Click through rate (CTR) is one of the most popular metrics for digital marketing ad campaigns. And for good reason! The average click through rate tells you how many people are clicking on your ads compared the total number of people who see it.
Your CTR gives you an idea at how effective your online ads are at not only getting the attention of your audience but influencing them to act. Of course, no one strives to be average. Most small businesses want to aim for an above average click through rate so that they can maximize their digital marketing ad spend. The key to increasing the CTRs for your paid online advertising is finding out what works for your brand and your target audience.
Now, let’s talk about how to make average click through rate even better. Use the tips below to improve your click through rates across your paid ad campaigns.
1. Get to know your audience.
Every business wants to increase their traffic, especially on paid ad campaigns. However, you need to make sure that the traffic you’re getting from your Google Ads campaigns is also the right traffic. That’s why it’s vital that you understand your audience before you start developing paid ad campaigns.
In addition to knowing who your audience is (age, gender, location, and other demographic information), you should also get to know how you can reach out to them. What types of sites do they visit? What do they search for in Google? This type of information will help you when considering what types of keywords to use or sites to target.
You’ll also need to consider how they would describe the types of services or products they are looking for. Once you can identify some of the language and lingo that your target audience uses to look for your products or services online, you can start to develop advertising copy that matches the language that your potential customers are already using to find your brand.
If you want a qualified lead to come back to your site, your ad has to give them a reason to want to click!
2. Be specific with your keywords.
Keywords are one of the most important aspects of your Google Ads campaigns. Though your ad copy does need to be well-written and compelling, it doesn’t matter without the right keywords.
Keywords help ensure that your business is reaching the right audience with your paid ads, which allows you to improve performance and get the most for your ad spend.
The key to using the right keywords is being very specific. Broad keywords will bring you a large, more generalized audience.
3. Make sure your ad copy is compelling.
Unless someone is clicking accidentally, there’s a good chance that an individual is clicking on your ad because they find the ad copy compelling and relevant. Nearly every ad that boasts a high average click through rate excels in speaking to the audience in a way that they understand. Additionally, it provides some kind of value for the person looking at the ad.
It can be difficult to know at first how effective your ad copy is without anything to compare it to.
However, if you find you’re experiencing a lower CTR than expected, revising your advertising copy is a good place to start in improving performance. Look carefully at your headline to make sure that it is relevant and interesting to your audience.
4. Use ad extensions to increase visibility.
The ad extension options in Google Ads are a great way to increase your visibility on the search engine and encourage more clicks. Google wants your business to succeed with its ad platform. Which is why they offer ad extensions as a way for you to increase your CTRs and drive more traffic to your site.
Data from both Google and third-party sites have shown that these ad extensions consistently help businesses experience better ad performance overall by giving ads greater visibility and prominence on the search engine results page.
Remember, the key to getting the most out of ad extensions is making sure the extensions you use align with your ad goals. For instance, if you want to get customers to convert on your website, you might use the sitelink or callout extensions rather than the call or message extensions.
5. Include the keyword you’re bidding on in your ad URL.
Adding the keyword that you’re bidding on to the URL in your ad is an effective way to help build trust with those who see your ads. By putting the keyword in the URL, you’re letting readers know that your ad, and the page that your ad leads to, is relevant to the search that they have just conducted.
When the searchers see the keyword in the URL, they can take comfort in knowing that the ad will give them what they’re looking for.
Research has shown that using the keyword in the URL of the paid search engine ad leads to a higher average click through rate for campaigns than leaving it out.
The more trust you’re able to build with your audience, the more likely they will be to click on your ad and look at what you’re offering. The best part is that this simple tactic can be used to start generating more clicks in just a few seconds.
6. Add a strong call-to-action (CTA).
Though it may seem simple, a strong call to action in your ad copy can work wonders for your CTR. Once someone views your ad, they want to know what the next step is. By telling them clearly what they should do, you are guiding them on the path to conversion.
In fact, according to the Kissmetrics, a strong CTA helps you capitalize on an individual’s curiosity by giving them a reason to click.
Google also recommends using a strong call-to-action in the ad copy as it gives search engine users another reason to click. Google recommends telling people directly what action you want them to take.
7. Test, test, test!
Finding out what works to help boost your average click through rate on paid ads is no easy task. That’s why it’s vital for brands to test out different things to see what provides the best performance. A/B testing will help you isolate which elements of your paid ads are working best so that you can then re-create these elements in future ad campaigns for best results.
In addition to testing the headline and copy, you can also go one step further to really test out the finer details. Try including the price or a quantifiable discount in the ad. Test out different types of punctuation. Try different CTAs and see which has the best reaction.
In the end, if you want to perform better than the average click through rate, you’ve got to do some work on your end to find out which tactics work best for your business. Since PPC ads use some of your budget every time someone clicks on your ad, it’s important that you focus on not only boosting your CTR but bringing in the right kind of clicks.