Google AdWords Guide (cont'd)

As mentioned earlier Google Adwords allows you to block your ads showing for searches conducted by people from certain countries and people who speak a certain language. There's no point in letting your ad be seen by people who won't understand it. Likewise if your product is only sold to a specific country than that country's residents should be the only people who get to see your ad, as if your company only sells products within America then any other nationals clicking on your ad are simply costing you money for nothing.


Creating your Google Adwords ad

Knowing which keywords to use and how to format them with keyword matching options alone will not make your Adwords campaign a success, you must of course also write a good ad which generates interest among those who will see it. To do this your ad must use attention grabbing copy such as 'free', 'new', 'sale', 'tips', 'limited offer' and give the advantages of your product at the same time. This however isn't easy as Google allows you a headline of at most 25 characters including spaces and only two other lines of at most 35 characters including spaces, so stick to the point as room is limited. Sticking to the point means avoiding using words like 'on', 'at', 'of' and 'an' unless you really have to.

Your ad should target your keywords, by this I mean it should include them. Always include your exact keywords in the title of the ad as this is proven to boost your click through rate immensely, the reasoning behind this I believe is that when users see the keywords they've just searched for in an ad particularly in the title of the ad they immediately associate that ad with a good find and will be more likely to click on it.

After just reading the previous paragraph you may be tempted to simply repeat your keywords somewhere else in the ad in an attempt to raise your CTR, however on Googles editorial guidelines page they state that they will not allow repetition of words or phrases in ads as ads without repetition are clearer. This doesn't however mean that you can't use closely related words similar to your keywords which you have used in your ad title, these similar words will help back up the searchers believe that he or she has found a very relevant ad. Avoid what's known as superlatives, these are phrases such as 'the best' and 'we're number 1', these serve no other purpose than to make you appear cheap and tacky, which will turn most potential visitors off.

Apart from letting the searcher know your ad is relevant using your keywords in your ad has another advantage, namely that of making your ad stand out among the other ads also on the page. Your ad stands out as Google will highlight in bold any occurrences of the search terms not just within the main search results but on the page as a whole including within any Adwords ads present.

Try if you can to include a call-to-action phrase. A call-to-action phrase is a phrase that which as the name suggests provokes the reader to do something, in this case click on the ad and go to your site. Unlike a banner type advertisement you can't use generic call-to-action phrases such as 'click here' or 'visit this site' as this does nothing to help the searcher make up his or her mind as to click on your ad or not. To quote Google again:

"The limited text space should be used for concise, informative language that sets you apart from your competition."

'Click here' or 'visit this site' is not informative language, it's language that simply wastes space and that does nothing to help you, the searcher or indeed Google for that fact. Take Googles advice into mind and

"Use a call-to-action unique to the service or product you provide."

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