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Posts Tagged ‘Credibility’

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Clarity Up-Front

Monday, March 11th, 2013

 

The faster your PPC ad shows the prospect how what you’re selling matches up with what she’s searching for, the better your ad will perform.


Obviously, message credibility, deal sweeteners, and other ad elements play an important part, too, but ultimately your ad has to tell searchers how you’re selling exactly what they’re looking for. And your ad’s ability to do this early in the copy is a bigger success factor than most people think.


And this recent contest represents a perfect example of this dynamic at work:




Notice that the losing ad actually has a rather powerful offer element that the winning ad doesnt: a claim of 55% savings. Yet the ad still lost this contest because it doesn’t tell the searcher what’s for sale until later in its copy, and because it never explicitly shows the searcher how what’s for sale matches up with the searcher’s desire.


In other words, the winning ad says “NY Botantical Garden Pass” right in the headline. People searching for New York Botanical Garden tickets immediately see that and know they’ve got a great match-up between the product for sale and what they need.


The losing ad, on the other hand, mentions the botanical gardens in the headline, but doesn’t say anything about tickets or passes until the first line of body copy. And then the searcher has to make the connection between the pass that’s for sale, and the botanical gardens.


In other words, in reading the losing ad, it’s implied that the botanical gardens are one of the “50+ New York Attractions that can be seen for 55% off,” but it’s not nearly as explicit or clear as it is in the winning ad. And even the implied message doesn’t get fully pieced together until almost the end of the ad.


The winning ad, on the other hand makes it clear directly from the headline and then further clarifies that the pass is also good for other attractions INCLUDING the searched-for Botanical Gardens.


So savings-schmavings — even without the 55% off claim, the winning ad boosted Click-Through Rates by 151% simply through clarity up front.


Like a lot of tips from the boosters, clarity up front sounds easy, but it’s a lot less easy when it’s your business you are writing about — things that are perfectly clear to you, may not be clear to an outsider. The Curse of Knowledge is hard to overcome!


That’s why it pays to have your PPC ads written by an outside copywriter trained in PPC Ad writing techniques.


 

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Posted in Ad Text Tips, Ad Writing Techniques, Copywriting, Paid Search, Tips From The Boosters | No Comments »


Unsubstantiated Claims — Which Ones Work Best?

Thursday, October 4th, 2012

 

Traditionally, copywriters are taught to always build credibility, substantiate claims, and close loopholes. And that’s great advice for most traditional media.


In a sales letter, or radio ad, or magazine ad, one has time to trot out the proof and credibility elements that transform idle boasting into persuasive communication.


But PPC Ads are different. Often, there just isn’t space for proof and credibility building elements. Also, there’s sort of an implied promise that the proof and details will be provided after the click.


And, heck, an ad that at least makes a relevant claim is better than one that doesn’t even bother addressing the buyer’s chief concern, right?


And that gets to the crux of the matter: when making unsubstantiated claims in a PPC ad, how do you figure out the most relevant and CTR-boosting claim to make?

So with that question in mind, take a look at these two ads and pick your winner — which one makes the more relevant claim?




Well, if you’re looking for a Walking Cain, you are very likely NOT using solely as an affectation. In other words, you are in actual need of the extra support that the cain should provide.


And so while you’re undoubtedly interested in buying a nicer looking cain (hence the “Designer” included in the headlines and search terms for these ads), what else would be your chief concern?


How about QUALITY?


Yeah, that’s what I’d think, too. Apparently, it’s also what most shoppers thought as Ad B, brilliantly penned by booster mcdavis1982, managed to boost Click-Through-Rate by an unheard of 605%!


Also, note that neither ad provides any proof elements that the ads are stylish or fashionable. Nor are any specifics given as to the size of the selection/variety on sale or the speed of shipping.


But only one ad made the claim for quality, and that ad cleaned house when it came to clicks. Whether or not it cleans house in terms of conversions depends on how well the landing page makes good on the implied promise of “proof” elements appearring on the post-click landing page.


