You can spend millions on search engine marketing and optimization, but if no one clicks on your listing, you can kiss every dollar goodbye.
Search engine success is simple, right? It’s all about where your listing shows up—the higher you are on the results page, the more clicks you’ll get.
Wrong. Placement is only part of the equation.
Remember one of the maxims of marketing: people buy benefits, not features. They won’t click unless they see something in it for them. So your success is in the hands of the alphabet—those 26 letters you learned as a child can make or break your search efforts and possibly your career.
Why? If no one clicks on your listing, you’re wasting every single penny you’re putting into search. And the only way they’ll click is if your words appeal to them.
In some respects, writing search listing copy is just like writing any other ad: you have to hook the reader with your headline, appeal to a need in the body copy, then offer the perfect solution and close the sale with a clickable link.
In other respects, it’s much more difficult. I asked Kevin Ryan, iMedia’s search columnist and director of market development for IPG’s Wahlstrom Interactive to tell us why. He says the biggest issue is that you must write differently for each of the three types of search listings: pay-for-placement, paid inclusion and algorithmic.
Making Overtures With Your Ad Words
Pay-for-placement listings are the type Google AdWords and Overture offer. “The need for writing smart copy in this space is twofold. One, big sites require a minimum clickthrough rate (CTR) to continue your listing. Two, directing users to relevant results will help create a more efficient search and a higher purchase or desired-action incidence,” Ryan says. “The more relevant the messaging, the better your CTR will be.”
You can be very specific when writing this type of listing. Include your keywords in the message. For example, if you want to be there when someone searches for San Francisco hotels in San Francisco, don’t just write “Great Hotel: find the best places to stay at our Web site.” “Don’t laugh, it happens,” Ryan says. Instead, he says, try something like: “San Francisco Hotels: Find competitive rates and stay in the lap of luxury at our San Francisco hotel.”
And the best thing about this type of ad is that if your listing isn’t driving clicks, you can change it in an instant. You can even test different copy approaches, and lose the ones that don’t work.
I had exactly this experience writing search listings for a self-help book. I tried to take the high road on Google AdWords. My first ad’s headline was: “You can have the life you want.” It didn’t get a single click, so I tried: “Launch the life you want in 3 days.” Slightly better, but still pathetic. Finally, I wrote: “Here’s why your life sucks.” Bingo—I had a hook—and clicks. The rest of the copy guaranteed to make it better. That tweaking process took less than a day, and the ad still generates clicks today.
One caveat, though. Ryan says every pay-for-placement provider’s requirements are different. “Using search terms in both the tag and messaging lines have shown to have higher purchase rates and desired-action incidences, but watch the use of superlatives like ‘best,’” Ryan says. “Some providers think they sound too ‘advertisey’ and won’t allow them. And some sites even bold keywords to make them stand out.
Paid Inclusion Has to Last
The second type of search listing is paid inclusion, which tends to appear below or beside pay-for-placement listings. These can’t be changed as frequently or as easily as pay-for-placement listings. As a result, you have to write for longevity and broader appeal.
“With a large portion of users clicking below sponsored pay-for-placement listings, it is important to make sure these [paid inclusion] listings are accurate, relevant and somewhat timeless,” Ryan says.
Algorithms Can Be Real Word Problems
“Free” listings on sites that use algorithms to determine placement, like Google, present a challenge not unlike those complex and strange word problems we all hated in junior high math. And they offer the least flexibility to the marketer.
Relevance is key. More than that, relevance is the only thing that will get you on the first results page instead of the 101st.
“Algorithmic results are achieved by maximizing relevance,” Ryan says. “Following the rules of paid inclusion and pay-for-placement work well, but changing content can have a nasty effect on positioning.”
But be careful—trying to trick a search engine by loading your copy with keywords and unrelated search terms can get you banished to search Siberia.
“In general, you want to match content messaging to frequently used search terms,” Ryan says. “But be warned, simply populating pages with terms can get your site penalized by search engines and get your site knocked back several pages in ranking.”
In short, choose your search weapons wisely—and your search words.