*Public Notice: you can no longer create or edit expanded text ads starting June 30, 2022*

Now, let’s talk about the other ad types and how to improve your CTR. We’ll give you some actionable points that you can put to use immediately. (Hint: This includes using Google Adwords experts)

Top 10 Ways to Increase your Ad’s CTR

1. CTAs that actually work 

Though a CTA phrase may sound cheesy, it is what gets you your clicks. Your CTA tells your audience what you want them to do.

In 3 or 4 words, an effective CTA should convince the audience to click. For this, you need to use powerful verbs that motivate people. 

But, the CTA shouldn’t sound pushy either, rather persuasive. 

The color and shape of your CTA button also play a huge role in whether your customers click or not. Typically, green and orange are good choices. But you should also think of the color scheme of your website and your ad copy. 

2. All about the keyword 

Typically, an Ad copy contains 125 characters. That’s roughly 25 words. Within these 25 words, aim to place your keyword(s) at least 3-4 times. 

The keyword should appear once in the headline, and once in the CTA. If you’re placing a text ad, then include the keyword at least twice in the body. 

Most marketers forget the display URL. Don’t be that person. Including your keyword in the URL will increase the search query and the CTR. Having the extra word or two helps convince the audience that you’re the best to do business with. 

A keyword best practice is to use Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI). Here, you will have to enter the code “{KeyWord:yourkeyword}”. 

When customers search for one of your keywords, Google Ads will replace the word in your ad copy with the word the customer searched. This is a good way to target your ads. 

3. Tell your customers the cost upfront

All customers like a brand that gives them all the info upfront. 

Say you sell shampoos. If your product is free from sulfates and parabens, that would be the first thing you tell your customer, right? 

That is, you highlight the info you think your customers would like to know. The price is the deciding factor for all of your customers. So why not tell them that at the first step. 

You should especially include your price if your product is less expensive than your customers’. 

4. Play around with ad types

Google has 3 main types of ad campaigns. 

• Search Network Campaigns 
• Display Network Campaigns 
• Video Campaigns 

Don’t latch on to a single ad campaign. 

Even within these campaigns, there are different ways to present your ad. You can include a picture, you can place a shopping ad. The opportunities are plenty. 

So if you can see that one ad type isn’t working for your business, experiment with another one.

Each advertisement has an individual functionality. Display and video ads are good for building brand awareness. Search ads are good for supplementing organic traffic. 

Decide the purpose you want your ad to serve. Then play around with your options to see what works. 

1. Utilize your ad real estate 

Did you know there’s a way to make your ad bigger without spending extra money? Google has a tool called ad extensions that customers can click to expand the ad. 

There are different types of ad extensions like price extension, reviews, contact extension, and site link extension. Here, you can add extra details that will help nudge your customers into action. 

2. Look at what works for your competitors

This is the most obvious way to improve your ads. But somehow, most marketers seem to forget it.

If you have competitors, and these competitors are successful, then they are the best tool to learn from.

Study the ad copies your competitors publish to see why they work. Look at the CTAs they use and analyze why they work. Some things you should look at are the color scheme, font, image, and CTA button placement. 

Once you’ve done this research, craft a strategy that is similar, but not an exact copy of your competitors’. 

3. Don’t be afraid to bid higher

Yes, sticking to your budget is important. But unless your ad appears within the top 3 results of the front page, you might as well not have a campaign. 

Upping your ad budget to get converting customers is a bargain a business should be willing to make. 

Once you secure a top position, work on making your ad copy better. You can now gauge what’s working and what’s not since people are seeing and responding to your ad. 

Then, you can slowly reduce your bid once you’ve optimized your campaign. 

4. Take advantage of smart bidding

Automated bidding is the new way to run ad campaigns. And since it’s run by AI, you can be fairly certain it will be successful. 

Google Smart Bidding will automate when your ads will appear if the algorithm thinks you’ll get a click. 

Smart bidding is a good way to utilize your budget to the maximum. You can set performance targets and customize them according to your business goals.

Smart bidding takes data from all the campaigns you’ve run in the past to make accurate predictions. This is a good way to kickstart new campaigns. 

Smart bidding also gives you an in-depth report that gives you a better insight into the performance. 

5. Don’t forget about remarketing

Remarketing is where you’ll get most of your converts. So it’s not a good idea to overlook remarketing audiences. 

You can tailor your ads specifically for your remarketing audience. If they’ve clicked on a page, show them ads relevant to their previous search. 

The more places your audience sees your brand, you’ll create a more striking impression on them. 

Google reports can also tell you which type of customers actually take action. This will help you focus your remarketing on them rather than the window shoppers. 

6. Creating the best ad copy 

A good ad copy makes the difference between a wasted budget and a conversion. Even if you’re running only a search ad, your ad has to be creative. 

Like we’ve said before, you need to include the right keywords in the right spots. Here are some more tips to write an effective ad copy. 

• Good Headline 

Other than the image, the headline is the first thing your customers will see. For it to be effective, your headline needs to engage your audience. 

You can ask a question or make a joke. Whatever the case, include your keyword. 

• Give them value 

Your audience had a search query because they’re looking for something specific. Yes, your keywords may be relevant to them. But they won’t know anything past that unless you include your value in your ad copy. 

• Color and Font theory 

Some colors are just more motivating than others. Research about the color theory before making your ad copy if it’s a banner ad.

Upping your CTR will take a lot of money and experimentation. But the main thing is that you shouldn’t be afraid to experiment.