With election season finally coming to an end we figured we would talk about another type of campaign, an AdWords one.
Last week, we helped you decide if you should put your holiday ad budget behind Facebook, CPC ads or Google, PPC ads. So we wanted to follow it up with a post that provides more resources on how to create a PPC ad- if that’s the route you decide to go!
Creating any ad, digital or not, can be frustrating. There are character limits, image restrictions (don’t get me started on how much text you can or can’t have) ad blockers, and the inability to predict (and sometimes understand) results. And when talking about PPC things get even trickier…
They don’t even let you write the word CLICK in your ad!!
Isn’t that the first step in advertising, tell your consumers what action you want them to take?
But have no fear, getting through this type of campaign will be a lot easier than sitting through any election advertisement. We have everything you need to know and do to write the best AdWords ad ever. Just take a look below, get to work and see the results come clicking your way in time for the holidays!
The End Is Near
You may notice that your competitors are already using the keywords you want to have in your ads! Life is unfair like that. Instead of feeling defeated or deciding to use those anyways, try adopting a different perspective.
What does your product/service help people accomplish?
If you can keep your consumers’ end goal in mind, then you will have an easier time creating an ad that produces results and isn’t exactly like the other ones on the page.
For example, I typed in “help sell my boat”
As you can see, two out of the four ads are asking questions, a question I already typed in. Don’t waste your time or money doing that! Instead, answer the question. A better use of marketing dollars would be an ad that said:
Sell Your Boat Fast!
As the advertiser, you already know the people who are seeing this ad want to sell their boat. Don’t give up your headline for something your consumer already knows too, instead give them the solution they are looking for.
Create FOMO
There is more than one way we can make people fear missing out on the opportunity you are presenting. Here are three ideas you can use for your PPC holiday ads.
1. The Countdown
Google AdWords has added the ability to play with loss aversion with the addition of a countdown timer in their toolset. Brands can set parameters by adding:
{=
to their headline so visitors seeing their ads will be motivated by their fear of missing out (FOMO) via the countdown clock.
This is a great way to get people shopping for the holidays. Run a countdown ad till Black Friday, so people know when the holiday deals start or run an ad until Christmas Eve, so people know how many days they have left to shop.
2. Share How Great You Are
Has anything happened to your company that is both relevant and exciting? Do you have a large number of customers you helped last month? Did you save people a significant amount of money over the past year because of store sales or coupons? Do you have the best customer service ever? Do a portion of your sales around the holiday’s support a local charity?
Create an ad that specifically highlights one of those accomplishments. For example, include the current sale you have going on for the holidays in the ad headline, so they already know the deals you are offering before they get to your store.
3. Make It Personal
The more specific you are, the more believable you are. Specific numbers instead of nice round ones usually perform much better and have have been shown to get people’s attention in ads.
Using “you” in your copy resonates with people. It is better to use “you” than words like “us” and “we,” make it about your consumers, not about your brand!
And make ads that are super localized. Even if you are available nationally, you want your potential customers to feel like you are close by to help. Create a geographic specific AdWords campaign and ensure your ad copy AND phone numbers match up to that area you are advertising.
Wrap It Up
When using AdWords campaigns this season, you are going to need to stand out from your competitors who are sharing the same ad space as you. It can seem impossible to do, but if you follow the tactics mentioned above, test test test, and have fun in the process, you will bring in higher click-through-rates and quality clicks.
What have you seen work in your AdWords tests? Did I miss anything above? Interested in learning what it takes to succeed at Facebook Advertising too, check out that post here.
Need help tracking your AdWords results? Check out the Converge Platform! We can start tracking your AdWords campaign today…