Something we always say here at enCOMPASS is that the best online assets in the world are meaningless if nobody sees them. You may have a perfect website, for instance—functional, interactive, aesthetically pleasing, and great for capturing leads and educating customers. If you don’t do anything to drive traffic to the website, though, then what good is the site actually doing you?

Similarly, when people ask about the usefulness of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, we have a measured response. PPC advertising can be highly effective. It can be invaluable, even. But spending money on ads won’t yield any results if the ads themselves are not compelling—if people don’t see them and immediately want to click them for more information.

This is easier said than done, and it’s important to have the proper expectations. There is simply no way to get a 100 percent click-through rate on any PPC ad. Hopefully, though, your rate is more than zero—otherwise, all those ads are simply not having any impact for your brand.

Creating Click-Worthy PPC Ads

But how can you ensure that the ads you’re creating are ones people will actually want to click? Some general tips follow.

• For ecommerce brands, price competitiveness is an obvious yet effective tactic. Are all of the competitors advertising their product for $100? Create ads that advertise yours for $98 and see how that enhances your click-throughs.
• Always think about the user’s end goal, and try to mirror it in your ad. In other words, be less focused on the problem and more focused on the solution. Maybe you’re marketing a product that will treat heartburn. “Got Heartburn?” is ineffective ad copy, because of course your audience does have heartburn. What you need to do is point to their end goal: “End heartburn today,” maybe.
• Another obvious but critical point: You need to include a call-to-action. This is true of all marketing copy, but it’s easy to neglect it when writing PPC ads, if only because your space is so limited. Don’t forget to include that strong verb urging the user to take action, though: Discover hair loss solutions. Eliminate your acne now. Enjoy life without heartburn.
• Also consider addressing your customers’ risk. Free shipping, refund policies, warranties, guaranties—anything that makes your product seem like a safe bet is probably worth mentioning in your PPC ad copy.
• Either in addition or as an alternative to risk reductions, you can create trust by underscoring your authenticity. For example, if you have been in business for 50 years, that’s something that may be worth noting. If your product is consistently voted #1 of its kind, that’s probably worth noting, too.
• As you focus on the value you can offer to your audience, and to the audience’s end goal, you can also focus on product features. Often, consumers will already know what your product is; for example, if you’re selling a food processor, consumers will already know what that is and what it does. Rather than summarize what food processors are, mention some of the specific features that make your food processor different from your competitors’.

Writing compelling ad copy is a key step in the PPC process—but don’t forget that there are some ads you don’t want people clicking on. Read more in our upcoming blog post!