Google Adwords remains as the premier paid traffic source in the internet today, and any business can setup and run ads on the Adwords network within hours. Writing effective ad words ads is a critical element of the campaign; since you only have a 35 characters of text in each line to get the attention of your audience, the words you select and the statements you make must be very specific and structured in a way that generates clicks.
Learning what to write in each line, and making sure you are using the right URL extensions are just some of the critical elements of a successful Google Adwords ad. If you’re just starting a new Google Adwords campaign, here are some essential tips for writing that first ad:
1. Use the keyword in the headline. Perry Marshall and Bryan Todd, authors of the book “The Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords” explain that more people click on ads when the headline includes the keyword or keyphrase that they were searching on. Use this technique to grab the attention of your target audience instantly.
2. Describe your benefit in the second line. People are more likely to respond and click an ad if the ad clearly states a benefit near the title. Differentiate between benefits, offers and features to make this technique work. Think about ‘giving them what they want’ before highlighting a feature or a special offer.
3. Feature and offer goes in the third line. After ‘giving them what they want’, its time to support your benefit by stating a feature or your special offer. Remember to keep your feature or offer brief and simple so as not to overpower your benefit.
4. Place your landing page URL in the last line. You can enter any URL you want on the last line and lead surfers to any page on the web. Many Adwords users make the mistake of assuming that they have to enter their website’s homepage URL. This is a great reason to set up a separate landing page specifically for your Adwords campaign; this landing page URL can be inserted into every ad you run so you can track how well your ad is performing.
5. Run a similar ad to improve your campaign. Split-testing means running two similar ads at the same time to see which one will gather more clicks. We do this to know whether slight changes in words or ad structure can produce more clicks. Track which ad performs better and drop the less effective ad.
All elements needed for success in Google Adwords can be mastered with practice. Follow these guidelines and start running ads now.
