We’ve all searched for a product or a service online right? Of course, we have. It’s one of the most convenient ways to shop or find information about a business, place or service. So, it makes sense that every business should be focussing on making sure their search ad grabs the attention of online browsers.
This quite an easy task, doesn’t it? Well, you’d be among the majority of digital marketers who believe it is and are rudely awakened when their search ad fails to perform as expected. This is why completing an accredited digital marketing course is strongly advised if you’re planning to create a search advertising campaign. You’ll thank yourself for the time and effort you put into learning the many aspects of digital marketing.
What does a search ad include?
Basically, a typical search ad should include a heading, link and brief description of what the business is all about. See, it does sound simple enough. But hold on, there’s more to it than that. Coming up with an eye-catching headline, explanatory description and deciding which link to use isn’t as straight forward as it sounds.
Let’s take a closer look at the three components of a search ad, which are:
- Heading – This is crunch time. Every single word counts. Be creative, yet specific to your target audience’s needs and wants. You can lose a potential customer in a flash if your heading is boring, dull or lacks the promise of the potential of solving a problem or need.
- Link – Your homepage isn’t necessarily the link to include in your search advertising, especially if you’re targeting a specific audience. Use a link to your site that fits or better still create a unique site page to link your ad to.
- Description – Writing effective and all-encompassing description of your business to fit into such a small space can prove extremely frustrating. In fact, Google Ads doesn’t allow an advertiser much space at all considering the aim of the ad is to get prospective clients interested in your product.
The benefits of search advertising
There are so many benefits related to search advertising that it’s impossible to list them all in this blog. But with around 3 billion Google searches done daily, being part of this gigantic platform is by far the best benefit.
Here are a few more benefits of search advertising:
- Cost-effective – With so many digital marketing tools available these days, search advertising is one of the most cost-effective forms. That’s great news for a budget-sensitive marketer.
- Flexible – Digital marketing is constantly changing, so a really great benefit of search advertising is its flexibility.
- Control – Every aspect of search advertising can be controlled. The advertiser has complete power over keywords, ad extensions as well as the landing page for their ad.
- Measurable outcomes – Measurable data on your search advertising allows you to analyse what’s working and what’s not with your search advertising and therefore tweak accordingly.
Tips on creating a great search advertising campaign
- Be specific – With search advertising, there’s simply zero room to be vague or even long-winded. Your text has to be specific and very much to the point otherwise your short description will get lost among the millions your competition against.
- Keep up-to-date – Remaining current with your search advertising is an important point when trying to increase viewers of your ad. Remember you can create as many new Google Ads as you want, so there’s no excuse for your ad’s information to be outdated.
- Get personal – Don’t be afraid to get a little personal in your search advertising. Yes, be a little personal when it comes to writing a search advertising ad. People want it to be all about them. Refrain from using words like we, I, our or us. Use the word ‘you’ as often as possible.
- Keep them guessing – Keeping your target audience motivated to click on your search ad is key to the success of your search advertising campaigns. It’s a fact that people are more motivated to act when seeing an ad if they feel they may lose out on an offer or other important information. Instill fear of missing out in your ads and your campaign will gain much more traction.
