Writing Effective Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Ads to Increase CTR and Conversions

Mary O’Brien, Founder and Chairman of Pay Per Click (PPC) Summit, wrote an article about working with pay-per-click ads and what they can do for you. Essentially it is a two-fold process where you are using words the search engines will pick up on and then be attractive enough to hook the readers into reading more. Not only must you hook the readers but they have to be qualified ones who are already geared to buying your kind of product or service. They have to have the interest in coming into your store to buy or sign up for what you are selling them.

Essential to success is the CTR (click-through rate) using ad words known to attract search engines and customers and at the same time, highlighting how different your product is because it is of equal value but cheaper than another product, maybe higher quality, or more variations on selections. Then comes testing the market to see what is successful, and making changes whenever necessary. Use these words in your headline, your URL, all the while keeping it grammatically correct.

Use eye catchers like “discounts, free, 2 for 1,” anything that makes a reader perk up and read more to see what’s in it for him. Keep your ads very group specific and reflect those same keywords in the copy.


O’Brien provides a checklist to keep in mind when writing pay-per-click ad copy:

1. Focus on your most important benefits and your unique selling proposition. Free shipping, same-day shipping, wide selection, excellent customer service, industry-leading expertise in your field, discount prices, free information, hard-to-find items, awards you have won, etc.
2. Decide what is most important to your customers and what differentiates you from your competitors and highlight these benefits in your ad copy. If you are creative you may be able to fit more than one benefit in your ad (one in the title and one in the description). Make sure the benefits you highlight in your ad copy are also featured prominently on your landing page.
3. Present yourself as the answer to your customer’s problems. When a potential customer types in a query they are looking for an answer to a problem. The solution could be a specific service, product or piece of information. Think about the problems your prospects have, how you can solve those problems, and then determine how you can present the best solution in 95 characters or less. Show the user that you are relevant to their problem by highlighting the correct keywords, and solve their problem by conveying the benefits you have to offer.
4. Get the keyword in there at least once if possible. Different ad copy will pull customers at different phases of the buying cycle so you MUST split test. If you are not already doing this start now! Set your campaign to show ads evenly and create two ads for each ad group. Monitor their performance and delete the ad that has a lower CTR. Then create a new ad and test it against the last round's winner. Before you delete the bad ones, make sure you test the CTR at splittester.com.

Never lose sight of the primary objective—to convert clicks into conversions, and you’ll be on the right track to creating effective pay-per-click campaigns.