So what about your ads and your landing pages? Are your ads promising what your prospects are most concerned about? Are your landing pages living up to those promises?



 

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Posted in Ad Text Tips, Ad Writing Techniques, Copywriting, Paid Search, Win of the Week | No Comments »


When In Doubt, Kill the Cliches

Monday, October 1st, 2012

 

Every advertising medium has them. Those threadbare turns of phrase, transformed into ignorable “blah blah” filler from overuse and utter lack of credibility. In traditional broadcast advertising, they include such “gems” as:


  • “For all your ____ needs”
  • “Serving YOU since 19XX
  • “Fast, Friendly Service
  • “Competitive pricing


And, yes, the relatively new platform of PPC Advertising also has its own overused and patently un-believed claims and phrases. Just take a look at these two ads. They both feature a cliche, but one does so fare more prominently than the other. you should be able to pick it out immediately:




Yup, “Huge Selection” is almost the quintessential PPC Advertising Cliche.


When most PPC Ad Writers aren’t quite sure what to say about the stuff the advertiser is selling and they’re too afraid to make a claim of quality for the goods themselves, they can always fall back on promising a large selection. As in, “You’re sure to find what you’re looking for with our HUGE SELECTION”


Professional PPC Ad Writers know better. If you’re going to make an unqualified claim, make sure the claim matches what the searcher is really hoping to find. ‘Cause no one is hoping to find 1000s of, say, t-shirt designs; they’re hoping to find UNIQUE or DISTINCTIVE t-shirt designs. Just as brides-to-be don’t want to sort through a HUGE SELECTION of bridesmaids gifts — they just want to find gifts their bridesmaids will actually like.


So, heck, as long as you are slinging un-proven claims around in your PPC Ad, why not claim something the buyer is actually interested in, right? You better believe that’s right, because scores of PPC tests prove this rule of thumb to be a sure-fire CTR-booster.


And that’s the case here. Notice that the changes in the winning ad were small. The booster changed the claim of “Huge Selection” of round wool rugs to one of “colorful” round wool rugs. This also pulled the keyword phrase of “Round Wool Rugs” entirely onto the first line rather than splitting it over two lines of copy.


And other than shortening the final call to action a smidge, that’s it; those are the only changes made to the ad. But think about it, if you’re looking for a round wool rug, which is a more promising claim: that the rugs for sale are colorful, or that they online store has a “huge selection”?


Well, most people picked colorful, to the point where the winning ad (penned by booster wordisborn) more than doubled Click-Through Rates, boosting CTR by 181%


And that’s a tip you can take to the bank


 

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Posted in Ad Text Tips, Ad Writing Techniques, AdWords Ad Best Practices, Copywriting, Paid Search, Tips From The Boosters | No Comments »


Intelligent Tweaking

Tuesday, September 4th, 2012

 

Tweaking often gets a bad rap when it comes to PPC Optimization. Especially when it’s paid or outsourced PPC optimization. And while this attitude is understandable, it’s also counterproductive.


It’s understandable because when you’re paying for better performing ads, you hope to see a fresh angle of approach, new appeals, and, well, stuff you wouldn’t have thought of yourself. What you don’t want to see are a bunch of minor changes that you believe you could have tested yourself.


Nor does it help to think of these minor changes as writers basically “throwing stuff against the (testing) wall to see what sticks.”


But my contention — based on significant experience in the field — is three-fold:


1) Most of the time, you WOULDN’T have thought up the alterations yourself, because they only seem obvious after the fact


2) Good copywriters tweak with specific strategies in mind, by employing proven tactics to sharpen an already-effective ad’s persuasive properties. It’s not a haphazard process, and it’s also a lot harder than just “throwing stuff against the wall.”


3) Small changes can create big results, so eliminating tweaking can undermine your PPC Success.


