Lower
Cost and Increase Conversion of Your AdWords Ads
Lower Cost and Increase Conversion of Your AdWords Ads
Comparison shoppers are the mortal enemy of pay-per-click (PPC)
advertisers. When you're paying each time someone clicks your AdWords
(or other PPC) ad, the last thing you want is a person determined
to visit every site to find the best price, the closest location
or the most secure guarantee. But, with many categories of products
or services, it's bound to happen. There is a way to eliminate many
of the lookers, however.
When you qualify your AdWords leads, you can reduce the click-through
rate (CTR) of browsers and help direct only those most interested
in your offer to your site. How is it done? By inserting text that
will purposely eliminate arbitrary visitors.
Qualifying Your PPC Leads
Purposely eliminating visitors sounds like an awful thing to do,
doesn't it? Perhaps, until you consider the fact that - once these
visitors got to your site and found out the details of your offer
- they'd most likely leave anyway.
Why not save yourself a click (and the money associated with that
click!) and prevent the visitor from running up your monthly AdWords
bill? This is exactly what Steve Jackson of Conversion Chronicles
and I discussed awhile back. Since that discussion, I've come up
with a process that will allow you to easily write pre-qualifying
ads when you use these simple steps.
Step One
Outline the specifications of your offer. Be precise. List all the
details of the offer, the price, length of time, physical location,
size, etc. For example, say you have luxury cruise packages available.
You'd want to list the details such as: packages depart from New
York City and go to several destinations in Mexico including Cozumel,
Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlán from December 5-15 for a cost
of $2500 per person.
Step Two
Go back and highlight anything that would be a deal breaker. This
is a luxury cruise, so the cost of $2500 per person might be too
much for most people. Quite often, cruisers are looking for the
best deal possible.
Also, the cruise only leaves from New York City. The additional
airfare cost might not be something your site visitors want to add
to the cost of their trip. Or, it may be inconvenient to depart
from New York City.
What about the dates? These cruises are only available on the dates
of December 5-15. Your site visitors may not be able to take a holiday
during that time.
Does the visitor want to sail to the locations on the itinerary?
Maybe they've already been to Cozumel, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlán
and are looking for a cruise to Cabo San Lucas.
Are there other factors that might force shoppers to decline the
offer and move to another site? If so, list them here.
Step Three
Now, decide which bits of information you want to include in your
AdWords ads. You'll want to test and track to see which combination
of details bring the lowest click-through rates along with the highest
conversions. For example, your ad might read:
Luxury Mexico Cruise 12/5
Tour tropical Cozumel, Puerto Vallarta & more. Leave NYC. $2500pp
www.whatever.com
That would give a lot of information that would keep unqualified
visitors from clicking through to your site (and running up your
AdWords bill). At the same time, the use of words like "luxury"
and "tropical" help the searcher visualize their wonderful
vacation.
Another example could be a special shipment of microwave ovens.
Let's go through the steps once again.
Step One
The specifications include: convection/microwave combination, built-in
with light and vent features, 1200 watts, white, $900, available
on the Internet only.
Step Two
Any of these could be used to weed out visitors. Someone may not
want the convection feature. They want a countertop microwave rather
than a built-in model. Twelve-hundred watts may be more powerful
(and larger) than the visitor needs. Their kitchen may have stainless
steel or black appliances, not white. Lastly, $900 could be more
than they have budgeted for a microwave.
Step Three
Again, you'll want to test and track to see which tidbits of information
work best to bring qualified leads, reduce CTR and costs, and improve
conversions.
Your ad might look like this:
Powerful Convec/Microwave
Special purchase. Attractive range built-in with 1200w. Only $900.
www.whatever.com
Rather than using generic terms to describe high cost or frequently
compared PPC items, get as specific as you can with "disqualifying"
copy. By weeding out those who would likely take one look and leave,
you can save yourself a lot of money in AdWords expenses while increasing
conversions.
About the Author Karon Thackston is
author of "The Step by Step Copywriting Course" at http://www.copywritingcourse.com/
and “How To Increase Keyword Saturation (Without Destroying
the Flow of Your Copy).” Discover the secrets to creating
SEO copy with a perfect balance between keywords and natural language.
http://www.copywritingcourse.com/keyword
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