Many marketers rely on Google Ads for a sizable chunk of traffic. In fact, the search engine giant still drives the majority of sales across the internet. And even though Amazon has been eating into that market share, text ads on Google are still an important tool in the box for marketers.
But when it comes to getting the best results, understanding how to improve our Google text ads can be tricky.
A good Google ads campaign can be used to generate more leads, convert customers and build brand awareness. But it’s not always easy to hit these lofty sales goals.
There is a lot of advice out there, so we’ll keep it simple in our quick guide to making better text ads on Google.
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Your options with Google Ads-
As the world’s biggest search engine and the company that pretty much powers the internet, Google has a lot of power online. This makes their advertising suite of tools indispensable to the modern digital marketer in most markets, excluding China and a few others.
When it comes to Google Ads, you can use PPC (pay per click) to target your customers with:
- Text ads in Google search results
- Display ads, or banner ads, on the Google Display Network (GDN)
- Video ads, also on the GDN, mostly on YouTube
- Shopping Ads on Google Shopping
- Sponsored ads in Play Store (for apps) or on Gmail
For each of these PPC tools there are specific strategies and tips that can make you more conversions.
But text ads, or paid results in the SERP (search engine results page) is still the bread and butter when it comes to paid ads.
And, if you’ve ever used paid search results, you might have noticed it’s not as easy as it seems.
So, how can you improve your Google Ads text ads and get more clicks, customers and conversions?
Tips to improve your Google Ads-
Because every business is different, many of these suggestions might need some additional insight from you. Only you know your business. So only you understand your target audience, your overheads, your unique offerings and other factors. Here are four Tips to Make Better Text Ads on Google which have been tested and worked for many businesses across the globe-
1- Don’t bid on general keywords
Yes, you need to bid on your industry keywords. And many of these keywords will most likely be very competitive. But if you bid on words that are too general then you’re most likely wasting money.
For example, if you bid on the search term ‘shoes’, you’ll most likely see thousands of clicks a week, many of which are not going to convert. The reason is, this is too broad and general a search term.
Instead, focus on narrow search terms that are most likely going to come from customers looking to make a decision.
For shoes, this might be; best running shoes for women, men’s brogues size, most comfortable shoes.
Again, only you know if your general industry keywords perform well. And some may be worth bidding on. But if you find that you’re paying a lot for your keyword bidding, take a close look at your general search terms to see how they convert.
2- Optimize your ad copy
Writing ad copy might seem simple. But with a limited character count, and a short amount of time to get people’s attention, your ad copy needs to pop.
One of the best ways to improve your ad copy is to hire a professional content writer with experience in creating PPC ad copy.
But, if this is a bit beyond your budget (which if it is, you might need to look at your business model) then you can do your own copy. But you’ll need to create content that is going to catch people’s attention.
To do this, you’ll need to understand how to sell your benefits with minimal words, speak to the customer directly using ‘benefits’ and ‘power words’. And you’ll also need to understand the power of the CTA, or call to action. Which we’ll look at below.
Put very simply, your ad copy is one of the most important elements of any Google text ad. And if you’re spending on pay per click marketing, you need your ads to deliver results.
3- Use extensions
You’ve seen Google ads extensions before, but you might not have realized what they are. They are the extra bits of information on a Google text ad. This might be a contact phone number, reviews ratings or links to specific categories.
As you can see, this ad extension includes ratings and links to specific offers and popular categories. These are ‘ratings extensions’ and ‘sitelink extensions’.
Google allows you to manually add these to your ads. But Google can also add extensions to your text ads automatically, as long as you have provided enough information on both your ad campaign and your My Business page.
Do extensions work? Well, yes. In fact, Google Ads extensions have been shown to improve both the click through rates and conversions of Google text ads.
Make sure to research how to use Google ads extensions if you want to improve your text ads.
4- Offers, discounts and your USP
Whatever your business model, or your industry, you probably have a unique selling point or USP. Right?
Your USP might be the fact that you offer free shipping. Or perhaps you have an award-winning product. Maybe you just have the best selection of items compared to your competition.
Whatever your unique selling point, your USP is, don’t be afraid to include it in your text ad on Google.
People are looking for the best option, and will weigh up their choices very quickly when confronted with search results. You have seconds to get people to choose you, so make it count.
While good ad copy should draw their eye, your USP can make them click.
Look at these two text ads for coffee products and consider which is most likely to get your click.
Let’s be honest, the top ad has a lot more going for it. A free gift? Award winning coffee? AND free delivery?
That’s at least 3 USPs right there in this small amount of text. Chances are you, and probably most people, will click the top ad.
The bottom ad has almost no draw and nothing to really get your interest.
Work out what makes your product special, and shout about it within your ad copy.
Wrapping Up-
There is obviously a lot more you can do to improve your text ads on Google, especially on the technical side. But these tips should make a big difference.
In fact, if you just focus on these four aspects of your PPC ads, you’ll see a huge improvement in your click through rate (CTR). After all, people search Google to help them answer their problems and questions.
Make it easier for them with a great Google text ad!
