this vacuum cleaner won awards, or if it has one of the longest retractable cord on the market.
Getting your case across with effective ad copy means giving your target audience something to relate to.
This often comes down to some of the power words which are effective with sales and speak to our baser instincts.
- You
- Save
- Cheap
- Fast
- Now
- Value
- Results
- Easy
Now, this isn’t an exhaustive list of power words (we do have an article about power words here though), but it gives you an idea of what you’re trying to do. Your ad should answer people’s main queries, pain points and questions, not tell us all about your many years of experience. Save that for your landing page…
Less is More
This old adage really rings true when it comes to writing PPC ads. You have something like 0.0004* of a second to get customer’s attention online, and lots of information can confuse matters.
(*made up figure, but probably true)
Extract the essential features of your product, why they should matter to your potential customers and condense this into 280 characters.
You want your ad to be scannable and understandable to someone browsing in a rush, but to still contain key info. Probably the best way to structure your PPC ad copy is to ask yourself what the customer is looking for and answer that in short, simple points.
Using the vacuum cleaner analogy:
Powerful suction. Easy cleaning. Remove dust mites and allergens. Awarded best vacuum cleaner 2020.
Give people the simple facts, add in some proof and make it easy to extract that information in seconds.
Call to ACTION!
It’s been proven that when it comes to PPC ads, people expect a call to action (CTA), so don’t be afraid to use one. Make it clear what you’re expecting people to do with your ad and give them an incentive.
For example, you might be looking to book visitors to visit your conference. Some effective copy would likely focus on signing up for advance tickets, which will come after all those great points you’ve highlighted.
So, having told people that there will be thousands of exhibitors, industry speakers and the best opportunity to network with peers this year, pop in your nice and clear call to action:
Get your early access tickets now
Or perhaps even.
Don’t miss out! Sign up today
Or, if you’re selling a service which has a trial feature you can splash that word that we all love to see: FREE.
Try for FREE today
Free Trial, Sign Up Now!
Text ads do have a small amount of real estate to get your message across, so you’ll need to be to the point with your product benefits.
This text ad for a property conference uses the real estate well, although it uses the same CTA twice (which is a bit of a waste of space).
Note the use of power words to highlight the benefits – such as ‘Don’t miss the opportunity’ and ‘Safe & Timely’.
The example above also includes ad extensions to entice clicks to check out the speakers, or click straight through to the registration form. This is one of the most effective ways to improve the performance of your text ads by adding at-a-glance links to specific landing pages and information.
Although you would think a CTA is a given in a text ad, you would be shocked how many people don’t use them. Always include a call to action, whatever your product.
Make your headline count
All of this is worthless if you don’t get a great headline. So, how can you write an effective and high converting headline for your PPC text ads?
Once again, it comes down to keeping it simple. Don’t give the reader too much to think about, but give them a reason to look in more detail at your ad. That millisecond attention-grabbing skill will be key here…
So the best ways to win this game are a combo of using a focus word for your industry and one of those power words.
Put in a very simple template, effective text ads headlines will look something like this:
Catchy Benefit| Service Keywords| Optional URL*
*If it fits…
For example:
Make More Money Fast & Easy | Remote Work From Home Jobs| FreelanceJob.com
Really, what you’re looking for is to convey your service and professionalism within the 30 character length. Don’t overuse CAPS, as these can push your viewable limit down, leaving you with less words.
That catchy benefit could be something like: 24/7 Repairs and Maintenance Call Outs, or Earn Rewards Each Time You Shop, or whatever your USP is.
As you can see, you can easily break your headline up using the | character, which can make your headline more digestible.
The optional extra URL at the end is sometimes inserted by companies to make up the character count, but I’m not a fan of it myself. I think it makes the headline cluttered and actually, the URL in the headline is unnecessary.
A/B Testing
Ah that A/B testing certainly crops up a lot doesn’t it? There’s a reason for that, and that’s because you it can help you understand what works best…
When you’re writing PPC ad copy for your text ad campaigns, you’ll likely be stuck trying to decide the best way to say ‘quality’, but without saying ‘quality’. Or perhaps finding new ways to say the same old thing that many in your industry have been saying since the days of the wireless (as old people call radios).
If you’re torn between two or more bits of copy, try them out using different text ads. You might find that both have their own benefits and appeal, and in fact switching up your ad copy from time to time is a good thing.
Over time, you might find that particular copy works better, in which case you should make the switch.
Keep a record of the content you’ve used (and index it so you can actually find it when you come back in six months or more), as you might find a use for some old ad copy in new ad campaigns.
Remove Objections
Wow, there’s a lot to get in, hey? So how do you handle objections in your tiny amount of well written PPC ad copy?
Like most things with regards to advertising, it depends hugely on your product, service or clientele. Using those positive power words will help, or include phrases and words like:
- Money back guarantee
- Industry leading
- Number one choice
- Best selling
These will put you in the ‘trusted’ category, which is one way to remove objections.
Another way to remove objections is to roll with the CTA, but add in little sweeteners such as:
- Free shipping
- Money back guarantee
- Try for 7 days
These terms will give people the confidence to give your product or service a go, especially if they’re new or unsure. It’s usually a simple process to drop one of these in and make your Google Ads copy more effective.
Keywords in URLs
If we’re looking at making your text ads copy as effective as you can here, putting your focus keyword in the URL is good practice.
It’s usually done for agencies who are running multiple ad campaigns from their diverse client portfolio. As an example, if you’re managing the PPC ads for a logistics company and one offering is same day delivery courier services, your URL might look like:
Qualitylogistics.com/SameDayDelivery
And you might also feature other keyword focused URLs such as:
Qualitylogistics.com/PrivateFrankingMachines
Qualitylogistics.com/BusinessPost
Why do we need to include keywords in the URL? Well, it can help the search engines assign importance and relevance to searches. Even in the field of PPC, including the URL as part of your text ads can push your ad quality score higher.
Keywords in URLs can also be useful if someone links to your ad. With the keyword displayed in the preview of the link, it can give people more of an inkling that your link is relevant.
Good PPC ad copy: In summary
When it comes to writing effective PPC ad copy, there is quite a bit to bear in mind here. But if all that is a bit TL;DR, we’ll sum it up right here.
- Speak to your customer’s needs – answer their common questions
- Keep it very simple, less words and less clutter is better. Make the content scannable and clear when read in a few seconds
- Use a CTA – people expect it and it makes your ad purpose clear
- Good headlines should tell people why you’re so good
- Test your ads, focus on the copy that works best but don’t be afraid to experiment and play around, or come back to content later…
- Use simple words to entice your potential customers and remove objections
- The keyword in your URL can be a useful tool to push your ad up the rankings and help identify your ad as relevant to human readers
So there you have it, now you know how to create good PPC ad copy and get more sales.
The effectiveness of any PPC ad campaign comes down in a very large part to your research. Make sure you know your target audience and identify your best performing and most cost effective keywords.
All the most skilled writing in the world will be wasted if you haven’t correctly built your PPC ad campaign.
Don’t forget that one of the best ways to get value for money from your Google Ads or Bing PPC campaign is using click fraud prevention software. ClickCease can ensure that you don’t fall foul to the growing click fraud and ad fraud industry, and save yourself money on your ad campaign.
Find out how ClickCease can make the difference to your PPC campaign, and sign up now for your 14 day FREE trial. (See what we did there)
