The marketing message you send will influence who clicks on your PPC ad and why they click. Your goal in writing ad copy should be to put yourself in the mind of the searcher and present an ad that will give them the information they need to make an informed decision as to whether or not you offer what they want. The goal is not to get clicks, the goal is to get qualified clicks.



Ad strategies to avoid:



Free
Free is a meaningless word and invokes skeptecism. Consumers are smart enough to know that nothing, ever, is really free. While you might increase your click rate, the clickers aren't going to be people looking to spend money, they are going to be people looking to see if it really is free. About the only Free that works is Free Shipping, but if you drive a consumer to your site on a Free Shipping message and then present a qualifying amount to get it, you risk irritating them and wasting your money. If you need to order $50 for free shipping, say so. 'Free Shipping on $50 or more'.



Listing a Price
Don't list a price unless you absolutely, positively have the lowest price. Nothing is worse from an advertising perspective than listing your widget for $19.99 when you're right next to an ad that lists the same or comparable widget for $17.99. Plus, if you list a price and your prices changes, you're going to have to go back and edit all your copy. A 'Starting From" price can work, but only, again, if you have the lowest price and only if you don't mind editing if the starting price changes.



Satisfaction Guaranteed
Would anyone ever buy from a store where it's not? A satisfaction guarantee is implied nowadays and listing that you offer one is a waste of characters.



In Stock
In Stock Now can work if you're selling a hard to get or seasonal item and you want to drive home that you actually have it, other than that, avoid it. Otherwise it's implued. Why would you ever list an ad to sell something you don't have in stock?



Company Name
Is your company name one people will recognize? If not, son't waste characters listing it. Instead focus on the offer or product. If you manufacture a product that is sold by resellers and you also have an ecommerce site, 'Official JoeWidget Site' can work to distinguish you from others in the space.

About the Author
Dave is a full-time Search Engine Marketing Manager. He also runs SyteSurge, a web site dedicated to pay-per-click marketing and search engine optimization.