At the end of the day, our ultimate goal when putting ads up is for people to click on them. This is why click-through rates are one of the most important metrics for many people. However, while it used to only affect how many people would go to your site, it has a much greater impact now.
Lower click-through rates now mean that your ads don’t get the same visibility as other ads in your group, which also means that you will now need to pay more for the same ads and get outperformed by your competitors. This is why you must look at what you may be doing wrong, and make the corrections immediately if you want to be able to keep up. Here are a few ways that you can improve your ad click-through rates.
Look Beyond the Ad
Some people will automatically assume that the first thing they should change is the ad itself, but it’s a bit more complex than that. In reality, many other factors can affect your ad’s visibility and click-through rate. Your ad’s quality score, which is one of the metrics Google uses to determine which ads will get priority on its network, will also play a most important role.
The thing about the quality score is that Google will look at your landing page as well. This means that if your landing page doesn’t deliver on your ad’s promise, you will be negatively affected. This also means that you need to give those bounce rates a good look and do some testing.
The way you present your ad will also affect the quality score, however. For example, making sure that your main keyword is present in the copy and title can make a difference, as long as it looks organic.
Use Extensions the Right Way
A lot of people don’t understand how ad extensions work, but they have a big impact on how many people end up clicking on ads. There are more than 10 types of extensions at the moment, and they can really help your ad stand out. These can make your ads a little bit bigger, which helps them get more attention. But they have various other benefits as well and are great for conveying important information.
You can use call extensions if you’re relying heavily on phone calls, for instance. This is often the case for people offering emergency services. You also have site link ad extensions that are displayed when your ad is in the top three results. These extensions will allow you to add two additional lines of text in a drop-down menu right under the site link heading. You also have things like promotional extensions that allow you to highlight special deals right under your ad.
These are all examples of how extensions could directly improve your click-through rates. So, we suggest you check out as many extensions as you can, and see which ones you can use in your campaigns.
Understand How Smart Bidding Works
Automation has greatly improved the way Google runs and displays ads. One of the best features for advertisers is smart bidding. Through smart bidding, Google will only display your ads in auctions where you have an actual chance of winning. This means your click-through rate and consequent quality score will not be affected by your ads being pushed down by competitors with more money.
Google also uses machine learning to adjust your bids to get the best results. You can’t do this with manual bidding, so, if you’re still using that strategy, we suggest you start looking into smart bidding and learn how to use it.
Test, Test, and Re-Test
At the end of the day, testing is really what will help you find the best ads. You can then work on refining your keywords and bids. The good news is that there are plenty of ways that you can do this, and it doesn’t have to cost much either.
You also are under no obligation to go with extended text ads only. Responsive text ads are a revolutionary new approach to PPC and allow publishers to create different headlines and text copy. Google will then use machine learning to serve the perfect combination to users.
As an advertiser, you get to have 15 different headlines and 3 different description lines. You can also decide to pin a particle headline, meaning that it will be displayed in every version of the ad. Not only can this help you with click-through rates, but you could also use this data to see which of your headlines are getting the best results fast.
Understand the Power of Symbols
The interesting thing with headlines is that the smallest detail often gets impressive results. Using symbols in headlines, for instance, can do a lot to make your ads pop up and grab people’s attention. Simply adding something like a percentage sign or even a trademark symbol can make a difference. Trademark symbols can be a way to build trust, for example.
The goal here is really to find any way you can to differentiate yourself from other ads around you. You’d be surprised to see how much something as seemingly minor as a percent sign could make an ad jump out of a page in a sea of text.
Add the Keyword in the URL
Another thing you should do is find a way to add the keyword in the URL. We aren’t saying it should be part of the domain name; however, if this is going to go to a specific page, at least make sure that the extension is the main keyword. When people see this, it will be an additional clue that this might be the most relevant search result for them.
Improving your click-through rates is something you should be doing every single day. Make sure that you look over your campaigns and see where you could improve, and use these few simple tips as pointers.
