Adtext is the first and only thing that the searcher will see. It is the only thing they have to judge whether what is on offer is what they want, or more to the point, more relevant and interesting than the other ads. So the adtext is crucial in making PPC activity a success.

1. The Power of Adtext
What is Adtext?
Adtext is the copy that is displayed within pay-per-click (PPC) advertisements from search engines such as Google,
Bing and Yahoo.
Why is Adtext important?
Adtext is the first and only thing that the searcher will see. It is the only thing they have to judge whether what is
on offer is what they want, or more to the point, more relevant and interesting than the other ads. So the adtext is
crucial in making PPC activity a success.
Adtexts are also important as they directly affect how much a click costs through Quality Score. Quality Score is an
algorithm used by Google (other search engines have similar algorithms) that looks at keywords, the current max
cost per click, landing pages and the adtext and makes a judgement as to how relevant the advert is to the
searchers query. If Google believes that the ad and everything behind it is highly relevant to the searchers query
then the cost of a click will become less, thus saving money.
With an accurate description of what the landing page will offer the searcher, money will be saved on clicks due to
less people clicking on the ad and not wanting the products on offer
So there are 3 great reasons to pay attention to adtexts:
 Making the customer click on your ad over competitors
 Saving money by improving Quality Score
 Saving money on non-qualified clicks
How Can You Make The Most Out Of Your Adtext?
As with the whole of PPC, relevancy is the key to success.
Getting the right people to click on the advert is crucial, and this is achieved through using extremely targeted
adgroups and keywords, and by using the best possible adtext to lure these qualified clicks in. The time a searcher
spends scanning the results is incredibly short, so deliver the correct message quickly, easily and effectively –
that’s the role of adtext.
There are many things that can be done to adtext to attract relevant traffic, and different things will work for
different campaigns, so it is critical to test, measure the impact, and rollout what works.
Testing adtexts is as important as selecting the right keywords and bidding at the right levels. Even though the
amount of space and characters you have to work with is limited, there is a lot one can test such as the tone of the
ad, the words used, how to display those words and much more.
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2. Adtext Composition
In each adgroup there should be at least 2 ads running so that it’s possible towork out which work best and how to
make them better over time. There are lots of things that can be tested, but to test effectively it’s essential to
understand the composition of each ad.
The composition of an Adtext is as follow:
Headline (25 characters, no use of “!”)
Description line 1 (35 characters, one use of “!” allowed in total in
the description lines)
Description line 2 (35 characters, one use of “!” allowed in total in
the description lines)
Display url (35 characters)
This is the Google structure, other PPC providers work similarly
Adtext Testing & Tips
When testing adtexts against each other, change the way that they are shown within the settings of the PPC
platform so that the ads are shown evenly over time. Google by default doesn’t show ads evenly, instead they
show the best performing ad more often.
There’s lots that can be tested in each area of the adtext. Before kicking off testing, it’s essential to identify what
the desired outcome is. This could be:
 Improved CTR
 Improved number of orders
 A lower cost per click
 Improved ROI
Headline:
 Include most successful keyword
The best headlines often directly relate to the keywords being searched. This makes an ad seem especially
relevant to the searcher's interests. Adding the keywords with the highest number of clicks or impressions
in the adgroup is a useful test.
 Include website / brand name
A strong brand name that people recognise and trust, or that directly spells out what’s on offer can
increase response.
Description:
 Landing page relevance
The description should relate to what is offered on the landing page with users being able to find what
your ad promises and what they are looking for easily. The wording should be used to differentiate your ad
from the competition.
 Call to action
A call to action should be used, and different ones tested such as “Buy Now” or “Order Online” Today!
Different calls to action can gather very different results so it’s worth testing these to find what customers
respond best to.
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3.  Tone of Voice
Try testing hard sell against soft sell writing techniques.
 Promotions
If running a great promotion, then why not tell the world about it in the description.
 Price
Stating the price of a particular product in an ad can be a very useful tactic. It tells the searcher exactly
what to expect and so will save wasting money on non qualified clicks as well as also attracting others who
are happy with that price.
 Include your USP
Including the USP of your company will help to differentiate from competitors.
Display URL:
 Things to test with the display url include title casing, use of www. or not, and putting extensions such as
www.joeblogs.com/adtexts
Overall
 Casing
Title casing can be tested against using lower casing.
 Keyword insertion
If your adgroups are highly targeted, then Keyword Insertion maybe an idea worth testing. This technique
will automatically make the headline match the search terms that the user has used, this can be effective
in improving CTR as it will match exactly what the user is searching for. Be wary about using this
technique if your adgroups are very broad as it could prove detrimental to the conversion rate. The syntax
for keyword insertion is {KeyWord:place keyword here}; if the search term used is larger than 25
characters then google will use whatever text you entered after the colon.
 It is worth bearing in mind that all adtexts must abide by the rules set out by the PPC service provider.
The Return
Whilst most people look to keywords as the main attributing factor to conversions and your ROI, adtexts should
always be considered as a key factor too as they are the gateway by which searcher enters a website. Perfecting
them is nigh on essential to getting the best return on investment with PPC.
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