SEO | Website Design | Internet Marketing | Adcuda Kansas City

Maybe it’s because I haven’t had a vacation in a while, maybe it’s a bit of cabin-fever as the Kansas City winter keeps on keepin’ on, this freakin’ cold I seem to have had since November, maybe it’s all those things making me edgy, but holy crap have I seen some lazy PPC ad writing lately. I should be glad I suppose, as much of this I’ve discovered while researching competitor ads during client campaign builds, but it would be nice to see something unique and inspiring once in a while – right? Come on, back me up here.

OK, yes, I obviously realize the extreme limitations of your average PPC ad, I don’t expect to be whisked away on some adventure or, what is it movie reviewers say – something, something, roller-coaster thrill-ride? But how difficult is it to at least make your ad slightly different from the competition? Writing PPC ads doesn’t require an English Doctorate, a do-it-yourselfer can get noticed by following a few very simple rules that even some of the pro’s seemingly forget as they cobble together yet another ad about tennis shoes, car tires or Red Vines, the most delicious licorice ever (Tom here in the office has fueled an entirely new addiction for me – THANKS, TOM).

Let’s get this thing rolling then, here’s part one in my, um, some number, series of how to stop being so darned lazy with your PPC ads. Sooo, no particular order, and no, it’s not because I’m lazy… geez:

Check the Competition
I understand you might have a metric crap-ton of keywords attached to a certain ad group, but you should know which are your big-bangers off the top. Simply sling the heavy-hitters into the search engine you’re writing for, hit “search”, and see what ad copy gets served up. What do these ads look like? Which are drawing your eye, if any? Are all the ads essentially the same? Remember, you aren’t trying to camouflage your ad, you want to draw the eye, be unique! Consider what will set yours apart, either with your message, with the inclusion of numbers, or heck, even the shape of your ad.

A week ago I was looking at bikes online with my son and did a search for “giant anthem”, because sometimes I like to pretend I’m rich and can just buy a new bike whenever I want. I just double-checked as I’m writing this and it’s still the same: every PPC ad has the exact same headline… and if you look closely the text doesn’t read properly, leading me to believe these are all dynamic text ads. Making a dynamic text ad is a pain in the rear – I’m sure the people who built these would be thrilled to see this.

What I’m looking at here is a perfect opportunity for a Giant dealer in Kansas City (where I am), even if it’s just some hole-in-the-wall shop, to get some attention and move some of his or her Anthems. Hell, add a word or two to the title and write some copy that actually makes sense and BAM!, you’ll far and away have the best ad of the lot – and you wouldn’t even have to bid anywhere near the top to stick out from the crowd!

Let’s consider you actually have some legit competition that isn’t poorly using dynamic text ads to all look the same, the question remains: from a purely cosmetic standpoint, what will set you apart? Think about it, a searcher isn’t automatically reading every ad at once, something irregular is pulling their attention. In my experience numbers have been strong, whether it’s a price, a percentage, or the easiest (though it does eat up some characters): adding a phone number. Everyone in the SEO game will tell you that putting your keyword in the title and body of the ad is best, and listen, I’m certainly not advising against it, but do a search for “used cars” and see how much of a difference you think those bolded keywords make. If everyone is using the same trick, it’s no longer a trick, is it?

I realize I may have thrown a few people when I mentioned the shape of your ad, and admittedly this one is fairly gimmicky, but hey, you have to draw the eye before you can draw a click, amirite? You can do the ol’ upside-down pyramid, making your title the longest bit and slowly shrinking the next couple lines, or, if you’d like a proper challenge: going the other way with a crazy-short title – just don’t forget that your PPC ad copy has to say something sensible once your potential customer shows up to read it.

And I’ll try to remind you at the end of each of these articles: don’t forget to test your ads! Make multiple ads to see what works. Are your silly pyramids working? How about the numbers? Does it matter where the numbers are in the copy? Keep what’s working and experiment with the losers, and don’t forget, keep an eye on your competitors – your best ad could accidentally get pirated by more than one company and before you know it you’ll be blended back into the sidebar.

OK, stay tuned next week for the, erm, next part of this series I decide should come next – ’til then, happy PPC-ing!