David Fiske Affiliate Marketing & Web Development

Here's another guest post. Today's topic is about maximising your profitability by making your PPC ads stand out from the crowd. It's very easy to waste a lot of money using PPC (speaking from experience) so these tips from Michelle Strassburg should come in handy for both new and experienced pay per clickers.
 

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Whether you're a merchant or an affiliate, if you're using pay per click advertising you want to get more people clicking on your ads. Not only would you want more people clicking on your ads, you also want to keep and even improve the quality of the traffic from your ads. Getting your ad copy right, might make the difference between failing and succeeding. Here are 10 tips we found useful for increasing click-through rates:

1. Go against the flow - It's very common nowadays to recommend using keywords with prices in the title, and seems like everyone have heard this. One way to make your copy stand out is to use different types of titles as an ad variation. Sometimes just go against the flow...



2. Give 'editorial' recommendations - Take examples from competitive industries which have been using this method for a while. One way to make your copy stand out is to offer lists or editorial information which includes the product or service. As you know, many people start their buying process researching the market first so your ad will tick this box as well.



3. List discounts and savings - One sure way to make your copy stand out is to list the product's RRP and your price, list price and your price or just a very competitive price. In a way this will turn your ad into a kind of price comparison channel, which we all know works well.



4. Include a telephone number - There are many benefits for including a telephone number in your ads. It helps make your ad stand out, it might drive telephone leads for free and most importantly it will boost your credibility levels.



5. Include the key term in the title - Including this information in the title will make the title stand out and increase your click-through rates in the process. Through keyword insertion in the title it's possible to display the product or service people want.



6. Use uncommon symbols - Symbols such as 'registered' ® and 'trademarked' ™ when used correctly have a profound effect on click-through rates as it can boost credibility levels. You'll need to ensure you have the rights to use the symbol and that you comply with the various ppc policies.



7. Offer Google checkout - Websites which accept Google AdWords display a small symbol next to their ads which stands out due to its colours.



8. Create a sense of urgency - Make your ppc channel dynamic and include your marketing messages together with creating a sense of urgency. For example, quote a discount code and its expiry dare, list a special promotion and a strong call to action etc so you create a sense of urgency.



9. Insert the product or service in the display URL - We've talked about inserting this information in the ad title, however you can also insert the information in the ad display section. For example, www. domain-name.com/{keyword:default text} will insert the keyword and make it bold thereby making it stand out.



10. List your unique value proposition (UVP) - Describe what sets you apart from your competitors beyond your prices. While everyone else might be using standard copy which looks no different than the next one, consider using information such as stock availability, ordering methods, warranty information, free offer etc.



You might find that some of the above tips will help improve your CTR and some won't. It's important therefore to keep testing and adjusting your ad copy to help achieve a higher CTR, higher quality score and hopefully lower price per click.

About the author

Michelle Strassburg is the marketing director at Wood and Beyond, sellers of wood flooring and solid worktops. Michelle has over 10 years experience managing online marketing and is an active blogger.

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Many thanks to Michelle for taking the time to write this article. Please feel free to comment as it would be interesting to read what you think about optimising PPC ads. Do these techniques really work and have you seen an increase in ROI as a result?

If anyone else fancies giving me a break by writing some content relevant to fellow affiliate marketers, give me a shout :-)