This is obviously an ad for premium denim. Photo Source: www.diesel.com
Have you ever watched a commercial on TV or seen an ad in a magazine only to wonder what it was actually for? Well in some advertising mediums that’s, sort of, okay. For example, if you’re Gucci, a glossy magazine ad featuring a boat full of Italian dudes in speedos is obviously an ad for very expensive shoes. A commercial involving a supermodel brushing her teeth riding a camel walking on the moon, probably denim related. Why not right? In Adwords this approach isn’t going to get you so far. When advertising in Search, if you can’t get to the point in a hurry you’re toast!
You have to remember that Search Marketing is a completely different beast from traditional marketing channels. There’s no need to be endearing or interesting with your search ads because the person viewing it is actually looking for what you do! I know it’s a weird feeling as a marketer to only be talking to people that are specifically looking for your products or services, but embrace that advantage and give the people what they want! With your 25 character Adwords headline you can attempt to be cute or clever, but I wouldn’t recommend it. If any part of your ad is actually read, scanned or glossed over by a searcher it’s going to be your headline so don’t mess it up! Get to the point and do it fast!
A lot of traditional marketers hate to hear this, but generally speaking in Adwords the more boring and straightforward your ad is the better it’s going to do. If you sell swim fins and someone searches for “swim fins,” your ad better be about swim fins! If you decide to be creative and talk about the beach or duck feet or something else not quite on point be advised your CTR will suffer! There’s a big difference between noticing your ad and clicking on it, don’t leave yourself on the wrong side of this equation.
Another major headline offender is leading off with your company name… in most situations this is NOT the right answer. While you may be a big deal to other people in your industry, there’s a good chance a prospect has never heard of you. Serving them an ad that’s focused on your company and not what they searched for is a lose lose situation. The searcher doesn’t get what they searched for, and you don’t get a visitor to your web site. As an added bonus, the searcher still doesn’t even know what you do because you decided to lead with your name as opposed to your value to them.
The “secret” of getting your ads to work in Adwords is to get to the point. Use the keyword as a clue to their interests and address that interest. When the keywords are tightly clustered and the headline is on-target the results can be amazing, even if the headline is boring. A surprisingly simple concept but most great ideas in marketing are simple after they have been discovered.
Hi, you’re very right about keeping ad copy focused on your target keyword.
For popular brands, I do, however, believe there is a case for including the brand name in the headline – if only running an A/B test with and without the brand mention. Consumers in the retail space can be very brand focused.
Check my post about 6 AdWords ad writing tips for more things to test:
http://www.searchmarketingman.com/2009/12/ad-creatives-that-work.html
Cheers,
Stephane
Hi Stephane,
Strong brands are important assuming you have no trademark problems with them and that they are stronger than the keyword. We have seen many examples where clients use their brands and the keyword is actually stronger. If a person is searching on a generic term rather than the strong brand you have to wonder about the strength of the brand.
Your article is very informative although there are a few finer points.
Keyword insertion is often misused and while it often increases the CTR it also tends to have a higher bounce rate and lower conversion rate. This can also create some very funny ads from time to time. I have seen ads headlines like “Baby for Sale” on national brands as a result of keyword insertion. Keywords in these adgroups have to be carefully considered. Huge keyword lists combined with keyword insertion can be a very dangerous combination.
The use of price points is good but it also increases the maintenance of the ads. In most of our testing changes to the body text rarely moves the needle on the responses. The headline is what makes or breaks the ad in most cases.
Thanks,
Bob