I recently attended a conference and helped lead a marketing discussion around SEO and content tips. While most of the discussion was a presentation, we encouraged the group to ask questions on the spot so we could pause and discuss outcomes versus holding ideas to the end and risking someone forgetting the full purpose of their question.
After clicking on an ad that I’m interested in, the first thing I do is look for the keyword I searched for. When I land on a page and the product I’m looking for or the form I wish to complete is not right in front of me, I will most likely click back and bounce off the page to click on someone else’s ad.
As soon as you get a searcher on your site, you want to catch their immediate attention with a strong message and call to action. You can do this in many ways. If it’s a particular product they searched for send the traffic to that product page. The user could be a quick buyer and immediately go on to checkout.
Now say that you are a company whose online goal is to cultivate a lead. The faster the form is presented to the searcher, the greater the chance that they will complete it. If a searcher must look for your Contact Us tab to fill out a lead form, you should invest in a designated landing page for lead form. This way you can send your traffic here and your lead forms signups should increase. This can only happen when you give your searchers an immediate and relevant call to action.
One important component in good ad copy is having a call to action. When a searcher sees your ad, you would want to direct them to your call to action (what you would want them to do on your site once they click). If a completed lead form or an e-commerce transaction is your goal, this should be stated in your ad copy.
Here is an example of ad copy for a lead generation call to action:
Fulfillment Services
Full-Service Internet Fulfillment.
“Complete Our Form Online Now”
Free Webinar
Search Engine Optimization
“Register Online Today”
Here is an example of ad copy for an ecommerce call to action:
Trendy Clothing
Great Holiday Gifts for You’re Teen.
“Buy Online Now”
These have clear examples of what you want the user to do once they’ve reached your website.
Of course along with a strong call to action you want to direct traffic to a relevant landing page. The ad copy should direct the user to the landing page that has a clear call to action i.e. a lead form page. This could potentially increase your quality score in Google and eliminate irrelevant traffic as well. Remember it takes more than a call to action to have strong ad messaging. The ad copy should also describe how the keyword is associated with the product/service.