Overview
You have an ad campaign set up on Google AdWords that is just not performing the way you want it to go. Yay! Now you just need to get more clicks to your website. Yes, you get a few clicks here and there. The reality is that you need to improve adWords or Facebook Ad CTR.
Then fear not! We have some strategies to improve your ad click through ratio (CTR) that are so easy, your grandmother could do it:
#1 Put Your Main Keyword in The Display URL:
(Estimated Time: 2 minutes)
WordStream noted that out of 580,000 ads they analysed, over 33% of them neglected to have the main keyword in their display URL. This not only benefits your quality score, but also can help you increase your conversions. People like to know that the link they are clicking on is directly related to keyword they are searching.
Therefore, if you own a pet store, and are looking to sell more of your puppies, your display url should look like the following:
Example.Com/Puppies or
Example.Com/PuppiesForSale
The great thing about this strategy is that you do not even need to change the URL on your website. All you do is re-write the text on your display URL as you can see from the ad below.
#2 Have a Special Offer in Your Headline:
(Estimated Time: 10 minutes)
Do you what is amazing about the car industry? They do not mess around with you. When you see an ad on Google for cars, they start with the deal.
Car companies know that consumers want to know how much the monthly payment will be, or what type of deal they can get on their car. So, they tell you that used cars start at $6,000 or as low as $100/month.
When you include specific numbers, you let people how you can help them. It also encourages only targeted buyers to click on the ad to learn more.
– Note: When advertising specific prices, make sure you do not perform a bait and switch. Show the $100 per month car on your landing page. The information should match.
If you want to sell a higher model, have a search feature or some of other tool to give consumers the option to check out those cars as well.
#3 Target the right keywords:
(Estimated time- 10 minutes)
Quality score (QS) is a big determinant in how much you pay for Google ads. One of the biggest elements of your QS is targeting the right keywords.
For example, look at the ads below for the keyword puppies for adoption. While the first ad relates to the keyword, the second ad is from Swiffer.
While this is a creative way of talking to pet owners, it is probably not helpful to target people looking for a puppy. Just what I want to think about when buying a cute, cuddly puppy. Information on how I can clean up their dirt, dust, and pet hair. Because the keyword is off the mark, it can dramatically reduce the number of people who click through to their landing page. Your keyword needs to match your target market.
#4 Speak to my heart, not my head:
(Estimate time 10-20 minutes)
Have you read an ad that just struck you as boring? Sticking with the dog example, look at the ads below for Teacup Yorkies. Keep in mind these are adoption ads. Why exactly does the first ad spend most of their advertising real estate talking about how the dogs are vet checked and health certified?
Yes that is important, but what child wants to purchase dog, because they are vet checked?
There is a time to discuss that, but it is not in your Google ad. Instead, you should talk about how kids never need to feel lonely again. Or how they are the perfect travelling companion. Perhaps how you should never walk into a home again without a wagging tail.
People buy because of emotions, and then later back it up with logic. Give them the emotional stirrings they need, and they will use the health certifications later as justification for their purchase.
#5 Test your ads:
(Estimated Time: 10-20 minutes)
For many long-term Shout readers this advice should come as no surprise. The fact is that consumers’ interests change over time. That means you need to consistently test the best ads for your business. As we discussed in the 5 Ways to Benefit from the Crossover between Organic and Paid Search, you need to test everything to get the highest CTR for your AdWords or Facebook ads.
Start with your ad headline, then test your description, display link, and eventually your landing page. Create between 5-7 ad variations to determine the best ad for your site. You need to make sure that you have a smooth process in place. Testing is the only way to do this properly.
Final Thoughts
Improving your conversion rate on your Google Ads does not need to be difficult. As you can see, these quick changes can all be made in less than 20 minutes. The key here is to think like your customer. For example, what keywords would they use for your products? What do they really want from your services? What would pique their interest? When you know that, you have the recipe for increasing your ad click through ratio.
If you still need help with improving your ads, then feel free to reach out to us at Shout for an initial review of your search engine marketing strategy.
