The main focus of most PPC advertisers are impressions, clicks, conversions and bounce rates. Implementing standard technical requirements in an effort to achieve top results will not get you much further ahead of your competition. Forgetting to let your intuitions, emotions and subjectivity take over once in a while can make your ads blend into the rest of the mediocrity without anything which stands out and attracts the attention of potential customers. However, your brain is not a machine, and we understand that all that it sometimes needs is a nudge in the right direction. When days with lack of inspiration come there is no shame in learning from experienced PPC experts and their ad copywriting tips.
Table of Contents
- Show off what you offer
- Ad copywriting demands emotional phrases and expressions
- Use numbers and discounts in your headline
- Power words that create urgency will improve your ad copywriting
- Awaken the feeling of “Don’t Miss Out”
- Ad copywriting wants from you to be a bit bizarre
- Repeat like a rapper
- Final thoughts
Wise men have said that we only get one chance to make the first impression. In the digital world, that chance is your advertisement text. Your ad text is your first contact with the outside world based on which the potential visitor decides whether to click further or not. With perhaps everything already being said and done through the wordsmithing that is ad copywriting composition, you have to utilize different psychological tricks to crawl underneath the skin of the internet surfers if you want them to find your ads irresistible. For those of you who want to know how to do that, here are our 7 tips:
Show off what you offer
Although it may not always seem like the case when analyzing search queries, users usually search for solutions to their problems. This is why your ad text needs to show people that you know what’s troubling them and that you have the best solution. Most ad texts focus on the product itself, rather than the benefits it brings. As soon as you state the benefits, the performance of the ad copy improves.
Keep in mind that being self-centered is not a virtue. The whole exchange is all about your customers and the things you can do for them. They are the ones that will buy your product, and by showing that you understand and care for them, you create a bond that triggers a strong emotional reaction within people. By tending to their needs you will create a fan base of loyal and returning customers that are willing to recommend your product to their friends and family. Once that happens, the tidal wave of overjoyed buyers will be well on its way.
Ad copywriting demands emotional phrases and expressions
The decisions people make are not only based on logic. Emotions also play a strong role. This is why one of the most effective ways to mobilize users is to use expressions that can touch their emotions. When a user reads an ad that has a strong emotional impact, there is a higher chance that they will click on it. There are a couple of ways to inspire emotion through ad copywriting:
- Try to get to know your customer – Who is your targeted group? Mothers? Sports enthusiasts? Businessmen?
- Decide how you want to present yourself to your customers – Are you a bringer of good news? Are you a motivator? Above all, make sure that you are an expert problem solver.
- Look at things from the perspective of your customers.
The most important thing is to keep your emotions in balance. Exaggeration is not your friend, if you overdo it.
Use numbers and discounts in your headline
By using numbers in your headlines you are tapping into behavioral psychology. Studies show that headlines with numbers are the most effective type of headlines since they offer a sense of predictability in an uncertain world.
By using this psychological effect you can get up to 38% better performance results. (Do you see now how everything sounds more trustworthy when you put it in numbers?) Numbers fight the uncertainty with specifics. They communicate value by giving answers fast and allowing users to decide whether to click on your ad or not in a split-second.
But, this is not the only reason you should use numbers in your headlines. Humans simply love numbers – number 7 the most (and there it is, above, in the headline of this article). We love to analyze and structure everything in our lives and we trust odd numbers more than even numbers. They seem more precise. When we said you can get up to 38% better performance results, it sounds better than 40% although it is 2% less, right? If you are wondering why, the answer is simple – it sounds more like a calculated number than a simple guess.
So, use this trick in your headlines and watch your CTR grow. By the way, we were not playing good psychologist – bad psychologist with that “38% better performance results”. That number is true.
Power words that create urgency will improve your ad copywriting
Power words grab the attention fast. Words like NOW, or BEST DEAL, tap into our emotional fears or aspirations and trigger a psychological reaction. They can be applied to almost any product or service offer, in turn provoking greed, lust, curiosity, vanity, trust, and many other emotions.
