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5 Easy Steps to Writing Effective Search Engine Marketing Ads

Guest post by Mia Vallo, Online Advertising Manager for Network Solutions. Mia is passionate about helping companies become successful with their online marketing and advertising strategies. She can be reached at Mia.vallo@networksolutions.com

Advertising on the search engines seems simple at first. Sign up, write your ads, pick your keywords, set your bids and done. But do your ads really work? Here are five easy steps to writing effective search engine marketing ads.
(Photo attribution: HighPosition.net)
1. Match your keywords to your ads
It’s easy to get lazy and write one ad for all of your keywords. Don’t fall into that trap! On the search engine results page, keywords in the pay-per-click ads are in bold. Guess what? Your potential customers will click on those ads instead of the ones that are not in bold.

You can either enter the keywords in your ads manually or use the automatic keyword insertion code to save time. This is especially helpful when you make updates to multiple ads. An example of a keyword insertion code in Google is {KeyWord:Default Text} — you can use this code in your title, description and URL.

Let’s say you have a company called Yummy Yummy Cakes in Boston, where you sell custom cupcakes for special occasions. One of your keywords is “Boston cupcakes,” so make sure to have “Boston cupcakes” in your ad for that keyword. If you use {KeyWord:Yummy Boston Cupcakes} in your ad title, searchers will see “Cupcakes In Boston Ma” as your ad title. If they search for keywords that are longer than 25 characters (Google limits title text to 25 characters), the default text will be shown instead. So if they search for “delicious Boston Massachusetts cupcakes,” they’ll get “Yummy Boston Cupcakes” as your ad title.

2. Make your words count
You have a limited number of characters to tell your potential customers what your offer is, so be brief.
Long description: Chocolate, red velvet, almond cupcakes & more for your special occasion.
Make it count: Boston cupcakes for special occasions.

3. Have the keyword in the title, description AND display URL of your ads
To re-emphasize that you have what your potential customers are looking for, repeat that keyword in the description and display URL of your pay-per-click ads:

Keyword: Boston cupcakes
Title: {KeyWord:Yummy Boston Cupcakes}
Description: Boston cupcakes for special occasions.
Display URL: YummyYummyCakes.com/BostonCupcakes

4. Differentiate your offer
You still need to give a compelling reason for your potential customers to consider you as their vendor. Depending on your keyword, you may be competing with up to 10 other advertisers on a search engine results page, plus 10 natural search listings. Some examples of differentiating your ad are offering a special discount, featuring your award-winning service, or highlighting a benefit that your competitors don’t have. And yes, still be brief.

Keyword: Boston cupcakes
Title: {KeyWord:Yummy Boston Cupcakes}
Description: Boston cupcakes for special occasions. Voted #1 in MA.
Display URL: YummyYummyCakes.com/BostonCupcakes

5. Add a clear and urgent call-to-action at the end of your ad
The final step in writing an effective search engine marketing ad is to include a clear and urgent call-to-action at the end of your ad. Your goal is for those potential customers to take the next step; either to learn more about you or to purchase your service or product.

Keyword: Boston cupcakes
Title: {KeyWord:Yummy Boston Cupcakes}
Description: Boston cupcakes for special occasions. Voted #1 in MA. Free tasting today!
Display URL: YummyYummyCakes.com/BostonCupcakes

These 5 steps are pretty easy, right? Just start updating one ad and before you know it, you’ll play around with more ads and improve your pay-per-click ad effectiveness.

If you’re interested in getting some recommendations on your search engine marketing ads, leave a comment below!

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