Top tips to write effective Google text ads

By Debbie Weil
Publisher & Editor, WordBiz Report

If you're just dipping your toes into pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, Google is a great way to experiment.

For a fee of USD $5, you can write your first ad and have it appear in Google search results within minutes.

I interviewed Andrew Goodman, author of the best-selling report 21 Pay-Per-Click Campaign Secrets Your Competition Doesn't Know for pointers on PPC advertising on Google. It’s also called cost-per-click (CPC) advertising.

Debbie's Pick: Andrew Goodman's Google AdWords Report (2004 edition) on how to get the most out of pay-per-click text ads. It’s filled with concrete examples and specific tips on how to choose keywords, qualify your sales prospects, improve your clickthrough rate and decrease your cost per click. A great primer if you're new to AdWords plus lots of insider tips if you're trying to improve results. CLICK HERE to learn more and download immediately.

Basically, there are three variables that combine to make a successful AdWords campaign. By successful I mean a top position in search results plus a high clickthrough rate to your site. Goodman suggests shooting for an average cost per click of less than a dollar and a CTR of one percent or higher.

- your maximum daily budget

- your maximum allowable cost per click

- the relevancy of the copy in your ad

The first two parameters are easy to set (you can change them anytime). The bigger your budget, the higher you can set your daily budget and allowable cost per click. (Tip: set your daily spending limit much higher than you think you should, initially. It will maximize exposure of your ad.)

The third variable depends on your skill as a keyword chooser and copywriter. See our Q. & A. below for specific pointers.

Of course, your ROI (return on investment) ultimately depends on how many clickthroughs convert to a prospect, subscriber or sale on your landing page. As with any online marketing campaign, be sure the copy flows naturally from your ad. And tag your landing page(s) so that you know which Google ads are driving traffic to your site.

Other tips:

- remember that the primary goal of an AdWords campaign is to convert visitors to a sale or lead. NOT to drive traffic to your site.

- less is more with copywriting. You can't put complicated strategy into 20 words.

- punctuation doesn't need to be perfect.

- use exact matching (i.e. square brackets) for your keywords. That way you qualify your traffic more precisely. You don't want just anyone to click.

- if your ad shows up "above the fold" don't obsess about whether you're 1, 2 or 3.

- the word FREE is ok, but avoid all caps and don't use exclamations.

WordBiz Q. & A. with AdWords expert Andrew Goodman:

DW: If you're new to the Google ad game, what are the top three things to keep in mind as you start writing ads?

AG: The first is “matching." Ads that contain the same keywords in the title or ad copy as the keywords you've used in that ad group will perform better. As a close second, ads that match very closely in *theme* to your keywords, rather than simply being loosely related, will perform better.

Therefore, writing different ads for different groups - and creating new groups for new themes and keyword families - can improve CTR's significantly. Most advertisers address a variety of themes and aim their products at different subgroups of buyers, so it is a mistake to lump all of these keywords in together under a single ad.

The second thing is testing. You can create several ads within a single ad group (just click on "create new ad" after you have one up and running). Leave at least two different ads running for 7 days and at the end of the period, compare their performance on a CTR and CPC basis. At that point, if necessary, ditch the lower performer(s).

The third is don’t use copy that is hype-filled. Clever word play doesn't work. Precise targeting and an attractive offer does work. Rather than trying to grab people with wild claims or crazy punctuation, study the effects of small tweaks - such as using a call-to-action word ("download"), a sounds-like-it-will-solve-my-problem description ("finish the job in half the time"), a third party endorsement ("blows away Toyota Camry says AutoWorld"), or a mention of a free trial offer if applicable.

DW: What are your top three tips for writing a compelling ad?

AG: Didn’t I just answer that?

DW: Sorry, sounds like I'm stuck on the top three tips. Readers love this stuff!

AG: Having looked at the results of numerous advertisers, what strikes me is that the nature of the offer itself often determines whether CTR's will be high. If demand is high in a given field, and you put the right offer in front of people, AND this offer is easy to communicate (not something people don't know they need but rather something they're actively seeking), the ad copy practically writes itself.

This game is not about making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. If you have poor fundamentals, it will flow through to your campaign.

Successful campaigns I've seen:

- employ spicy but not hypey calls to action such as "download"

- mention a free trial or some other way of saving money

- target the ad more closely to the exact query

- communicate clearly with shorthand descriptors that a child could understand, like "easy," "quick," "powerful," etc. - rather than jargon like "build modules with DMOTL functionality"

DW: What are your top tips for choosing keywords that others are not thinking of??

AG: Stop thinking like an industry insider and start thinking like a customer (i.e. ask your Mom or electrician what they'd type in to look for a certain thing).

Read my report so you can find out what cool variations are less likely to be copied by competitors (eg. using syntax).

Use software and other means of researching actual consumer search behavior.

USEFUL LINKS:

Downloadable PDF report:
Google AdWords: 21 Pay-Per-Click Campaign Secrets Your Competition Doesn't Know by Andrew Goodman [2004 edition]

Set up a Google AdWords account:
Google AdWords

WordTracker articles on keywords

Google text ad optimization tips

Google editorial guidelines

[Article updated February, 2004. Originally published in June 19, 2002 issue of WordBiz Report.]