Let’s look at an example. The ad text is simple: Set Up Your Online Store Today! This kind of ad focuses on the end-user tapping into their desires and giving them the most benefit possible as fast as possible. Those 6 words contain everything that people searching to create an online store want:
- Get started as soon as possible
- Make money
To use power words effectively you need to analyze the psychology behind the searcher’s intent. You need to find out what their motivation is and find that sweet spot in their desire so you can give them a nudge in the right direction with nothing but a few words.
Awaken the feeling of “Don’t Miss Out”
People tend to have a fear of missing out, so a simple “it is now or never” type of ad can make them rush to get your product or service now, rather than never. Loss aversion is the psychological term, and its effects run deep in our DNA. Marketers often use the fact that people prefer avoiding losses to acquiring gains. They tap into the phenomenon by inserting some form of urgency.
The easiest way to awaken the sense of urgency is to implement ad customizer countdowns and limited time sale promotions. All you need to do is set the end date for your promotion and your ad will include the countdown timer. Visitors seeing your ad will be motivated by their fear of loss, giving you the edge over your competitors.
Ad customizers come in many forms. Besides the time and date, they can insert the price or any other text that you define and can adapt your ad to the devices searchers are using. They bring tailored messaging since your ads are hyper-specialized to each search or web page being viewed. They can also let a single text ad have hundreds of variations from which they choose to show the most relevant to each potential customer.
Ad copywriting wants from you to be a bit bizarre
Welcome to Bizarro World! Believe it or not, there is a scientific effect called the bizarreness effect. This effect proves that people tend to remember unusual material over common material. This doesn’t mean that you should start writing irrelevant headlines just to be different, but you have to give people something unique to remember, share and talk about.
I recently came across a fake $100 bill on the street. When I opened it, there was an ad printed on it about a sports shop. Now, that’s the kind of bizarre people will talk and laugh about. Likely, they’ll be sure to remember it. So, what can you do to stand out? Well, the trick is to look at your competitors’ ads and bring out your inner comedian by creating funny puns that will spark the user’s interest. Here is what you can try:
- Use creative words in your headlines like Oh My, or For Pete’s Sake.
- Use clichés. Since everyone knows clichés, this practice will make the searcher feel included. You’ll still have to give them a unique twist for that comedic effect.
- Grab the searcher’s attention with something like Hey! Hey! or Listen Up! Most gamers, especially The Legend of Zelda fans remember Navi’s annoying HEY! LISTEN! Now, that’s how you draw attention. 🙂
Repeat like a rapper
There is no way to get an advertisement to spread word than to have it get trapped in people’s heads. It is like that tune that you repeat over and over all day long. It can be annoying, of course, but one thing is sure – you remembered it. Once you turn your TV on or step outside, your brain is being bombarded with different messages. If we are to stop and try to assess the validity of each message our brain receives, we wouldn’t have time for anything else. So, we continue down the road. We catch something, we miss something. Those messages that constantly repeat though? You are sure to catch them, and often.
There is a psychological concept known as the illusionary truth effect. It teaches us that repetition is likely to be interpreted as truth over time. This could be the reason why customers are loyal to certain brands. You shouldn’t just be repeating a basic statement though. Everyone can do that and your competitors can easily copy your idea. The trick is to be repetitive in a compelling way. You have to give your customers something that remains yours even when someone else is using it. Here are a couple of things you could do:
- Create a unique and catchy slogan or call to action and make it your trademark.
- Use remarketing lists for search ads. This kind of list is used for showing your ads to people who have already visited your site by targeting a wider set of keywords. But this doesn’t mean that you should target everyone that has visited your website once. Those one-time searchers are possibly only looking out of curiosity. You should target only those that show perpetuate interest.
- Repurpose the same marketing messages across similar channels, like social media ads.
Final thoughts
The smartest marketers are those that have a strong psychological understanding of how humans operate. They can convince you to buy three pairs of snickers just because you get 30% off the third pair, even if you only came to buy one. This is how big of an influence a well-orchestrated campaign with a strong psychological message can have. If you wish to make a strong name for your brand and have an army of loyal buyers, feel free to use our 7 psychological tricks that will make your ads irresistible to click. Above all though, be creative and have fun. We have given you the power, now you run and use it for the good of your business!
