Want To Improve CTR 5 Things To Learn From A/B Testing

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Want To Improve CTR 5 Things To Learn From A/B Testing

We’ve been running guest posts by Ryan Healy, a copywriter for BoostCTR, for quite a while now. Each post focuses on a single A/B test and analyzes the strengths of the winning ad (that is, the ad with thehigher click-through rate). There’s so much good ad writing insight in these posts, I thought it was time to dig back through them and pull out some takeaways.

Here are five ad writing lessons gleaned from Ryan’s A/B tests that you can use to improve your AdWords CTR and Quality Score.

Lesson #1: Leave Out The Lingo

Don’t use insider jargon that your audience might not know or understand in the context of your ad. For example, look at the below ads:

PPC Ad #1

PPC Ad #2

The second version increased CTR by 70%. The first version uses some confusing terminology: “No XP reqd.” That means “No experience required,” but it’s not obvious – when I see “XP” I think “Windows,” and probably the average person does too.

To make your ads more readable and clickable, use simple, straightforward language. If you’re not sure if your ad is readable or not, run some tests!

Lesson #2: Target Your Real Target

This is related to lesson #1. Just as you should keep your target customer’s vocabulary in mind, you should make sure you’re speaking to their goals and needs. Take a look at the two ads below (“ADA” stands for “Americans with Disabilities Act”):

PPC Ad #1

PPC Ad #2

The first ad focuses on benefits for people who might read the signs (“Bold & Clear”) – but the ad should be targeting people who might buy the signs. The second ad wins (increasing CTR by a whopping 164%!) in part because it focuses on benefits for the buyer – that is, businesses who need ADA signage for compliance reasons (“Avoid Hefty Fines”).

Lesson #3: Use Verbs

Maybe it sounds obvious, but since you want people to do something when they see your ad, it’s important to use strong verbs that entice them to action. Take a look at this A/B test:

PPC Ad #1

PPC Ad #2

Ad #2 uses no verbs. (Tracking is a gerund here. Fun grammar facts!)  The first ad, which achieved 89% higher CTR, uses a verb to tell people why they should click the ad – “Watch Online CRM Demo Instantly!” People like being told what to do; it allows them to think less. Make sure your ads have a call to action centered around a commanding, descriptive verb.

Lesson #4: Match Your Ad To The Product

Use the exact brand name of the product or service you are selling in the ad. An exact match improves relevance in the eyes of Google (helping your ad rank) as well as the searcher (encouraging them to click). Notice the difference in spelling between these two ads:

PPC Ad #1

PPC Ad #2

Ad #1, which increased CTR by 65%, spells out “Five” instead of using the number “5.” This more closely  matches the actual name brand of the shoe. (They probably could have increased CTR even further by using the exact brand name, which is “Fivefinger,” one word.)

Lesson #5: Use An Exclamation Point

Did you notice that all of the winning ads above use exclamation points? This visual sign of enthusiasm often improves your CTR. Scan your AdWords ads and see if you could be getting more leverage just by adding this single punctuation mark.

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Want To Include Some Proven Calls To Action

AdWords Explained CTR PPC Bidding Reduce CPC SEM SEM Strategies Writing PPC Ads

Want To Include Some Proven Calls To Action

There are a few key basics that every PPC text ad needs in order to rank well and generate clicks:

• A compelling headline
• Relevant keywords
• A relevant display URL
• A call to action

This post focuses on the last requirement. The call to action, or CTA, is the language that tells the searcher what to do – in other words, giving them a reason to click. (Aside from increasing your traffic, a higher click-through rate will also improve your Quality Score, which in turn will lower your costs.)

The default call to action is something like "Buy now!" This may be better than no CTA at all, but it's not very good. It's too familiar, too general and too pushy.

So what's a better call to action? It's good to remember that your CTA doesn't have to be a direct sales push – there are many other soft offers that can push someone to click through to your landing page. Let's take a look at some unusual CTAs and what you can learn from them.

Caveat: I don't know the actual CTRs of these ads; they're meant to be taken as inspiration for more creative creative. If you test different CTAs and find that generic, pushy language performs best in your particular market, more power to you. But don't settle for generic until you've tested.

#1. Show Off Testimonials

In a recent search for "cupcakes new york," these were the top ads:

The CTA in the top ad ("Read the rave reviews we got!") really stands out. First of all, it sounds like a real person, not canned marketing jargon. Secondly, it gives you reason to believe that this bakery is a cut above, since they're bragging about reviews of their great cupcakes instead of expecting you to just take their word for it. I've seen a lot of studies suggesting that customer reviews have major influence over online buyers; I know that I always look for them before I buy from an unknown vendor.

This ad isn't perfect. I would have bumped the full call to action down to the second line, and made the first line more of a complete thought. But it's definitely stronger than the second ad, which has no CTA at all. And notice how the fourth ad resorts to the generic "buy/save now" language.

