When most people set out to write PPC ads, they simply lay fingers to
keyboard and begin to rattle off whatever they want to tell customers. If
it fits into the allotted space, the ad copy is uploaded and run without too
much thought.
I've always been astonished that PPC copywriting takes place with such a
nonchalant attitude, considering how vitally important it is. After all, if
you can't get people to click your ads, nothing else you do will matter.
Your campaign will come to a grinding halt.
One of the most overlooked elements in writing PPC ads is the audience.
While you hear the marketing command to "Know your target customer" often
repeated, what you might not consider is how those customers actually behave
while interacting with your ads online. For instance, is yours a passive or
active audience?
Passive Behavior
Put yourself in your customers' shoes for a bit. Take an imaginary trip
over to Facebook. What are you doing there? If you're like most people,
you check your timeline and/or your business page. You respond to the
updates you see, make a few posts while you're there, perhaps play a game,
etc. Basically, you interact with people.
What you most likely don't do on Facebook is actively look for products and
services to purchase. Sure, there are ads in your timeline and page
sidebars, and even in the timeline itself, but they are afterthoughts. Your
interaction with these ads is passive.
Perhaps while you're looking at your timeline, you might catch a glimpse of
an ad in the sidebar that interests you. Or, while scrolling through your
newsfeed, you see a promoted post that you decide to 'like,' but that's not
why you went to Facebook to begin with, so your interaction with the ads is
not your primary behavior.
Active Behavior
On the other hand, when surfers go to search engines (Google, Bing, etc.),
they are actively looking for something. They intend to find the solution to
a problem, discover a great price on a new pair of shoes, score a new source
for a product they couldn't find at their local store, get information, etc.
Because these people are diligently trying to find something, they embrace
PPC ads as part of their discovery process. These ads contain the possible
solutions your target customers are seeking.
Needless to say, when you write PPC ads, you must consider whether the core
of your audience will be passive or active to get the best results.
Writing to Active Customers
If you're writing AdWords ads (or ads that will appear on another search
engine), I'd suggest including verbs that relate to accomplishing the
surfers' goals: find, get, discover, shop, search, learn, etc. While all
your ads certainly don't have to have these words, you'll probably find a
good bit of success when you include them in your headline or copy.
Writing to Passive Customers
For ads targeted to passive onlookers (Facebook, ads that run the AdSense
network, etc.), I'd recommend skipping the search-type verbs such as search
and find because ad viewers won't necessarily be in search mode. If you plan
to exclusively run ads for this demographic, then test using special offers,
discounts, exclusive deals or announcements in your copy. This could help
entice those who might not really be looking to purchase (or take other
actions), but could be persuaded to look further if your ad copy is good
enough.
Once you understand if you're competing with other activities for the
attention of your audience, you'll be able to create ads that more
effectively accomplish your goals.
my motto is "Keep it simple" and "don't leave anything for tomorrow that can
be done today."
Regards Gerald Crawford
Stellenbosch South Africa
Cell: +27-0720390184 (mobile)
E-mail: gerald@webcraft.ws
-----
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2013.0.3349 / Virus Database: 3204/6489 - Release Date: 07/13/13
keyboard and begin to rattle off whatever they want to tell customers. If
it fits into the allotted space, the ad copy is uploaded and run without too
much thought.
I've always been astonished that PPC copywriting takes place with such a
nonchalant attitude, considering how vitally important it is. After all, if
you can't get people to click your ads, nothing else you do will matter.
Your campaign will come to a grinding halt.
One of the most overlooked elements in writing PPC ads is the audience.
While you hear the marketing command to "Know your target customer" often
repeated, what you might not consider is how those customers actually behave
while interacting with your ads online. For instance, is yours a passive or
active audience?
Passive Behavior
Put yourself in your customers' shoes for a bit. Take an imaginary trip
over to Facebook. What are you doing there? If you're like most people,
you check your timeline and/or your business page. You respond to the
updates you see, make a few posts while you're there, perhaps play a game,
etc. Basically, you interact with people.
What you most likely don't do on Facebook is actively look for products and
services to purchase. Sure, there are ads in your timeline and page
sidebars, and even in the timeline itself, but they are afterthoughts. Your
interaction with these ads is passive.
Perhaps while you're looking at your timeline, you might catch a glimpse of
an ad in the sidebar that interests you. Or, while scrolling through your
newsfeed, you see a promoted post that you decide to 'like,' but that's not
why you went to Facebook to begin with, so your interaction with the ads is
not your primary behavior.
Active Behavior
On the other hand, when surfers go to search engines (Google, Bing, etc.),
they are actively looking for something. They intend to find the solution to
a problem, discover a great price on a new pair of shoes, score a new source
for a product they couldn't find at their local store, get information, etc.
Because these people are diligently trying to find something, they embrace
PPC ads as part of their discovery process. These ads contain the possible
solutions your target customers are seeking.
Needless to say, when you write PPC ads, you must consider whether the core
of your audience will be passive or active to get the best results.
Writing to Active Customers
If you're writing AdWords ads (or ads that will appear on another search
engine), I'd suggest including verbs that relate to accomplishing the
surfers' goals: find, get, discover, shop, search, learn, etc. While all
your ads certainly don't have to have these words, you'll probably find a
good bit of success when you include them in your headline or copy.
Writing to Passive Customers
For ads targeted to passive onlookers (Facebook, ads that run the AdSense
network, etc.), I'd recommend skipping the search-type verbs such as search
and find because ad viewers won't necessarily be in search mode. If you plan
to exclusively run ads for this demographic, then test using special offers,
discounts, exclusive deals or announcements in your copy. This could help
entice those who might not really be looking to purchase (or take other
actions), but could be persuaded to look further if your ad copy is good
enough.
Once you understand if you're competing with other activities for the
attention of your audience, you'll be able to create ads that more
effectively accomplish your goals.
my motto is "Keep it simple" and "don't leave anything for tomorrow that can
be done today."
Regards Gerald Crawford
Stellenbosch South Africa
Cell: +27-0720390184 (mobile)
E-mail: gerald@webcraft.ws
-----
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2013.0.3349 / Virus Database: 3204/6489 - Release Date: 07/13/13
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