Writing effective ad copy to achieve your search marketing objectives 💰 

When running a PPC ad, the main goal is to get in front of the right people at the right time… right? And when you get there, you want to make sure your message is clear, concise and conversion-worthy with some awesome ad copy.

Writing ad copy is one of the most straightforward parts of any PPC strategy, and can come second nature to an experienced marketer, but it’s safe to say we all get writer’s block sometimes.

It can be challenging coming up with creative headlines and catchy callout extensions for your pay per click ads, but that’s not to say you can’t do it. Writing truly effective copy comes from understanding your target audience, and what they are looking for when they turn to the web. 

Marketers often get caught up in writing ad copy that only includes the message we want to convey, and often forget about how we want the users to feel when the ad appears in their results.

To write good, conversion-friendly ad copy, you want to find out what your potential customers are looking for, and use that in your copy to persuade them to take your desired action.

When you start tailoring your PPC ad copy to your audience, rather than your objective, you’ll see results. Sincerity is the key to persuasion!

Being informative doesn’t have to mean you just stick to cliché, factual text that commonly appears in ad copy either. Evoking a response from your user with something more bespoke, and in your tone of voice will make you stand out. Address your audience by using second-person possessive adjectives such as ‘you’ or ‘your’ to connect with them on a more personal level.

As we’ve said before, knowing what your audience is searching for can not only influence the success of your ads but also your business as a whole. Including commonly searched phrases or questions within ad copy is a great way to show the user you have the answers they are looking for.

Personalisation in your ads makes users feel more important and allows them to connect with the brand and develop feelings of familiarity and trust.

From Google’s perspective, doing this may even indicate high relevancy and result in an improved quality score, higher ad rank, and a lower cost-per-click. It’s a win-win situation in everyone’s eyes!

There are other techniques that can be used to evoke emotion within your users and have been shown to increase conversion and click-through rate. Provoking a sense of urgency by using clear call-to-actions such as ‘limited stock’ or ‘last chance’, amplifies the need for the user to act now and creates that well-known feeling of FOMO that strongly influences consumers today. In fact, it has been suggested that 60% of consumers make purchases, typically within 24 hours, because of the FOMO phenomenon.

And you know what, getting it right the first time is a tricky one, and that’s why testing different variations of ad copy are equally as important as writing them, and identifying what types of words and phrases encourage more clicks and conversions is crucial.

For example, when running a promotion, you may find that including the term “50% off” sees more conversions than the alternative “£10 off”. Identify what looks incentivising to the consumer and use that to alter your ad copy and get results.

The tactics we have shared have the potential to subconsciously evoke an emotional response in users and change your ad copy for the better. Ensure to write ad copy that resonates with your target audience by taking the time to understand what they truly want when they turn to search engines for answers. Build memorable relationships with users by being humorous, nostalgic, exclusive, and informative, and you’ll see brand awareness and loyalty follow.

If you’d like any help with your ad copy or PPC management, then take a look at our PPC services or get in touch.