Call visitors to action.Study after study has proven that using a call to action actually
does work. Include a call to action in your ad text to motivate the potential visitor to click
through the ad to your web site to accomplish whatever it is you want them to do. One
word of caution, however. Many PPC programs will not allow, or strongly recommend
against, using the phrase, “Click Here Now.” It’s a seriously overused phrase that conveys
no motivation at all.
Include keywords.Keywords should be used in both the ad title and in the body of the ad
text if possible. Keywords are what make PPC ads relevant and compelling. And when your
ads are relevant and compelling, you get far more exposure for a smaller cost per click.
Create a sense of urgency.It’s one of the oldest sales tricks in the book, but it still works
amazingly well. Create a sense of urgency in your potential visitors by using words such
as “limited availability,” or “expires soon.” Have you ever been told by a salesperson that
you’re looking at the last or one of the last items available, whether it’s a car or television
or something else? Did you feel a sense of urgency to make the purchase much more
quickly than you would have if there were many of that item left? That’s the purpose of
creating urgency — it drives the user to take whatever action is your ultimate goal with
the advertisement.
Draw clicks, not views.Write your advertisement with the intention of enticing users
to click on it. Though you shouldn’t use the phrase “Click Here Now,” that shouldbe the
goal of your advertisement. The purpose in PPC advertisement is to draw potential visi-
tors to your site. With that in mind, you should design your PPC ads to draw clicks, not
simply impressions.It’s not enough for users to see your advertisement. You won’t build
any brand recognition, and users won’t see it now and return to your site later. They’ll
view it, forget it, and move on. Be sure that your ads are designed to collect clicks, not
eyeballs.
Write your ad long and cut it.Writing your ad long is a copywriting trick that helps
in reducing the ad to only the most relevant and enticing ad text. Begin by writing your
ad in full sentences, using each of the preceding elements, and then cut those sentences
down to only the strongest words that will entice potential visitors to click on them. Look
at the ads that already appear in the PPC program that you’ve selected. This will tell you
how long your ad should be and what works for others. You can then build on that to
create ads that work for you.
Use strong, powerful words.Because you’ll have a very limited amount of space in
which to write your ad, be sure that you’re using the most powerful words that you can
conjure up. For example, instead of using the word “skilled,” use the word “professional.”
And instead of “markdown,” use “discount.” Strong, powerful words convey more mean-
ing and emphasis, and they do it in less space than other words or phrases.
Experiment tirelessly. Experiment endlessly. If your PPC ad is perfect right out of the
gate, it will truly be an anomaly. What’s more likely to happen is that you write a PPC ad,
it performs okay, and then you try something a little different. That’s how it should be
with PPC ads. It takes constant attention and testing to find the right combinations of118
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