Because up to 11 pay-per-click (PPC) text ads might show on any given search query, it is imperative that you do whatever you can to make your ad stand out.  Yes, you want to make sure the users’ search terms actually appear in the ad and that you have a strong call to action, but every PPC campaign manager thinks this way.  You need to dig deeper in your messaging in order to turn the impression into a click.  The three themes outlined below are ways to make your ads stand out in order to increase your overall click-thru-rate (CTR).

Be More Prominent

What is prominence? It’s anything you do to make your product or company stand out from the competition.  For example, speak to an award your product has won or a prestigious honor your company has received.  Most industries contain some sort of industry recognition, even if that means being listed as a top-10 company to work for, or being Better Business Bureau® (BBB) Accredited.  Using the latter in text ads has led my overall CTR to increase in more than one campaign.   You can also speak about your company in an elite manner:

Solve a Problem

I recently set up a campaign for a client whose product solved a specific information technology (IT) related problem.  The target audience was rather small, consisting of IT professionals who needed to solve this narrowly-defined problem.  I knew that the majority of user search queries would relate to a solution for the problem so I wrote the ads to address the issue.  I even asked an IT Director what messaging would lead him to click an ad.  Upon campaign activation, CTR bolted upward.

Use Numbers

I like numbers in a text ad because they break up the monotony of the results page.  Sure, users are going to be drawn to ads with their search queries because they will be bolded, but after this initial reaction why are they going to click your ad?  Numbers not only break up the text, but say a lot and add factual appeal.  Take a look at these ads:

The first ad tells me of a price reduction.  I immediately know that if I click this ad I will receive 25% off all red and blue widgets.  The second ad builds my trust in this company because it has been around since 1975.  I know the company must be doing something right to stay in business for so long.  Both of these ads contain my targeted keywords and a strong call to action, but they also advertise numbers that users will take note of.  Mentioning product prices in ads is good as well as long as your company has competitive prices.

It is important to test these three themes within your campaign and see what garners the highest CTR.  Depending on your industry one theme might end up working better than the others, but never lose sight of the goal: to make your PPC text ads stand out from the competition.

How do you make your ads stand out?