Write Winning Adwords

Just read a fascinating article from Marketing Profs talking about keyword stats.

Turns out more people are typing in longer search phrases (5 or more words) and fewer people are typing in short phrases of one or two words.

Looks like people are figuring out that the more accurate their search starts the better the search results.

Which is good news for all of us that use Adwords to generate cash. Long tail keywords tend to cost less than those big generic one and two word phrases. So now we can expect to see more relevant traffic looking for what we have to offer.

The downside to that is your landing page and offer must really meet the criteria or the searcher is gone. So you still need to know how to write compelling copy that engages your visitor. At the very least. And converts them to the next action.

Interesting info you need to know.

Here’s a little tip from my fellow British Columbian, Derek Gehl…

Your ad groups should contain only keywords that focus on a single intent or problem statement. The example he gave was separating ad groups for “vitamin enriched bird food,” “organic bird food” and “canary food.”

Then the ads you write for each of these ad groups should address the intent or problem the searcher is querying. Each as should use slightly different wording to address the same problem.

Create landing pages for each ad group to address the problem raised by the ad. This will ensure a high Quality Score which lowers your click costs and raises the position of your ads.

Here’s a little known secret about writing Adwords ads that pull like crazy:

It’s not really about the ads – it’s about CONVERSION.

And converting searchers into buyers is a process that includes the ad. Let’s break down how a searcher behaves and show you an example.

I promote a product called “Facebook Payday.” It was written by a friend of mine and it’s about how to use facebook to build your internet based business. I set up a campaign and wrote two ads to test. Now, neither one of them is really generating high click-through rates. Partly because I put a lot of negative keywords into the ad groups. And partly because I just threw the ads up there and haven’t had much chance to tweak them.

But, here’s the kicker…

Even though they’ve only received about 15 clicks in the last nine days, one of the ads already got a sale. This is possible because:

1. The keywords are tightly focused on a specific topic: making money on facebook
2. The ads speak right to the searcher’s innermost desire
3. The sales page is a proven commodity. When he first promoted the product, it was converting at about 5.7%
4. The process is easy – all of the friction points have been minimized for maximum conversion

You see, when someone is in pain – in this case, wants to know how to make more money – they are motivated to find a solution. In the case of these ads, people hear about people making money from social media. And almost everyone is familiar with facebook. So they start their search with something they know.

But, if they don’t find something on the results page that answers their question, they will move on. Either by typing in another search query or by pushing the back button. That’s why it’s so important your AD stand out at this point.

So, they’ve typed in their search query and spotted my ad. In this case, I’m not sending them to any presell page or squeeze page. Just straight to the sales page for the product.

(By the way, it really is a good product. There’s one interview with a guy who CLEARS over $1,000 a day using a little known secret weapon on facebook. Check it out! Facebook Payday)

And the sales page is doing its job. In the case of this campaign, it’s actually converting at 6.67% – a little better than the original conversion rate for the page.

Keep this in mind when you’re writing your Adwords ads. You’re not as concerned with your click-through rate as you are with your conversions. After all, you’re doing this to increase your income, right?

Thousands of new advertisers are discovering the value of running PPC ads. Because of this, and limited knowledge about how to write good Adwords ads, many markets are filled with ads that have a similar look and feel.

It’s like everyone is copying everyone else’s ad.

Which gives you, the savvy ad writer, a distinct advantage. All you have to do is find a way to stand out in your market. Here are a few ways that you can use to draw clicks to your website while leaving your competition in the dust…

• Be aggressive: Study other markets for ideas. Highly competitive markets can reveal some effective ads that you can transfer the main concepts to your market.
• What is working in other media? Did you realize magazines spend fortunes writing cover headlines? Take all this high-priced research and use it to craft your ads and you’ll undoubtedly raise your CTR and conversions. Also, take a pad of paper and a pen (or your trusty notebook) and make notes during those infomercials. Advertisers pay a lot of money to create the right calls to action for their products. Jot them down and modify them for your own campaigns.
• Try techniques that engage people in subtle ways. Use alliteration, rhymes or other clever word tricks to attract attention in crowded marketplaces.

Here is an interesting article that talks a little more about the specifics of some of these techniques. It’s written by Shane at semvironment. http://www.semvironment.com/the-invasion-of-the-text-ad-clones/

1. Keyword research is CRITICAL. Do this right and the ads are easy to write.

2. Use the keywords in the headline – if possible.

3. Focus on BENEFITS. Your readers want to know what’s in it for them. They don’t care about features.

4. The only goal of the ad is to get the click. Leave the heavy selling to the landing page.

5. A strong Call to Action will entice more people to click.

6. Scarcity works. Limit time, quantity or something else to overcome people’s natural tendency to procrastinate.

7. Believe It Or Not, Camel Caps Work!

8. Your keyword in your Display URL makes it stronger.

9. Tracking codes in your destination URL help you determine which keywords and ads are producing best.

10. TEST, TEST, TEST! Always test one ad against another for higher returns.

Technorati Tags: write adwords ads

This is something I discovered the hard way…

You need to pay attention to the quality score of your keywords. Google, in their quest to deliver relevant content to searchers, rates every keyword for relevance. How they do this is by comparing the keyword to the ad to the landing page. All three have to have common elements in order to receive a high quality score.

