Setting up an AdWords account and putting in your card details isn’t quite enough to see the sales or enquiries rolling in. A Google AdWords account needs to be well organised and managed effectively in order for PPC to add value to your business.
If care is not taken in the initial stages of setting up AdWords campaigns, this could result in low click-through rates – or CTRs – meaning you won’t get the traffic through to your landing page and therefore you won’t be getting the sales and enquiries you are looking for.
So how can ensure you have a high CTR? Take a look at these handy tips:
Ad copy
What may sound obvious, but cannot be underestimated, is the necessity for compelling ad copy. Engaging adverts with strong CTAs, (call to actions), are vital to get searchers to click on your ad through to your website.
The copy has to be click-worthy. Put yourself in the position of a potential customer – what is your pain point? What would you search to find a solution? And what copy would you click on that would make you feel confident that that company can help?
Also, think about the audience you are targeting. Are you targeting a CEO, a manager, a teacher? Whoever it is, your ad copy needs to speak to them.
AdWords is regularly updated by Google, and this can affect the ad copy allowances. Ensure you review your ad copies regularly, so you are using all of the allowed character limits – including the display URL section – in order for your ads to have the maximum opportunities to show relevant content to the searcher.
Keywords
Remember – the keywords you are bidding on must be in your ad copies and on your landing pages. If the keywords are not in ad copies, not only will the ads not look relevant to the searchers, but they won’t look relevant to Google, who will give the ads a low-quality score.
Low-quality scores affect how often Google will show the ads, in turn, having a drastic effect on the click-through rate.
Don’t forget – you can also use keyword insertion, which allows Google to show the exact phrase a searcher used in your ad copy, so it looks highly relevant to their search query.
Extensions
AdWords offers a range of ad extensions that give your ads the opportunity to stand out against all others. Ad extensions can increase the size of your ads, so they take up more space on the page and giving you more chances to show the relevant information that a searcher is looking for.
This, of course, increases CTRs as people are more likely to see something relevant that they want to click on.
AdWords extensions include:
- Sitelink extensions – up to 4 sitelink headings and two descriptions per heading displayed when your ads are in the top 3 positions. This is up to 3 extra lines, so it takes up a lot of space on the page.
- Call extensions – enable people to call your business directly from the ad.
- Structured snippet extensions – to show up to 10 pieces of product information, e.g. brands, courses, versions etc.
- Callout extensions – up to 4 text statements per ad can show at a time – more can be added, and Google will choose depending on performance and search query.
- Review extensions – allows you to enter a snippet of a review on a verified review site which will then show up on your ads.
- Price extensions
- Location extensions
- App extensions
Make a good impression
Of course, you want your ads to stand out, but for the right reasons.
Grammar is still important in ads in order to effectively convey your message without confusion – use those commas and apostrophes. Ensure the ads have been proof-read by someone else to avoid typos and spelling mistakes.
While one exclamation mark can make a point, more than that is overkill and can make your company look unprofessional. Research has also shown that using title case instead of sentence case can also increase the CTR on ads.
Review bids
An important thing to consider when thinking about click-through rates is to ensure you regularly review how much you are bidding on keywords. Your bid needs to be high enough to appear on page one and ideally in position one, two or three. Anything below these positions will significantly impact your CTR.
It isn’t just about getting to that top spot though. If you ignore the other points in this article and just rely on your big budget, this could mean you waste a lot of money when people see your ad first and click on it, but it is not relevant to their search, and they bounce straight off.
You could also consider adjusting your bids for times that you are aware people are more likely to purchase. This will also help improve your conversion rate.
How can we help?
ExtraDigital have been using AdWords for our clients through many updates and beta trials, and we understand exactly how to get our client’s desired results through Google Ads. Contact us today to discuss your PPC requirements, and we can show you how AdWords can add value to your business.
