MindValley Labs Internet Marketing Blog

Being very descriptive is probably one of the single most important rules of writing effective online ad copy for Google AdWords. However, it is often overlooked and rarely mentioned.

Why?

• It is too obvious and just common sense
• It is not flashy overly creative and fun to do

The funny thing with common sense is that all too often people don't follow it. Instead, people keep chasing the next fancy new AdWords optimization tips and tricks. Going back to basics, however, can often do a lot for you as the example below will indicate.

In the example below, we simply added three words to the first description line of our Google AdWords ad. The three words are "Learn how to"

Why was this strategy so effective?

First of all, people are on Google because they are looking first and foremost for information and by starting the ad copy with "learn how to" our ad copy looks as if the site that we are advertising is more likely to answer the customers question.

Second, it might also be that the Google AdWords ad copy that contains the words "Learn How to" appears to be less commercial, which might also further increase the appeal of the ad and the conversion rate that we see.

I would definitely have to say that our winning ad is not one of the most sexy ads that I have written but it certainly is one of the more effective, delivering a huge boost in the click-through-rate and ROI.

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About the Author

Prior to MindValley Media, Mike was the Head of New Ventures Strategy at eBay where he conceived of the strategies that led to the investment in Craigslist, the launch of Kijiji.com and the acquisition of Skype. Mike has an MBA from Stanford and previously worked for the Boston Consulting Group. He is also a certified Google AdWords Professional.

Check out other posts by Mike Reining

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