PPC Adverts in Online Copywriting
PPC adverts have a very limited space, and very limited time, to get a message across, as well as plenty of competition for a user’s attention. These four lines of copy need to work hard to ensure a top return on investment. PPC adverts follow the same basic structure:
Heading
Two lines of advert copy,
Which can be displayed on one line
When the copy of the advert matches the user’s search term, those words are often displayed in bold in the advert. This makes the advert stand out more, and can improve click-through rates.
For example, if the search term used was “roses”, an advert with “roses” in the copy might look like this:
Roses for Valentine’s
A dozen red roses for your love;
Fast, free delivery in RSA.
Using keywords in the advert copy can help to improve click-through rates. However, this can mean writing thousands of adverts – one for each keyword in the PPC campaign! The paid search advertising platforms have a neat tool to bypass this problem:
Dynamic Keyword Insertion.
Dynamic keyword insertion allows for the search term used to be inserted into the advert copy. This means that you can write one advert, and every time it appears for a different search term, that search term will be inserted into the advert. In the copy for the advert, it looks like this:
(keyword:alternative word}
The brackets indicate that this is where the dynamic keyword should go. The copywriter also needs to select an alternative keyword to show if the search term used does not fit into the space available.
Google’s tutorial on dynamic keyword insertion has the following examples which explain this best.
Advert text created:
Brand New {KeyWord:Phones}
Huge selection of phones. Great prices.
{Keyword:phones} in stock. Free shipping!
Adverts as seen by searchers:
Ad 1 - Keyword: nokia n90
Brand New Nokia N90
Huge selection of phones. Great prices.
Nokia n90 in stock. Free shipping!
Ad 2 - Keyword: samsung d500
Brand New Samsung D500
Huge selection of phones. Great prices.
Samsung D500 in stock. Free shipping!
Ad 3 - Keyword: motorola razor silver
Brand New Phones
Huge selection of phones. Great prices.
Phones in stock. Free shipping!
With some limited word count available, it can seem a daunting task to communicate information that entices the right traffic to click-through, and differentiates you from your competition. Testing variations of copy is the best way to determine what works best for your campaign.
