Convincing is not easy, and even less so with a few seconds’ attention from users.  You have to be fast, good, direct and attractive. So if you want your Pay Per Click (PPC) ads to work, put your pencil aside and read before write.

Not everything is inspiration and just in case the muses don’t visit you, here there are some steps you can take to make your PPC copy attractive to your potential customers.

1. Research that converts

You have to be ahead of your competitors, “being second is to be the first of the ones who lose” the great Ayrton Senna said. Being ahead makes customers come to you first and your chances skyrocket.

Look for keywords and research what the most common search phrases related to your product are. For example, if you sell appointment scheduling software for private lessons, your potential customers might search for “What is the best software for booking online lessons” or “What software is used for virtual lessons”.

Ask yourself questions such as:

How do my competitors structure their ads?

What calls to action (CTAs) do they use?

Do they offer discounts?

What do other companies have that I don’t?

What do I have that makes me unique? These would be your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) or, in other words, the differential value that makes you unique and the perfect one to meet the customer’s needs.

2. Focus on the customer

People buy products or services because they want or need them. Based on this premise, focus your products on that need to make their lives easier and happier. That is what will lead them to you.

You are not a politician, forget about “we”, “I” and think about the customer using “you”, “easy”, “fast”, etc. Remember that your company is here to solve their problems. “We get you to lose weight” sounds like a lot of navel-gazing, while “Lose weight easily and healthily” sounds like your customer is a super hero.

Once you have attracted their attention and the customer has entered your website, then and only then you can tell them about the wonders and benefits of your company, make them feel that their achievements are our achievements, and then you can invest in a future increase in Average Order Value (AOV).

3. The title rules

Without an attention-grabbing headline that makes it clear that this is exactly what your customers are looking for, you can have the best content in the world, but no one will read it. The question now is clear; how do you do that? Let’s go through some tips.

First tip, keep it short. We have a limit and we don’t want to go over. Concise but direct, use questions to engage users.

Second, include keywords that are valuable, specific places or USPs.

Third, use numbers, we love them. We always want to know the Top-5 of something, its price, the percentage of satisfaction or the 7 best ideas to decorate our living room. If the number is odd, all the better.

Finally, for the sake of synthesis because this could be much longer, use the slash “|” to separate headlines and make them more direct.

We solve your legal problems | A professional just a phone call away | 29,99€ per month

Writing effective headlines for your PPC ad copy is essential for conversion rate optimization.

4. Simple for the SERP

The text of PPC ads has a character limit, so it is mandatory to be short, simple and precise for the message to reach potential customers. This is what I am, this is what I sell. 

Avoid descriptions that go nowhere, complex sentences and texts that say nothing. 

5. Add CTAs

We don’t have a complete PPC ad without a CTA (Call To Action). To increase conversion rates we need to tell people what we want them to do.

Formulas like, “download it now” , ”buy it here”, ”download it for free today” give a sense of urgency and can make users click.

6.Keywords in URLs

We can go one step further to keep attracting the attention of our beloved search engines. By placing keywords in your URL we make our PPC more attractive and can attract a more targeted audience. This gives customers the feeling that they are getting just the information they want.

For example, if your ad sends users to a page explaining the installation of a new version of your software, including “Sierra software installation” in the URL gives the user confidence.

7.Either Good PPC or better PPC

Testing is a fundamental part of creation. We need to see the development of our ad and see if it really works. A/B testing is one of the most common techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of ads.

For example, if you have two PPC ads promoting online beauty advice programmes you can pit them against each other and see which one generates more conversions.

But don’t stop. This is not the end of the road. By knowing and being able to measure key metrics through Google Analytics, you can easily evaluate and improve your ads.

Over time, you will develop different keywords and points of interest that will need to be modified in order to attract users. These metrics, with the appropriate changes, headlines and URL will keep the ad improving.

Remember that this is a continuous process, don’t stop improving.

Don’t let them pass you by!

It would be a shame if an ad that you have spent so much time and enthusiasm on was to pass unnoticed by thousands of potential customers. So remember:

-The basis of good PPC copy is research.

-In that research we will highlight keywords and our USP.

-The customer is the centre of everything.

-The headline is the door opener for your ad. Be direct and don’t miss a good CTA.

-Be clear, direct, simple and honest. Make your promises and links do what you promise.

-Test, measure, update and repeat.