Your PPC ads are small in comparison to the content and elements on your landing pages-but they're arguably more important. If your ads aren't enticing enough to generate those clicks, users are never going to have the chance to be swayed by your compelling landing page copy. So start off the relationship right and put your impressions-to-clicks ratio on even ground. Follow these four steps to refine your PPC campaign and create ads that work.
1. Ditch Your Low-Performing Ads
If you've been struggling with low click-through-rates, it's time to dig into Google Analytics. Identify your top-performing ad (the most clicks per impressions) and ditch the rest. Don't throw them out the window just yet, though, because they're good for analyzing what works vs. what doesn't.
2. What Are Your Low-Performers Lacking?
Take a good, hard look at your lowest-performing ads. What are they lacking that your top-performer has? Do your low-performers make use of buzzwords that might be turning users off? Sometimes, a savvy target audience views an overuse of buzzwords as tacky or desperate-if you find that these ads aren't performing, tone down the buzz lingo.
3. Check Out Your Competition
There are some software tools that show you your competitors' ads, keywords, bid prices and other data, but a cursory evaluation using your own experimental searches can also be useful. Does your competition use multiple ad variations? Do they have snappy headlines that immediately capture your attention? Take a few cues from your competition by identifying elements that work and incorporating those same ideas into your own campaign.
4. Build Off Your Top-Performing Ad to Create Variations
After you've disabled all your ads but the top-performer, use that as your control ad. You've gathered data based on your own ad experiments, identified elements that aren't working, and gotten a few ideas from your competitors. Use all this data to create variations of your top-performing ad. Run A/B tests to narrow down which ads work better-then slowly work your way down to a few ads that incorporate these killer elements that work.
Tips for Click-Generating Ads
You can be a rockstar at keyword research and still have a lackluster PPC campaign if you're not writing ad copy that generates clicks. Premier placement and optimized keywords are only part of the equation that lands actual visitors on your website. You don't have to be a highly trained advertising copywriter to write effective PPC ads (although it certainly helps), but you can write more effective ad copy by using some expert tactics.
• Use keywords in your headline. Your audience is using keywords to get search results-they're not likely to notice, let alone click on, an ad that doesn't contain the keyword they searched for. That's why it's important to target your ads closely to each keyword campaign.
• Create a hook. Your ad has to draw attention, but you also must use the copy to create a hook, or somehow convince visitors to click. That means you essentially have to tease them with the perfect solution to their problem-which can be theirs with a simple click.
• Include your USP. What's your unique selling proposition (USP)? You know, that one "it" factor that sets you apart from your competitors? If you can convey your USP within your ad copy, you'll successfully differentiate your company from the crowd.
• Be truthful. Sure, you want to make your ad copy so fantastic that users can't help but click. That's the whole point. But don't be dishonest. Untruthful and non-relevant ads will accomplish nothing other than exhausting your PPC budget with zero ROI. That's because visitors won't convert when they reach your landing page and realize it's not at all what they thought it was.
• Call them to action. The call-to-action is one of the most important elements of your ad. Tell them to click, and tell them what they're going to get when they do so.
• Don't waste space repeating your company name. PPC ads must be concise. Your company name will likely be displayed in the URL-and if you have some off-the-wall URL, they'll figure it out when they get to your landing page. Unless you're running a brand awareness campaign, use your limited space for keyword-rich, compelling copy instead of using valuable space to include your brand name.
Your ads are the cornerstone of your PPC campaign, and the catalyst that kicks off the relationship between your business and potential customers. The most compelling ads leave a lasting impression that sets visitors up for a possible purchase before they ever hit your landing page. Creating rockstar ads leaves less work up to your landing page, and increases your ROI simply by increasing the number of visitors that reach your landing page. Refining your PPC ads might take time, but the process of testing and eliminating non-performers is relatively simple.
For more information on generating clicks for your PPC ads please visit http://www.reciprocalconsulting.com/pay-per-click.php
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nicholas_Silver
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