Contact Us     Sign In
   
Got a question? Call us at +1-800-771-9415

Posts Tagged ‘Info Bits’

AIDA works for PPC Ads Too

Monday, July 9th, 2012

 

Most PPC Ads are made up of multiple informational and persuasive building blocks and phrases. Even ads built around only one central offer or proposition usually contain multiple info bits and framing elements.


And this is important to understand because once you see the building blocks in a PPC Ad (or potential ad), you can:


  1. Swap out and test differing bits, persuasive elements, and deal sweeteners to find out which elements are most important to the searcher and prospective customer
  2. Move the most important elements to positions of emphasis
  3. Change the way a given element is worded or presented within a phrase, and
  4. Test different sequences of elements to optimize persuasive momentum


This week’s tips from the boosters is going to focus on fourth element in that list: sequencing. So, first, take a look at this contest and notice the number of similar elements between the winning and losing ads:





The Common Elements

Here are the info and persuasive elements common to both ads:


  • Alternative/Comparison Headline
  • “you pack, we drive”
  • “save”
  • “Free Quote”
  • Same URL


And the changes made within the elements consist of:


  • Your UHaul Alternative vs. Compare to UHaul Rental
  • You Save Big vs. Save On Your Out Of State Move
  • Get Your Free Quote vs. Free Quote!


The only consistency about the changes is the winning ad’s increase use of “You” and the addition of the “Don’t Wait” persuasive phrase to the 2nd line of body copy. And yet, the winning ad increased CTR by a substantial 195%


Persuasive Sequencing = The Difference that Makes A Difference


That’s because the real difference is in the sequencing. See, in the losing ad, they claim an unsubstantiated savings and then they mention the convenience. So the first two lines give the impression that this is an ad for a discounted rental truck, rather than a move convenient alternative to renting a moving truck. Only in the 2nd line of body copy did the ad mention anything about convenience.


The winning ad, on the other hand, starts off by positioning the offer as an alternative to UHaul, focuses in on the convenience of the offer, and only after hooking the reader on the convenience does the ad promise savings, followed up by an offer for a free quote to substantiate the savings.


AIDA is an Ad Writer’s Friend


That, folks, is what we call persuasive momentum, following the classic copywriting formula of AIDA:


Attention — Headline keeps searchers’ attention by matching their keywords
Interest — 1st line of copy earns searchers’ interest by matching their intentions
Desire — Follow-up copy makes offer as irresistible as possible
Action — Ad ends with a Call to Action

If you look at winning ad, you’ll see how well it follows this sequence compared to the seemingly jumbled mess of the initial ad.


So if you’re looking for something to test on your PPC Ads, why not try out a few re-sequenced, AIDA-friendly challenger ads?


 

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


If You’ve Got It, Flaunt It – But Which “Flaunt” Made the Difference?

Thursday, June 28th, 2012

 

OK, before we discuss anything else take your pick for the winning ad.



2 kinds of PPC Ad Writing situations


OK. So before I reveal the winning ad, let’s talk about the two fundamental PPC Ad Writing Scenarios:

  1. Where you’ve got more “good stuff” to cram into the ad then you have space
  2. Where you’ve got more character-space than “good stuff”


And by “good stuff” I mean, “reason why” style claims and selling propositions and guarantees and deal sweeteners. The kind of stuff most copywriters naturally want to feature when I client or offering has it.


In fact, in the first situation, a copywriter’s usual tendency is to try to cram too much of that stuff into a single ad. And, at least to some degree, for good reason, as those elements have been proven to boost ad performance.


So knowing that, which ad do you think won?


Yup, Ad B, the ad with the added info-bits of “Huge Selection,” and “Many Custom Options,” along with a final guarantee stated as, “Satisfaction Guaranteed.” This ad improved CTR by 171%


Of course, it won, right? How could it not with all those added claims and guarantee. But there’s the rub — because when an ad like that wins, you’re left wondering exactly which element (or elements) actually contributed to the win, and which really aren’t that important to the prospective customer.


The Challenge of Constant, Ongoing Optimization

Taking it line by line:

  • Was it the word “Browse” rather than “Shop” in the title?
  • Was it the claim of “Huge Selection”?
  • Was it the offer of (and searcher interest in) customer orders?
  • Was it the expansion of Free Shipping to all orders instead of just for custom orders?
  • Was it the Satisfaction Guarantee.
  • Or was it some combination or all of the above?

    • Now some clients don’t care, adopting the attitude of “Who cares as long as it won and I’m not getting more clicks.” But if your goal is long rang optimization, this is the wrong attitude to take. Because the next step is to figure out which elements are most important, and then testing better ways of expressing and sequencing them.


    That’s how you get win piled on top of win. That’s how you optimize when you are a professional.


    Of course, you’ll still want to occasionally swing for the fences with another challenger ad that changes everything or takes a new approach. And that’s why it’s so important to have multiple writers and multiple perspectives in your writers.


    That, in fact, is why BoostCTR believes in and harnesses the power of crowd-sourced PPC Ad writing — to get the best of both optimization approaches: incremental improvement and “Hail Marry” efforts.


     

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