What Are You Offering?

Ryan Faria - May 28, 2009

I am asked very often by my clients, ‘What is going to make me stand out from my competition?’  Advertisers have been asking themselves this question for years, and the answer still remains the same; ‘what is your offer?’  A captivating offer in a search engine marketing campaign is not only key for obtaining potential customers, but also can make the difference in whether a customer will consider going with your company, versus your competition.

When deciding which offer to use, remember that there needs to be significant perceived value for the customer; put yourself in the mindset of your customer.  For example, if you are a plumber, an enticing offer for your customer may be $49 to unclog any drain.  Not only is this offer easy for the customer to remember, but it makes the plumber stand out from his competition; the perceived value of this offer makes a potential customer want to find out more.  An example of a poor offer might be for a car dealer who is offering ‘a free air freshener with the purchase of a new car.’  The incentive for the customer to click on the ad is non-existent.  If the customer is purchasing a $30,000 car, they would expect to get more than a $2 air freshener.

Try testing several different offers over the course of your search engine marketing campaign; not every offer will perform the same.  Not only are you able to differentiate what offers work best for specific products, but you also have the opportunity to update your ad copy on a regular basis.  Don’t simply test an offer for a few days; allow a significant amount of time to pass for you to gather information regarding the performance of specific offers.

Remember, you won’t know what offer works best, until you test.