The copywriting process is an integral part of search engine marketing. It’s the craft of creating copy that’s relevant to searchers. For your message to resonate, you need to identify your audience, highlight the benefits of your product or service, and persuade users to click on your ad instead of your competitor’s—all within 95 characters. Here are best practices to help you build copy that stands out from the competition.
Understand audience profile and behavior. Tailor your ads towards an age group, gender, or geographic location if there’s a skew towards a particular segment. You can use Microsoft adLabs and Microsoft adCenter research tools to determine the demographic profile of your audience.
Account for seasonality in your ad copy. Recognize when your audience is more likely to pay attention to time-sensitive promotions, such as holidays (i.e., Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, etc.) or vertical-specific seasonality (i.e., changes of seasons for a clothing retailer is as important as a major holiday).
Structuring Your Campaign
- Between three to five ads is the optimal number for ad copy testing; adCenter allows up to 20 ads per order.
- Group keywords with similar themes in one order. This allows you to easily create ads relevant to a searcher’s query.
Assume the Language and Tone of Your Landing Page
- Tell users exactly what they’ll find on your landing page. For example, if your ad promotes a seasonal package, make sure that package is clearly on the landing page.
Highlight Your Unique Selling Points
- Instead of telling searchers that your product or service is the best, tell them why. Highlight key features such as low prices or fast shipping in your ad.
- Research competitor ad copy and messaging for all mediums to determine the key differentiators of your product or service.
Include the Keywords in the Ad Title and Description
- Use the Dynamic Text Insertion function in adCenter to include keyword phrases in your ad copy. The adCenter blog provides more information about how to do this.
- In addition to dynamic ads, include at least one static ad that contains the main elements of a keyword phrase.
Example: Buy flights to Paris France
Incorrect:
Flights to Europe
Get tickets for cities throughout
Europe. Book with us today.
Correct
Flights to Paris, France
Buy flights to Paris, France.
Book with us today.
Include Calls to Action
Ask searchers to do something specific, such as “Book tickets online,” “Reserve online,” or “Sign up today.”
Test, Refine, Edit
- Replicate effective ads across other orders and remove underperforming ads.
- Identify and use creative that works on other engines and/or in other media.
Avoid Common Editorial Mistakes
- Excessive or exaggerated language, such as “best,” “largest,” or “cheapest,” without third-party verification, is against the adCenter editorial guidelines.
- Avoid the word “free” unless there are no strings attached.
- Stay within the character limits for ad text: 25 for titles and 70 for descriptions.
Avoid excessive or irregular capitalization and punctuation:
Incorrect
Advertise using Microsoft adcenter
Use Keyword advertising Today to
drive traffic to YOUR site!!!
adCenter.microsoft.com
Correct
Advertise Using Microsoft adCenter
Use keyword advertising today to
drive traffic to your site!
adCenter.microsoft.com
A
Live Search ad campaign, powered by Microsoft adCenter, provides the perfect opportunity to reach millions with your sizzling ad copy.
Live Search is a valuable element of any successful online advertising strategy. Over 98 million people per month across the MSN and Windows Live network have access to Live Search1, so there is great potential to expose your business to a large audience.
It’s easy to start your Live Search ad campaign—simply provide your contact details and pay a one-time, $5 fee to create your Microsoft adCenter account.
