A key stumbling block for many novice web marketers is the task of writing compelling ad copy for a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign on Google’s AdSense, Yahoo’s Search Marketing or Microsoft’s adCenter. Web site owners and novice marketers who are not natural copywriters will find it difficult to zero in on the most right collection of words that inspire people to click on a link.

The good news? No one knows your site, your company or your products as well as you do.

Put that unique knowledge to work when following these few simple tips for creating excellent PPC campaign ad copy.

Be sure you know the character limits for the advertising platform. Typically the title (the first line in the ad) is limited to 25 characters.  Ad copy, including the URL, is limited to 70 characters in most instances.

When writing the title, be sure the keywords you’ve bid on are included. For instance, if you bid on the term “cupcakes”, that same word should be in your ad title.  The title is very often the most important element of the whole ad and will dramatically impact click-through rates (CTR).  Depending upon the ad platform, you can typically opt to dynamically place a keyword you’ve bid on into a standard headline (for instance, “cupcakes” OR “birthday cakes” OR “brownies” would automatically be inserted to a standard headlines such as: “KEYWORD baked fresh-to-order daily”).

Using clear, easy-to-understand language (i.e. whole sentences), briefly state what makes you different. If it’s the lowest prices, get that into the headline or body copy.  If you make your cupcakes using only fresh, organic ingredients, then say so! If you’ve won an award for customer service, crow about it.  No matter what business you’re in, it’s very likely you have competitors, so be sure to succinctly state: “this is what makes me different!”

One last piece of advice: writing effective PPC ad copy is inherently a trial-and-error process.  It’s best to try a number of ideas and see which perform best for you over time.  You’ll be amazed at how much you learn about your customers in the process.  All of which is to say: have patience.  Few people get this right on the first go.  Keep trying. Keep refining.  You’ll get the hang of it and before you know it, you’ll be a pro!

Our Small Plug Division has one more piece of advice: try Yield Software’s Web Marketing Suite. We’ve automated the whole process of PPC campaign management and make it fast, easy and profitable for you to test your ad copy and get at the results you’re looking for.  We have a free thirty-day trial, so give us a try—nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

For more information on our Yield Web Marketing Suite, go here.

For more of our blog series on Web Marketing 101, go here.