Here is some advice on writing successful pay-per-click ads.

You’re probably going to have to write a lot of ads. Even if you only have 100 keywords in your campaign, those ads need to be targeted to the keywords. You can somewhat reduce the workload by using lots of tightly bound categories and writing your ads at the category level. By tightly bound, we mean that the category refers to only a few very similar or complimentary keywords. For instance, you might have a category with the keywords “candle wax”, “candle wax for sale”, “buy candle wax”, and “hobby candle wax”, in which case you could get away with just writing one ad for all of the keywords.

A strategy that is often recommended is for your ad titles to match exactly the search phrase. For example. if the ad is for the search phrase “Nevada hunting trip”, the title of the ad would be “Nevada hunting trip”. This might be a good way to write headlines quickly, but in general we are not in favor of this approach. The title is the most important part of your ad. You only have 40 characters. You should use the keywords, but put some effort into writing a title that will compel the reader to click. In the above example, how about something like “Find freedom hunting in Nevada” or “Nevada hunting trips for your family”.

This is a good time to point out that you really have no way of knowing what headline or description will be the most effective without testing. But when changing your ad, only change a single element at a time. For instance, only change the title, or only make a change to the copy, or maybe only change a single word.

As far as the ad copy goes, here are some writing tips:

• Write in a casual, conversational style. Don’t over estimate the intelligence of the reader of the ad.
• Use a call to action: “Find it here”, “Click here”, “Click now”, “Save now”, etc.
• Mention a strong guarantee, a special offer, a discount, etc.
• The most powerful word you can use is “you”.

Think from your prospective customers’ perspective. If it were you, what would make you click the link? Your ad is nothing more than salesmanship in print – just like any form of direct marketing. You are using words to pursuade the reader to click the link and come to your web site for more information. Keep that in mind and craft your ads carefully.

For help managing your search engine marketing campaigns, contact Work Media at workmedia.net or 888-299-4837.