In our continuing series on PPC optimization this time we look at optimizing text ad performance by tweaking ad titles. Technically called the “Business Name” field, we’re calling it the ad title for brevity. By isolating higher performing ad text you can vary different parts of similar ads to see which variant performs better. This article shows that a small change to the ad title can make a big change in ad performance.
Continuous Improvement
Dr. J Edward Deming provided the concept of continuous improvement with the PDCA Cycle (an acronym of Plan, Do, Check and Action) to the workplace (in Japanese called Kaisen). You can use continuous improvement in your PPC campaigns. Test different settings and ad text combinations to see which combinations work better. Use the best combinations and test variations of different elements. Rinse and repeat. In our case we found an ad body text combination that worked well:
Call: (215) 568-6222
www.PhillyDentistry.com/Invisalign
Get Straight Teeth-No Metal Braces
3D Smile Preview. Save $500 Special
Provide an Offer
Two things are at work in this ad. There is a clear offer of “Save $500 Special.” Special implies New Patient Special and gives the visitor an incentive to click. There is also a bit of mystery on what is included which may tempt the gentle prospect. The “3D Smile Preview” gives the new patient a quick idea of what their smile will look like when the Invisalign treatment is complete.
Vary the Ad Title
Given the Ad body text above, let’s try varying the main Ad Title (or Business Name) to see which version performs best. First we tried “Philadelphia Dentistry” a longer variation of the name of Dr. Cirka’s practice (Ad #1, see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Three Call Only Ads with Different Ad Titles
The next Ad Title variant we tried was “Philly Dentistry.” which matches the practice name (Ad #2).
Finally we tried a more relevant title with the keyword “Invisalign” inside “Philly Invisalign Dentist” (Ad #3). Besides performing better, this keyphrase has the advantage of matching multiple target keywords (“Philly Invisalign,” “Invisalign Dentist” etc.)
Figure 2: Three Call Only Invisalign Ads with Different Ad Titles
After a couple of days Ad #1 using “Philadelphia Dentistry.” as the Ad Title garnered an ad position of 2.4, not where we want to be. An ad position of less than 2 is ideal for call only ads on smaller screen smartphones. Ad #2 using “Philly Dentistry.” for the Ad Title with the same ad body text got a 1.5 ad position, a much better result. Ad #3 using “Philly Invisalign Dentist” as the Ad Title got a top 1.0 ad position with the same body text (see Figure 2). Note that using “early warning” metrics like ad position can give you a good idea of the ad’s quality before any clicks occur. Based on this performance data we paused ad number 1 and let the others run.
Conclusion
Seemingly small changes in ad text can make big changes in performance. By varying our Ad Title text we improved ad position from 2.4 to 1.0.
Further Reading
- PhillyDentistry.com
- Philly Dentistry was the subject of this case study. Thanks again to Dr. Ken Cirka for permission to use their PPC campaign as an example.
- Optimizing PPC Campaigns with Experiments
- Learn how to use PPC experiments to optimize the performance of your Adwords campaigns. In this dental case study we lowered our cost per conversion by 15% and improved our overall conversion rate by 7 percentage points, squeezing more leads our of our budget.
- PPC Optimization: Abbreviate Ad Text
- Abbreviating key phrases in PPC text ads can lower CPC and the cost per conversion. Our otherwise identical text ad with “Michigan” abbreviated to “Mich” decreased the cost per call by more than 35%, and increased the conversion rate by 33 percentage points.
- PPC Optimization: Ad Text Position
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- PPC Optimization: Age Range Targeting
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- PPC Optimization: Average Income Targeting
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- PPC Optimization: Be Specific
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- PPC Optimization: Call Only Ad Extensions
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- PPC Optimization: Display URL Expansion
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- PPC Optimization: Early Warning
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- PPC Optimization: Emhanced CPC & maximize Clicks
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- PPC Optimization: Experiments in Punctuation
- By varying the punctuation and plurals within your text ads, you can optimize their conversion rate and cost per conversion. This article shows a case study of call only text ad optimization.
- PPC Optimization: Gender Targeting
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- PPC Optimization: Strange Attraction
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- PPC Optimization: Wordplay and Humor
- Humor and wordplay can make your advertising stand out from the crowd. Unexpected word combinations and humor attract valuable attention and can garner higher PPC click-through and conversion rates.
- PPC Optimization: ZIP Code Targeting
- Learn how to add ZIP code targeting to your PPC campaigns to boost conversion rates. By optimizing the performance of individual demographics and locations, you can improve conversion rates to squeeze more leads out your AdWords spend.
- Supercharge Your Call Only Ads with Ad Extensions
- Google shows which ad extensions can be used with Call Only ads.