Question

Topic: SEO/SEM

Increase Quality Score For B2b Adwords

Posted by annj on 7/31/2008 at 7:20 AM ET 125 Points
Hi
Looking into Adwords optimisation - for the many of my Keywords which have a Quality Score of 'Great', Google suggests:

"Optimise your ad text to include your keyword and a call-to-action (such as purchase or sign up)."

Keywords are already in the ad text once, but should it be more? but then there's the character restriction and it would look pretty poor?

How important is the call-to-action bit? In a B2B world we can't really say 'Buy now' if that's what they're looking for.

Any views on / experience of this?
Thanks
Ann
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Inbox_Interactive on 7/31/2008 at 7:53 AM Member
    A call to action does not have to be a purchase.

    If you are doing lead-generation through AdWords, my guess is that you are offering something of value in exchange for the prospect's response (white paper, trial, consultation).

    (You're not just planning on taking them to the home page, right?)

    Your call to action could be something like "Get your free white paper..." or "Start a free trial..." or something along those lines.

    What will your ad say that will induce people to click?
  • Posted by annj on 7/31/2008 at 8:52 AM Author
    Hi
    I'm definitely talking AdWords - in fact the Quality Score against Keywords that you can see in the reports.

    I believe that the QS is part of the equation that dictates a minimum cost per click - that's what Google says anyway.
    eg for an inactive ad with QS Poor, it recommends to "either increase your Keyword's CPC bid or
    Improve your keyword's quality
    This process is called optimisation and there are several ways to accomplish it:
    Edit your keywords by using the Keyword Tool to find keyword variations or change your match type.
    Edit your ad text to mention your keyword or include a call-to-action phrase (like register, find or join)."

    I was really wondering whether in people's experience this last bit really does count (yes we can say "free / register for white paper / demo" but everyone offers that in enterprise software) or whether it's just a waste of a few characters where I could otherwise differentiate our offering from the AdWords around us...

    I hope that's a bit clearer.
    Thanks!
  • Posted on 7/31/2008 at 9:32 AM Member
    Absolutely include the call to action. It may seem obvious what you want people to do, but if you don't tell them, they won't do it. I once heard a story about a salesman who gave great pitches about his products, its benefits, etc., but never got any orders. Why? Because he didn't ask for them!

  • Posted by excellira on 7/31/2008 at 9:33 AM Accepted
    Having a call to action is extremely helpful regardless of whether you're marketing B2B or B2C. The call to action must be aligned with the sensitivity of your prospects.

    Optimizing your campaign to improve ad performance and, as a result, your quality score depends upon several variables.

    - Ad quality will affect CTR (click through rate) which can affect your quality score.

    - Your landing page quality will affect your quality score. Google monitors "back" button usage and will base the quality of your landing page by the time your visitors invest in examining it. The shorter the time, the perceived relevance of the page page diminishes. This in turn drops your quality score.

    So, you can have a great ad and a poor landing page and do poorly. Conversely you can have a highly optimized landing page with poor ads and also do poorly.

    You need to optimize and test both.

    The single most common error in PPC is directing visitors to your home page. The landing page ideally needs to be tailored to the ad. If your campaign is large then you will need to automate your landing pages so that the page adjusts based upon your ad group.

    Unless you have a small number of keywords, optimizing landing pages on the campaign level is not typically effective.

    Landing page research and theory would fill volumes so it is impractical to discuss this in great dept.

    Some quick tips:

    Your landing page should
    1. be aligned with the ad's message
    2. contain your keyword in the page title (this can be automated)
    3. mention the referrer if possible
    4. have a compelling headline

    I could go on but I hope this answers your question.
  • Posted on 8/30/2008 at 11:22 PM Member
    Im sorry but i gotta disagree with some.

    of course a call to action is necessary, but Google is pretty picky against spam or hype so it matters exactly HOW you call.

    I would avoid loose, sloppy spam calls to action like "free ***"

    Google actually penalizes and denies ads regularly for their banned term "click here".

    Do NOT say "click here" in your adwords copy.

    A call to action should motivate with powerfully charged emotional words like " claim" "reserve" " "invest" "join" to make the user feel,
    viscerally,
    that he is missing out
    if he doesent act
    and use your product to fulfill his need,
    solve his problem or
    ease his pain.

    Even "order" has more guts and verve to it than " free". Yes,
    it's great to offer something free on the landing page to encourage an opt in,
    but in an adwords text,
    its an expensive waste of space.

    When you only have 25 or 35 characters per line, you gotta make em ALL count.

    Get into the head of your customer. Experience their inner conversation, their frustration, then offer your solution,
    not a cheesy free spam sandwich. The call to action is an irresistable offer of their solution, not a command for them to submit to your will and buy from you now.
    Generosity works better than commanding.

    There are some great resources out there to learn ppc and net marketing, but for My dollar the courses offered by Stompernet
    ( stompingthe-searchengines2.com/blog )
    seem to have the most credible advice and even their freebie marketing opt in videos are superior to most of the other paid resources available.
    thanks and take care
    Bryan Bliss

  • Posted by annj on 9/1/2008 at 4:49 AM Author
    Thanks - I've actually opted for a relevant though not overtly 'obvious' CTA of 'request a demo today' or similar. Time will tell whether it helps on the Quality Score or if it's just a waste of precious copy space...
  • Posted by excellira on 9/1/2008 at 8:51 PM Member
    generosity, though you bring up a good point regarding Adword's editorial policy I'm not certain that anyone was suggesting spam tactics.

    If you do wish to create ads which are within Google's terms of service you can get a quick overview here: https://www.google.com/adwords/learningcenter/text/18929.html

    And, annj, you should be constantly A/B testing your ads. So, if you find that the call to action is working you should refine it. If it isn't working you should replace it.
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