Google Copywriting 102

Posted by Richard Stokes on March 29, 2006 to

This article continues where the previous article on Google copywriting left off. Today we'll talk about the basics of Google copywriting.

Like other forms of advertising, there are some basic rules that you should usually adhere to when crafting Google ads.

Spell properly

Misspellings are unprofessional and embarrassing. Double-check all your ad copy before hitting that "save" button.

Avoid abbreviations as a general rule.

Avoid Jargon

If you aren’t selling to specialists, for example, scientists or mining engineers, avoid industry jargon. If on the other hand, you are running a frequency campaign designed to differentiate your product in the minds of expert users and the space is very competitive, technical jargon is worth trying. I suspect that most of the time you will be disappointed however, because the truth is that people buy what makes them feel good, and technical terminology doesn't speak to that part of our brains responsible for emotion.

At the end of the day, people buy benefits - not features. And benefits can almost always be stated in clear, non-technical terms.

About Using Spokespeople

The value of establishing credibility using spokespeople varies depends largely on the message, but for the most part it is irrelevant when it comes to Google advertising. There usually isn't enough space in a PPC ad to fit in spokesperson claims, although it certainly has its place on landing pages.

However, if you have the budget or connections, consider this. Studies have shown that in regard to advertising messages consistent with peoples’ existing beliefs, a “less credible” spokesperson is more effective than a recognized industry expert. For instance, if you are attempting to claim a point of differentiation (for example, better security) over a competing product that is known for not being very secure, try to get the endorsement of a lesser-known security expert. For example, “Better Security than X-ware. Endorsed by Richard Stokes.” However, if X-ware is widely considered to have pretty good security, then your claim is a little harder to prove, so you’ll need to enlist a widely recognized industry expert or organization to back you up (and spend more money in the process).

Endorsements and Testimonials

These are a powerful form of persuasion. If your product has been written up in a name-brand magazine such as InfoWorld, try including that information in your ad: “Ranked #1 in Security by InfoWorld”. This is a very powerful technique for increasing ad clickthrough rates.

Sell the benefits

As stated above, always sell benefits, not features. Features and descriptives don’t sell (except perhaps to small groups of specialists). “128 bit security” is a feature. “Prevents eavesdropping” is a benefit. More specifically, you should always ...

Have a Unique Selling Proposition

In a nutshell: what is compelling and different about your product or service? Example: “Ebay – The World’s Online Marketplace”, “NetFlix – Rent all the DVDs you want for $20 a month”.

In a single sentence, it tells you what is special about this business.

USPs are a big reason why ads can stale out over time. Two years ago, the USP above really was unique to NetFlix. Now there are all sorts of knock-off companies trying to cash in. So the NetFlix PPC manager needs to stress what is different today (and not 2004) about their offering.

Attention Grabbers

“New”, “Free”, “How to”, and “Improved” have been used for a long time with success in the print world. They are worth a try in your online ads.

There are some drawbacks though. First, everyone is using them, so if you use them, you are like everyone else. Using attention grabbing words probably won’t be as effective as selling a compelling benefit to a well-defined target. Also keep in mind that the word “free” may attract people who aren’t willing to pay for anything – this is merely a waste of your advertising budget.

As a side note, my experience has been that "How To" is a more effective attention grabber than "Free", when it comes to driving sales.

Use action words

Less obvious from a marketing standpoint, is to ensure that you use simple and enthusiastic verbs in your ad copy: discover, enhance, get, learn, receive, and so on.

Have a Call to Action

More specific than using action words is to include a “call to action” in your ads. This is a phrase that signals to the prospect what you would like them to do.

These are call to action words: Click here, Buy, subscribe, read, download now, sale ends tomorrow, save 10%.

Most ads benefit from having a call to action. Not sure what yours is? Ask yourself: what would the ideal customer do when they see your ad? Obviously: click through! So tell them that directly, or find an analogous way to do so.

The drawback for this is that both Google and Yahoo frown on certain overused CTAs, such as "Click here!".

Be Concise

Remove every word or phrase that does not need to be in your ad. You have 95 characters to get your message across. That’s not a lot of room.

Disclosing Price

You don’t want just any traffic at your site. You want people who are willing to pay for your product or service. Including the price deters many of these people and saves both of you a lot of time. There may be strategic marketing reasons to not disclose the price in your ads, but if not you really should disclose the price in your "buy" bucket keywords.

Bad advice: Including your company name in the headline

The idea behind this is that you are repeating your company name in the headline as well as the URL. These ads have nearly zero clickthrough unless you are a well-known brand name (such as Target, Orbitz, Expedia, and so on).

Avoid Undermining Trust

Using superlatives like “best”, “greatest”, “#1”, and other "marketese" generates an overwhelming sense of mistrust in most people. Avoid at all costs.

Don’t promise what you can’t deliver

Not only do people resent being sold a bill of goods, but Google’s editors will remove your ad if they learn that you are making unjustifiable claims. Even if you do have the “lowest prices”, making this claim is a bad idea for a variety of reasons unless you are credibly positioned as a value company (Southwest Airlines, Walmart). You will probably get more effective results by clearly stating the price in your ad, and letting people judge for themselves. On a related note, does it need to be mentioned that if you can’t deliver the goods, then you shouldn’t advertise them? This is not only a great way to undermine your business, it is unethical and potentially illegal.