Here, Elias Russezki gives five pointers on what works and what doesn’t when it comes to AdWords campaigns.
Improving the click-through rate (CTR) of a Google AdWords campaign is one of the toughest challenges for search engine marketers. The smallest of changes can make a real difference, especially when it comes to the words and images used in your ads, meaning special attention is needed.
Also, there are some dangerous misconceptions to be aware of, especially when it comes to ads that appear to provide offers that seem too good to be true. AdWords specialists need to build campaigns carefully in order to avoid these common pitfalls.
Here are five tips on how SMEs can boost the performance of Google AdWords campaigns:
1. Too tempting offers can cause clicks to fall
AdWords specialists may be inclined to think that the more tempting the promise, the better the ad performance. However, too tempting offers actually look suspicious to users. Therefore, the number of clicks might not skyrocket as much as expected.
For example, increasing the savings promise to 90 per cent may actually reduce the CTR, while a more sensible 60 per cent promise could improve it.
2. Images work, but tailor them to your audience
It’s easy to jump to the conclusion that professional looking pictures will work better for B2B ads, but an overdone corporate look can actually hold a campaign back. Remember, B2B clients are human as well, so an appealing image of something they can associate with is likely to get better results.
3. Beware information overload in the display URL
The display URL can have a big impact on your CTR and a common misconception is that the more information you put, the better. However, if users do not see the “www” and are overwhelmed by the length of the URL, they might not click on the ad as, to them, it might not look like a legitimate website.
4. Full sentences are not worth it
It’s tempting to think that every ad should be written beautifully in full English to convey professionalism to new customers. This is wrong; it’s often much better to use abbreviations, numbers and one word sentences to improve the CTR. Readers like USPs. The more you can present in a succinct, hard-hitting fashion, the better for your business.
5. It’s about more than the CTR
Often in search engine marketing, there is an extreme focus on the CTR. This is unhealthy for the overall campaign because optimising only for CTR means the ad-landing page linkage is not factored in properly. Good ads with the wrong landing page will lead to a low number of conversions. To get the best out of ad optimisation, calculate the ad score (CTR x CR x 100). The higher the ad score, the better.
By taking onboard the tips above, search engine marketers for smaller businesses can ensure they do not damage the effectiveness of their ads by falling foul of common misconceptions.
Elias Russezki is managing partner of deltamethod.
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