Want an example? Check out this recent win penned by veteran Booster, WordIsBorn:







Tweaking Strategies and Tactics on Disaplay


So what specific strategies and tactics did WordIsBorn use? I’m seeing the following tweaking methodologies at work:


  • If something works, tweak the ad to “frontload” or emphasize that element. “Official Site” is a known CTR booster. So making the “Official” part of it the first word of the headline should further emphasize this ad element.
  • Make Calls to Action Benefit-Oriented. Words like “Get” help you to phrase the action in terms of customer benefit. Similarly, you can tack the benefit onto the end of the action, as in, “Download Latest Version & Save 40%,” which makes the action much more compelling than a revers order.
  • Rely on sequencing to imply “internal logic” for greater credibility. Again, “Download Latest Version & Save 40%” makes it appear as if the savings are a result of the immediate download, vs. a generalized (i.e., fake) discount. This is much more persuasive than the reverse order of the losing ad.

    • So even though the winning ad was largely similar to the old champion, it still managed to boost CTR by 81%. That’s a sizable increase from some seemingly slight tweaks.


    So if you’re currently against tweaking, think again. And if you’re idea of tweaking involves just throwing stuff against the wall to see what sticks, try a more disciplined form of tweaking; try employing the kind of best practices we talk about in this column on a weekly basis — you’ll be glad you did : )


     

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Posted in Ad Text Tips, Ad Writing Techniques, AdWords Ad Best Practices, Copywriting, Paid Search, Tips From The Boosters | No Comments »


The Curse of Knowledge

Friday, July 20th, 2012

 

Can you guess which ad captured this week’s Win of the Week? Take your best guess:




So, normally, I might guess that the clearance for 2011 models might work better, as the anticipated sales price on those older models might lend a bit more credibility to the “clearance” claim.


But the “sales event” ad (AKA Ad A) was the actual winner, and by a hug percentage — 300%, to be exact.


why?


Well, we’ll get to that in a line-by-line breakdown, but mostly it has to do with “The Curse of Knowledge,” which means the tendency of knowledgeable people to assume that knowledge in others, especially in a broader audience.


For example, everybody knows what a sale is. Are you quite sure that everyone knows what a clearance is? And even if YOU know that model year 2013 cars come out in the fall, are you sure that everyone knows that, or would 2012 Model cars seem like a great deal on a current model year car?


See what I mean? So let’s look at these two ads line by line:


Headline


The winning ad promotes a “Toyota Sales Event,” which assumes no knowledge of the car business and is easily understood by everyone. The losing ad declares a “Toyota Final Clearance,” which could be seen as an attempt to sell unwanted cars, rather than a sale on desirable vehicles.


The First Line of Body Copy


Frankly, the first line of body copy is a toss-up with only one major exception: the winning ad is plugging 2012 models and the losing ad is plugging 2011 models. But it’s a huge difference. People searching on new car sales actually want to buy new cars and 2011 models seem too old, and they’re unwilling to believe that they’d get a steep enough discount on them to make it worth it.


The Second Line of Body Copy


The winning ad proclaims “Reduced Prices on All Toyotas,” as in everything on the lot is for sale, whether it’s a clearance item or not.


In contrast, the losing ad asks you to “Buy Today at Clearance Prices,” implying that only the 2011 models are actually on sale. This isn’t so much a “curse of knowledge” sort of thing as a “curse of unintended implications” sort of thing, as I doubt that the write of the losing ad intended to imply that it was ONLY the 2011 models that were on sale. Still, it boils down to the same thing in terms of the value of “an outside perspective.”


Beating the Curse of Knowledge


There are a couple of things you can do to beat the “Curse of Knowledge,” but the most effective is to get someone outside your field to read your ads for feedback, or even to take a stab at writing some of your ads. Obviously, hiring BoostCTR is one way to do that, but there are a number of others.


Sometimes just getting someone from another department can be helpful. How about letting the guys in the shipping department take a stab at writing some ads? Or one of the sales guys?


Or how about having your kid read the ad and ask questions?


Lots of options, why not try a few of them?


 

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Posted in Ad Text Tips, Ad Writing Techniques, Copywriting, Paid Search, Win of the Week | 2 Comments »


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