Type “front yard light bulbs” into Google search and you’ll be shown a page of results with everything from Christmas lights to Christian light bulb jokes to landscaping.
Off to the right, you’ll see sponsored links. Click on one and you’re driven to a website that offers you the solution to all your “front yard light bulbs” needs.
Or so the company who paid for your click hopes.
There’s an entire science to sponsored links. Paying the top dollar per click doesn’t guarantee the top position. I’ll let folks how know better speak to how all that works.
What I’m going to touch on is the art of writing the copy for a Google sponsored link. It’s a mix between advertising copy and poetry. It’s a haiku of sorts.
Googleku I call it.
First off, the real estate you’re allotted for a sponsored link is limited.
The copy has to be twenty-five characters (or less) for the headline and thirty-five characters (or less) for each description line. That character count includes spaces. Which, believe me, starts to suck pretty quick. How much can you say in so small a space. Not much.
Take our “front yard light bulbs” example. You sell them. You’ve bought a sponsored link for that key phrase, hoping to increase sales. Now what attributes or benefits do you want to highlight? Your bulbs affordability? Their brightness? The fact that they’re made in America? Or maybe that you offer free shipping?
So how about “Free shipping on the brightest, best front yard light bulbs made in America”? No dice. The line taps in at seventy-five characters, so it won’t work as a headline or line of description.
Okay, so you drop the free shipping bit. How about “America’s best front yard light bulbs”? Closer, but still too long. Thirty-seven characters.
Edit, trim, try again.
Finally you settle on “Bright Lights Big Savings.” Twenty-five characters. You’ve got your headline. Now it’s time for the description lines.
Best of luck.
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