Search Engine Advertising
You're looking for used office furniture. Where do you start? If you're like many people these days, your first stop is at one of the popular Internet search engines — Google, Yahoo, MSN, or AOL Search.
When you type “used office furniture” into the search field, you'll see a relevant list of Web sites. You'll also see something else: a number of advertisements located to the right and top of the screen. Depending on the search engine, these ads are referred to as sponsored sites, sponsored links, or sponsored results. Sponsored means the advertiser pays a fee every time someone clicks on the link.
The elements of a search engine ad are fairly standard across most of the major Internet search engines. Typically, there is:
A headline
Two short lines of body copy
A link to a Web page
Here is an example:
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When writing a search engine ad, be sure to include the search term in the headline or body. This will be boldfaced on most search engines when the results are displayed. It's common for advertisers to prepare several versions of a search engine ad to target all the various search terms the target audience might type in.
Search engine ads often contain less than twenty words. How do you deliver a strong selling punch when you have so little room to maneuver? Begin by writing a complete ad, with a compelling headline and motivating body copy. Then go back and take out every word that does not absolutely need to be there. Strip your copy down to its essentials. When you do, a great search engine ad will often emerge.
Each search engine has strict limits regarding word count. Typically, you only have 25–35 characters to work with per line. That's about seven words at most, which is what makes writing an effective search ad so challenging. There are often other restrictions regarding word usage and content. Be sure to read the advertising guidelines before you begin writing.