How does Google reward higher quality scores?

There are two main ways you’re rewarded for a high quality score:

1. The most relevant ads receive a lower bid price. That means you pay less for clicks than someone who doesn’t take the time to ensure their ads, keywords and landing pages are relevant. For instance, in one market I compete in, the average first page cost per click is $1.48. But, through a process of refining my ads, narrowing my keywords and tweaking my landing page, I am only paying $0.64 per click (on average). By continuing to refine my process, I expect my CPC price to drop more over the next two weeks.
2. The quality score also affects your Average ad position. This is the spot Google shows your ad on the search result page. Obviously, the higher on the page your ad is, the more people notice it. And that can result in higher click through rates and ultimately more profits for you.

Keeping quality score in mind when you do your keyword research, write your ads and landing page will pay off for you in the long run.

In getting ready to write a series of ads, I try to get as much data on the characteristics of a TYPICAL prospect. If it’s a market I’m familiar with, this is fairly easy. I can look at what worked for them in the past and use the same ideas.

If it’s a market I don’t know much about, I need to dig into their psyche a little bit. One way I do this is by knowing a little bit about human nature and different personality types. I like the system that breaks the different types into colors because it’s easier for me to remember.

For instance, GOLD personalities are organized, neat and tidy. They tend to think in spreadsheets and flowcharts. Sell to them using logic and reason. Appeal to their need for order in the world.

The complete opposites are the ORANGE personalities. Totally emotion driven, they pursue fun first. Use emotional appeals and they will respond.

Many people have BLUE personalities. These are the social people who are relationship driven. Empathy is big with these folks. They tend to buy on emotion, but look more to have a relationship with the marketer, or buy products that enhance their relationships.

The final type we look at are the GREEN personalities. These are the analytical types. They gather a lot of information before making a decision. Once they do decide, they are extremely loyal.

How do we write to all these different personality types in one little 95 character ad?

Here is a little thing I learned from Daniel Levis:

To sell to John Q. Public, sell to the pessimistic, externally driven closed-minded victim mentality. As H.L. Mencken once said, “No one in this world has ever lost money underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people.”

I am an affiliate in a highly competitive niche. It’s one that attracts some very big names who have much deeper pockets than I do. Yet, I pay less than half per click than they do, and I sit in ad position #2. And am ready to raise my ad spend to boost traffic and make some serious money.

Here are the details…

The affiliate program had a list of suggested ads. I chose the one which I thought would have the highest response and wrote an ad based on my own system. After four days, it was clear which ad was winning the click-through battle.

The one I wrote.

At the same time, I was reducing my cost per click and maintaining my ad position. And reduced my keyword list from 30 to 3 high performing keywords.

Then I made one change that doubled my CTR.

I eliminated the poor performing ad that was written by the affiliate program manager and tested a second ad I wrote against the first. The interesting thing is I just moved two words. I recognized the fact that my three keywords all had one thing in common. And that one thing was not in the headline of my ad.

Sure, the keyword was in the body copy – a couple times. But I was using a different term that meant the same thing in the headline. Yet even with this oversight, the ad was performing at 7.21% CTR.

When I changed that ONE WORD, and tested against the first ad, the new ad clicks through at 16.94%.

Needless to say, I was stunned at the difference. But not surprised. Paying attention to the details in your Adwords ads can double – or even more – your clickthrough rates.

Before you even think about writing your ad, you need to spend time thinking about WHO you’re writing to. This requires understanding your product and who it appeals to. It also means taking some time to think about the person who would buy your product and what they are searching for. After all, they took the time to turn on their computer, open up a browser and type in a search query.

Let’s look at an example. If you had a product for babies, you obviously would not write your ads for infants. First, they don’t read, but more importantly… they don’t make buying decisions! But their mothers do. Or their grandmothers.

Now here is where it gets interesting. You would use different words in your ads for mothers than you would for grandmothers. To appeal to a mother, you might use terms like “nurture,” “care for,” or “protect.”

Whereas with grandmothers, words such as “treat,” or “spoil” are more likely to trigger the buying emotion.

That’s why it’s of utmost importance you know your audience. And why your first step should be to know who you are targeting.

I like to create small character studies of the one person I’m writing my ad for.

“Linda is unhappy about her weight. She’s tried to lose weight before, without success. It’s affecting her social life because she doesn’t want to go out for fear of being ridiculed. She’s seen other people lose weight, so she knows it’s possible if she can find the right program.”

Notice that I gave her a name and some emotional characteristics to help me get a clear picture of who she is, what her problem is and how to reach her.

Taking the time to do this one step – preferably on paper – will make writing your ads much easier!