Anyone deploying paid search wants to improve theirclick-through rates. It may be to help improve Quality Scores, increase traffic, or simply gain increased visibility for a new product, service or offer.
Just increasing click-through rates however, may not yield the results you think. Remember that it is your conversion rate that is the true measure of campaign success. Get it wrong and you may even decrease your conversion rates with badly structured ads.
Add An Extension
One of the easiest ways to increase your click-through rate that also helps your conversion rate is to use ad extensions. Ad extensions will help you take up more real estate on the page and show additional information with your ads, and when people are searching it is the most specific and best possible information that they want. By adding extensions for things like local relevance, social, and specific product you will not only develop better real estate but greater relevance.
Add Sitelinks
Sitelinks are a type of extension except there is one big difference between all the other extensions and sitelinks.With the other extensions, only one extension will show with an ad. You can have sitelinks show with another extension. This is another no-brainer to add. With sitelinks, you can add additional benefits or navigation into your site directly from the ad copy.
Extend Headlines
Another very easy way to increase click-through rates in paid search campaigns is to end the first description line with a punctuation mark. When you do so, the description line is added to the headline and really makes your ads stand out.
Remember: The Display URL IS Marketing Copy
Your display URL does not have to be an actual URL. As long as your root domain in the ad and site are the same, you can consider the rest of the URL as marketing copy. The display URL can be 35 characters long – don’t waste the space.
Add a product name, feature, benefit, or other aspects to the display URL to make the ad copy more attractive and relevant to the search target market.
Use Seasonal Headlines
We are blessed with lots of tactical opportunities to get seen and there is always some kind of public holiday or significant event on the calendar. Drilling down to geographically specific or regional events, the list of events becomes endless. So be on your game and add or reference events in headlines at those points in time. It will make your ads look very timely and relevant and will often have positive impacts on click-through rates.
Use Trademarks
Many consumers are brand conscious. When someone searches for a brand, they want to see that brand in the ad copy. You do have to be careful of the legalities around trademarks so ensure you are careful in the preparation homework.Authenticity and specific relevance to your business should be authentic and honest, but if you are genuinely working with great brands, then make sure they are working for you.
Remove Prices & Add Discounts
The subconscious often sees spending money as a negative. Why spend money when you can save money? Removing the price can help CTRs and it is also useful when you’re not the cheapest ad amongst the competition.While we don’t like to always spend money, everyone loves a good deal!
Instead of putting your price in the ad, switch your offer to a discount. Instead of telling someone they need to spend $50, show them how they are going to save money so they think they are getting a bargain and are in greater control. What would you rather do, spend $50 or save $10?Discounts will often outperform prices in ads.
Give Something Away for Free
Everyone loves a genuine freebie. If you can, put something in your ad that’s free – just make sure it has real value or it will backfire. It could be afree consultation, a gift, buy one get one free, a whitepaper or valuable seminar. It doesn’t matter – just make sure it has that ‘real value’.
There are no guarantees however and getting it right will take time, trial and error.
While these 8 methods often work – they don’t always.If you need to raise your click-through rates, these ideas can and should help you gain a solid starting place. However, always test for yourself and in the end you will find what is right for you.
