Monday, March 29, 2010

Google Adwords: Writing Compelling Ads

Google Adwords remains as the premier paid traffic source in the internet today, and any business can setup and run ads on the Adwords network within hours. However, you are limited to just 35 text characters per line so you have to type in a specific manner to get favorable results. You just need to learn how to write ads specifically for Ad words in order to profit from it.

A whole science has emerged around writing effective adwords ads and knowing what to right in each line is just a part of it. If you're totally new with Adwords, here's a strategy you can use to base your first ad on.

1. Use the keyword in the headline. Perry Marshall and Bryan Todd, authors of "The Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords" state that internet users are more likely to click on an ad if the ad's title or headline contains the keyword or keyphrase they were searching on. Use this to your advantage and capture people's attention instantly.

2. State a benefit in the second line. People are more likely to respond and click an ad if the ad clearly states a benefit near the title. Make sure you are listing your benefit on the second line, not your offer or a feature. Think in terms of 'giving them what they want' first before stating your product's attributes.

3. State a feature or offer on the third line. Your features and offers must support your benefit statement. The idea here is to state your feature or offer in such a way as to back your benefit claim. Remember to keep your feature or offer brief and simple so as not to overpower your benefit.

4. Place your landing page URL in the last line. Many companies make the mistake of inserting only their website URL on the last line, but you have the freedom to enter in any destination you want in this area. This is a great reason to set up a separate landing page specifically for your Adwords campaign; this landing page URL can be inserted into every ad you run so you can track how well your ad is performing.

5. Split-test your Ads. Split-testing means running two similar ads at the same time to see which one will gather more clicks. Make small changes in your ads and see which version will perform better.

Setting up your Google Adwords campaign for the first time can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn't take long to understand all of the elements of Google Adwords and creating compelling and persuasive ads. Remember to track your performance always so that you can pinpoint areas for improvement. In any case, don't delay your usage of Google adwords and follow these tips to start running ads now.