#2. Be Specific About Savings

A search for "K-cups" (the little cups used in single-serving coffee machines) returned the following ads.

The one that really stood out to me has a CTA that's not only very specific but very unusual. Several of the ads say how much you can save per box, but accordingly they kind of run together. This ad switches it up by saying "Lower your cost per cup" instead of "Save blah blah" – indicating that you'll get recurring, not one-time, savings. It partially compelled me to click out of pure curiosity, because I couldn't imagine what they were actually selling. (Turns out they are plastic caps that allow you to refill and reuse your K-Cups with your own ground coffee.) Again, avoiding the "buy/sell" language paid off here.

#3. Make Them Use Their Imagination

Here's a really interesting ad (displayed in response to "wedding planner boston") that only sort of includes a call to action. Instead of telling the searcher to call or sign up or buy, it asks them to "Imagine the spectacular setting of the Boston Public Library…"; this is both original and compelling. If I were getting married in Boston, I'd think that sounded pretty great. Note that the ellipsis at the end really makes a difference – it almost makes it feel more like travel writing than a crude PPC ad. It somehow both pulls you in and encourages you to keep fantasizing about your fabulous future wedding.

#4. Show Off Your Customers

This one is similar to #1, but the ad calls attention to an impressive customer list rather than reviews.

I didn't even know who Jim Rice was (sue me), but a lot of Boston people would recognize the name (he's a Red Sox player), so it's an eye-catching approach.

As a side note, whoever is doing Dr. Melki's PPC campaigns probably needs a lesson in negative keyword discovery. This ad displayed in response to a search for "engraving boston" – I highly doubt anyone searching for "engraving services" is really looking for Lasik surgery. (Google can fly pretty fast and loose with its broad matches.)

#5. Appeal To Their Sentimental Side

This ad manages to describe the product and implore you to pamper your pooch at the same time: "Prevent joint pain" applies to both the bed and to you, if you buy it. As such it's sort of half a call to action, with the full call to action being "Love Your Dog!" I'd categorize this as a soft CTA since it's not directly commanding you to buy, buy, buy. I can see this working well on fawning owners, especially of older dogs.

#6. Make A Bonus Offer

Another way to stand out from the other sponsored links is to offer something additional beyond what the keyword phrase represents.

A search for "carry-on bags" turns up this ad from REI, which wisely infers that people looking for carry-on luggage are preparing to travel! Accordingly the company advertises "Friendly Expert Travel Advice" along with this brand-name bags. This is probably a draw for the type of people that like to obsessively over-prepare for trips as well as spend too much on their luggage. ;)

#7. Provide Instant Gratification

The beauty of shopping via the Internet is that it's fast – you don't have to leave your house. The crappy part is waiting for your stuff to arrive. So offers that emphasize speed can be effective.

This ad intuits that someone searching for "lawyers" doesn't have a lawyer and may just need advice – hence the offer is for live legal advice online, very appealing for people who just want a fast answer and aren't sure who to call.

22:39

Want To Konw The Relationship of Click-Through Rate & Ad Position

Ad Rank AdWords Explained Adwords Updates CTR SE Analysis SEM SEM Strategies Writing PPC Ads

Want To Konw The Relationship of Click-Through Rate & Ad Position

Everyone always asks me, “What’s a good click-through rate?” The standard answer I always hear is 2%. My answer is always, it depends.

If you don’t want your Quality Scores to suffer, you need to think twice about always targeting a 2% CTR. Quality Scores are very dependent on your CTR by Average Position, so it’s worth getting a good understanding of what this means.

So, what does it mean? People will usually click on the top ad of a SERP (search engine results page), because, well, it’s the first thing that they see. Position 1 will always have a high CTR, and CTR will continue to descend naturally in positions 2, 3, 4 and so on. This being the case, Google knows that position 1 and position 4 are not created equal, and therefore does not treat them equally.

Google does not want to give up their prime real estate (position 1) for a 2% CTR when they can triple their revenue with a 6% CTR. Sure, you can bid up and get there, but what will Google do about this? Drop your Quality Score significantly so you are literally paying for it (or reward you with the dreaded “Rarely shown due to Quality Score” message that you may be seeing in your account).

The opposite is true of lower positions. If you’re putting up a 2% CTR in position 8, Google will reward you with a high Quality Score for bringing them clicks and revenue so low on the page. You’ll pay a lot less and may see Quality Scores of 7+.

So, What’s A Good Click-Through Rate?

Here are some good CTR targets, depending on ad position, for some 7+ Quality Scores:

Position 1: 6%+

Position 2: 4-5%

Position 3: 2-3%

Position 4: 1-2%

Position 5 and lower: 1%

Remember, Click-Through Rate isn’t the only thing that affects Quality Score, but it’s one of the largest factors and deserves some serious attention.

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