• Marketing Land
  • Sections
    • CMO
    • Social
    • SEM
    • SEO
    • Analytics
    • Display
    • Retail
    • MarTech
    • Resources
    • More
    • Home
  • Marketing Land
  • CMO
  • Social
  • SEM
  • SEO
  • Analytics
  • Display
  • Retail
  • MarTech
  • Resources
  • More
  • SUBSCRIBE

Marketing Land

Marketing Land
  • CMO
  • Social
  • SEM
  • SEO
  • Analytics
  • Display
  • Retail
  • MarTech
  • Resources
  • More
  • Home
  • Newsletters
  • Home
SEM

5 strategies to improve your ad copy

Need some ideas to make your search ads really shine? Columnist Mona Elesseily provides tips for improving your ad copy to increase conversions.

Mona Elesseily on May 19, 2017 at 5:20 pm
  • More

Ad copy is a very important element in online advertising, but it’s often “set and forget” — once written, advertisers move on to newer and/or sexier strategies and tactics.

Ad copy is often one of the first areas I focus on to boost advertising efficiency. And, if I focus on iterating ads, I can often continue to improve ad performance. In this article, I’ll suggest some elements you can use to put some pep into your ads and improve their overall performance.

Before getting started, here are some general pointers:

  • Good ideas can take time to come together, so put some time into your ad copy. I brainstorm ideas and intentionally sit on them for a while. I find this valuable, as I often come up with additional ideas when I’m not specifically thinking about my copy. (Keep a device or pen and paper handy to jot them down!) The extra time also gives me time to brainstorm and/or run ideas by colleagues, run a mini-focus group or talk to potential customers to further refine ideas.
  • Ad copy should be concise and to the point. Just because you’re given a certain amount of space, it doesn’t mean you should use it all. In fact, we’ve been testing shorter headlines (especially second headlines), and they’ve been converting better than the longer ones.
  • Come up with a plan to consistently iterate and improve the performance of ads. A simple calendar reminder (say, once every two weeks or every month) can be a very good way to keep on top of this.

In the sections below, I cover ways to improve ad copy to increase conversions. They are in no particular order. I suggest layering the strategies on top of each other for added ad bang.

1. Reduce buyer anxiety

Many people feel anxious about making purchases online. Try to incorporate elements that make people feel less anxious. One way to do this is to emphasize your company’s credibility — e.g.,”in business since 1984,” “as seen on TV,” “as featured in The New York Times.” These can be enhanced with features like seller ratings and review extensions and are very effective in helping people feel more comfortable making a purchase from you.

I also like to emphasize the “no extra fee” angle, and you can use wording like “no hidden fees,” “no booking fees” and “no minimums.” You can even try stronger language like “no bait and switch” if your brand/industry lends itself well to such language.

You can take it a step further and create “positive” anxiety. Effective strategies for this are to state that special pricing ends by X date or is available for a limited time. The countdown feature is an awesome complement to this wording. You can also highlight potential loss by using wording like “don’t miss out!” or “why miss out?”

2. Reduce buyer friction

It’s also important to eliminate potential barriers to purchase. For example, I spell out how easy it will be to get, use or return a product or service. It provides additional reassurance and can effectively nudge people to make a purchase. Here are several examples:

  • Quick turnaround: “ships within one day,” “inventory available”
  • Return policy: “free returns,” “30-day returns,” “no hassle”
  • Ease of use: “within minutes,” “quick and easy,” “3 easy steps”

[Read the full article on Search Engine Land.]


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Marketing Land. Staff authors are listed here.



About The Author

Mona Elesseily
Mona Elesseily writes extensively and speaks internationally on search & online marketing. She is the Vice President of Online Marketing Strategy at Page Zero Media, where she focuses on search engine marketing strategy, landing page optimization (LPO) and conversion rate optimization (CRO).

Related Topics

Channel: SEMSearch MarketingSearch Marketing Column

We're listening.

Have something to say about this article? Share it with us on Facebook, Twitter or our LinkedIn Group.

Get the daily newsletter digital marketers rely on.

Processing...Please wait.

See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

Next Event: Sept. 14-15, 2021

Available On-Demand: March 2021

Available On-Demand: October 2020

×

Attend MarTech - Click Here


Learn More About Our MarTech Events

April 13, 2021: SMX Create

May 18-19, 2021: SMX London

June 8-9, 2021: SMX Paris

June 15-16, 2021: SMX Advanced

June 21-22, 2021: SMX Advanced Europe

August 17, 2021: SMX Convert

November 9-10, 2021: SMX Next

December 14, 2021: SMX Code

Available On-Demand: SMX

Available On-Demand: SMX Report

×


Learn More About Our SMX Events

White Papers

  • Nielsen Annual Marketing Report: Era of Adaptation
  • Global Social Media Advertising Trends Among Retailers in 2021
  • 2020 Hispanic Market Report
  • Delivering Audio Success: Industry Trends in Streaming Audio & Podcast Performance
  • Ten Tips for Acquisition Email Success
See More Whitepapers

Webinars

  • Drive Customer Engagement with the Power of Personalization
  • 7 Use Cases That Prove Why You Should Implement DAM
  • Accelerate Your SEO & Content Marketing Program with 4 Key Milestones
See More Webinars

Research Reports

  • Local Marketing Solutions for Multi-Location Businesses
  • Enterprise Digital Asset Management Platforms
  • Identity Resolution Platforms
  • Customer Data Platforms
  • B2B Marketing Automation Platforms
  • Call Analytics Platforms
See More Research

Attend SMX For Only $149

h
Receive daily marketing news & analysis.

Channels

  • MarTech
  • CMO
  • Social
  • SEM
  • SEO
  • Mobile
  • Analytics
  • Retail
  • Display

Our Events

  • MarTech
  • SMX

Resources

  • White Papers
  • Research
  • Webinars

About

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • RSS
  • Youtube

© 2021 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.