Paid ads and PPC campaigns are a great way to get traffic to your website. This especially holds true because the click-through rates of the top five search results compares to no other position.
Improving your CTR starts with knowing the fact that this parameter is highly variable and dependent on your search result ranking. That being said, numerically, the highest CTR for the #1 search result doesn’t sound very high – 31.7%. While this number shows that only about a third of the users click on your link, it still is a huge chunk that the second and third-rankers vie for.
If you ask Google AdWords experts, they will tell you the best way to keep ranking near the top is to optimize your SEO and bid for the good keywords. By fixing and tweaking certain commonplace and well-known things on your website, SEO and ad strategies, CTR can be significantly improved. Here is a brief discussion of the tips you can use to boost CTR with the new Google Ad extensions.
Tips to Improve CTR
If you are aiming to improve your SERP ranking with the objective of improving CTR, there is one thing you should know. According to this report, the CTR doesn’t really change if your website ranks anywhere between the 7th and the 10th position on the SERP. You really must put your all in SEO and marketing to rise higher than the 7th position if better CTR is the goal.
Your Competitors
Trying to rank higher in SERPs for the most popular, high-volume keywords of your industry isn’t going to generate many clicks – not unless people already know your brand. While Google’s Ad extensions do augment your listing on the search results, keywords remain the primary factor for getting to the top – from where you can utilize AdWords to drive CTR.
The trick is to check out your immediate competition that is ranking higher than you. What keywords are they using? List these keywords down and try to incorporate them in your website title, metadata and all the ad extensions.
Another way you can tweak your ad extensions is to use these power words in the ad headline:
- Words like “Free”, “Discounted” and “Offer” work to catch user attention. From here, you can build the subject matter of the listing to get clicks.
- AdWords extensions give you space for extended tiles or ad headlines, which you can utilize to deliver an extra snippet of the solution you are offering.
- Getting people to click your ad ultimately depends on how relevant your content is to the search query the user has punched in. Ensure that everything in your entire ad follows the same theme. After all, it’s just an ad – you don’t need to showcase your entire business here; only what’s relevant.
Sitelinks
Google’s ad extensions allow you to add specific webpages to your ad in the form of clickable links that take the user directly to that page. This is a handy functionality that allows the user to quickly get to the content he searched for instead of having to navigate your entire website for it.
Sitelinks are entirely customizable, which is what makes them highly suitable for marketing campaigns. For example, your Christmas special deals and offers could be turned into a landing page that gets added to your Google Ads as a sitelink. When the users click on it, they will be navigated directly to your offers page. The best thing is that these sitelinks can be changed and modified according to your marketing goals.
Google AdWords also allows businesses to provide a short metadata about the sitelinks they are adding. Think about it – this extension can do wonders for your SEO. You can embed a lot of high-performing keywords in these descriptions to improve rankings and get better CTRs.
Callout Extensions That Entice
Callout extensions are a great tool to utilize if you are hankering for clicks. Below your ad’s headline and link, Google Ads allows you to add a callout that tells users about your USPs. It could sound something like “Same Day Delivery”, or “2-year Warranty” – in short, a service that is either exclusive to your business or better than your competitors. This works to entice users into clicking on your ad.
Callouts work best when the products or services advertised are either time-dependent or high-consideration. For example, an electronic appliance ad callout could advertise “Free Installation” or “2-year Warranty” or “Exchange Discounts” to get users to click on the ad.
While callouts do get user attention, they should be used prudently. Avoid advertising services that your business can’t cater to.
Structured Snippets
The structured snippet extension on Google allows your business to show the users the scope of your products and services. In short, you can add a little more detail to your Google Ad with this extension. For example, if you own an electronics-based eCommerce store, a structured snippet on your ad would tell the users the kind of appliances you sell (home, kitchen, gardening, personal grooming, etc.) Additionally, this extension also allows you to show the scope of your services on these products, for example, repairs and maintenance, spare parts, buy-backs, etc.
This extension helps businesses to showcase their range of offerings more holistically on an ad space that is highly limiting and specific.
Conclusion
Google’s Ad extensions, with the latest version, impart a great flexibility to what businesses can show to their users. Right from advertising your products and services, you can get the customers to see the value in associating with your businesses – straight from your ad. Your Google ad is like a digital shopfront; if crafted thoughtfully, it will definitely get the customers to knock at your door.