• Include your key phrases in the text and/or title of your ppc ads
  By doing so, your readers will see the phrase they have typed in and, therefore, appreciate the relevance to their search terms.  In a study, Yahoo! found that listings that include the search term in both the title and description have a higher click through rate (more than 50 per cent higher on average).

• Write clearly and simply
  Simple language and short, non-repetitive sentences work best within search engine marketing campaigns.

• Reveal the attractive aspects of your offering
  What is it?  What are the benefits? Why is it better?  Give the searcher a reason why they should click through to your site by telling them what they will achieve by visiting.  Possibly even offer an incentive for them to click through. 

• Be objective and informative
  There is no place for hype within search engine marketing.  While you want your ppc ad to stand out from the rest, you need to ensure you are giving the user what they want.

• Avoid superlatives
  Greatest, Biggest, Best etc.

• Use attention-grabbing words
  Free, New, Win, Offer etc are fine for search engine marketing if they are not misleading.

• Be descriptive
  Making sure the readers know exactly ‘what’s inside the packet’.  Again, in the limited characters that are available, show the user what they will find when they visit your site.

• Use a clear call-to-action
  So your readers know what to do and why.
• Make every word count
  Space is very limited so you should spend time honing your ppc ads.

• Target your ads to the phrase
  Where possible try to write different ppc ads for each phrase to make the search engine marketing listings as relevant and targeted as possible.  This also gives you the chance to trial different types of listings to see what works and what doesn’t.

• Direct the searcher to the relevant page
  The landing pages within your search engine marketing campaigns should be relevant to the search phrase. Only send them to the home page if there is a suitable reason as to why they should go there.

In the next Search Engine Marketing post, we’ll cover Deploying your campaigns …