We Do Headlines!

An Arizona internet marketing firm can make a lot of difference to the effectiveness of your web message to your Arizona audience.  With creativity, combined with knowledgeable purpose, an Arizona internet marketing firm such as ThriveMarketing can show you ways to convey your message more effectively and lead your potential customers to a sale.  Of first and foremost importance to your message, the use of effective headlines is one area that can change the effectiveness of your website investment.

Headlines must reflect and make interesting the story

The old story of “Dog Bites Man” is that a headline like that will not attract attention; however, the headline, “Man Bites Dog” will.  The reason?  It is unusual and interesting.  It doesn’t matter what services or goods you are providing and promoting, effective headlines are one of the most important parts of your written message.  Without an effective headline, the chance a potential customer will proceed into your message is greatly diminished.

Internet headlines have more structure

Headlines on the internet take multiple forms.  Think of your headline not only as the first prominent line of copy on your landing page, but also the meta description tag, the meta title tag, and the subheads that introduce the body copy in your web page.  Even the subject line of your email is a headline opportunity, You only have about 50 characters to make your first impression.  (The headline on this article, by the way, was 49 characters.)  Why only 50?  That is roughly the maximum number of characters in a subject line and it is also the attention limit of a webpage headline.  That can make subject lines and headlines a challenging to write.  You need to make the best impression you can, including the most interesting invitation to your copy as you can, and do it in about a half a line of copy.

On websites, you get 3 headline opportunities

Three places you can take advantage of the power of strong headlines.  First, the webpage the header (H1) is the most important.  Not only is it the first thing the reader’s eye falls on, it is specifically searched for by the search engines in classifying the site as the one most favored to show first in the search results.  Not only is this your big chance to invite the reader into your site for further influence and persuasion, but it is a huge Search Engine Optimization opportunity that many forget. To be effective, the header should be short and to the point, probably not more than about six to eight words.  If your objective is to introduce your reader to the fact that you write headlines, for example, then perhaps your most direct headline would be: “We Do Headlines!”

The Forgotten Headline Opportunity

Second is the often forgotten metatitle.  What ever is written in the HTML metatitle is what will appear in the browser tab or border.  Your message in the metatitle can only be about eight words and should lead with your search keyword(s).  What message do you want in this prominent message space?  Not only is this a billboard to the reader, it, too, is searched for by the search engines when deciding what to list first.  The metatitle increases the search word density of your website. It is surprising how many web builders and web page writers forget this important spot as a promotional message or headline.  The metatitle should be written with the relevant keyword(s) and the closer to the beginning of the title as this gives the keyword the greatest density on the webpage.  The metatile should not be the same for all pages of your site and the keyword should not be repeated more than twice.

Your First Contact with your Customer

Third, the HTML meta description is a great opportunity for first selling efforts.  Again, this spot is often forgotten because it never appears on the web page; it appears as the description presented by the search engine.  Even more importantly, it is also examined by the search engines in determining best sites to list first in the search results.  You have a maximum of just 155 characters, including spaces, to compose the message your potential customers will see in the search listing under your company’s link. Google, and other search engines, will cut off anything over the maximum number of characters (155).  Try to limit your meta description to not more than 25 to 30 words in no more than two sentences.

Email Subject lines are headline opportunities, too!

The point of promotional email is clickthrough.  If you do not get clickthrough, you do not win a conversion (sale).  The maximum limit of a subject line is 50 characters.  You have only that long to move your reader to open the email.  Then, it is up to the content of the email to prompt a clickthrough.  This is a multistep process and your first step has to be a strong one.   

5 Tips to More Effective Headlines

If you would like some intellectual practice on sharpening your skills in identifying what makes effective headlines, pay more attention to what you read in newspaper headlines, on billboards and even on matchbook covers.  People in advertising will tell you that some of the most challenging copywriting is that done on matchbook covers, billboards and in newspaper headlines.  It will not take you very long to begin to recognize what makes an effective headline and what does not.

• First, meet your primary objective; in other words, put your meat upon the table, first!  What is the objective of your website or email?  Can you write it into 50 characters?  Is your objective to get people to buy something the simply must have?  Analyze your website and see what triggers the greatest number of conversions.  That is the item on which you want to focus.

• Second, identify what your key focus is and convey that first; using the header and subheads, construct a path for your readers to follow—from persuasion to sale.  If you do not think that attention spans have not shrunk, try engaging a teenager in a lengthy, thoughtful conversation!  The way our culture has evolved, your audience demands you to “get to the point” and do it quickly.  If you can figure out a faster, shorter way of saying what you want to say, that is your new edit.

• Third, wherever you can, personalize; speak as if you are talking directly to your reader.  What do you want to say to him or her in a couple of seconds?

• Fourth, construct sentences in active voice; nothing gets more tedious and uninteresting to read through than passive voice.  The difference in passive and active voices is the difference between: “It has been decided . . .” and “We decided . . .”  or “It is necessary to buy our product” and “Buy our product.” The subject of the sentence should be what is doing the action.

• Fifth, lead your reader to your service or sale, but do not mislead; it is fine to say things that are attention getting, but if it is unbelievable or untrue, you have lost your reader.

A skilled and creative Arizona intenet marketing firm such as ThriveMarketing can prepare your message so it is more enticing to your audience.  We also know how to influence your website’s rankings so your audience is more likely to see your message first.  Headlines are not the only thing we do; we have many other ways we can help you make your website shine and your business Thrive!

Protect Your Investment

Because you are spending money each time someone clicks on your PPC ad, you want to make sure you are attracting the right traffic with each click– and not throwing away money.

Your ranking for PPC is not only determined by how much your bid is, but also how “good” your ads are. If you have a great ad, you should have a high Click-Through-Rate. It’s completely possible to be paying less for the #1 spot than for the #2 spot, merely because your ad is better than #2’s.

Not only that, Google Adwords, is looking at your ad quality, keyword quality and landing page quality.  That means you have to conduct ongoing testing, measuring and tweaking of your ad copy, keywords, and landing pages.

8 Things You or Your Interactive Agency Must Do

#1:  Keyword Research and Selection

Both with the initial set-up of a PPC campaign and on a regular basis, you need to conduct ongoing keyword research to make sure the campaigns are  employing the appropriate keywords. With the help of reporting software, you can track which keywords are contributing to leads and sales and make adjustments.

#2: Creative Development

By writing custom and unique creative (titles and descriptions), you can maximize click-through and conversion rates. Ads can be tailored to each keyword set to ensure maximum click-through rates (like including the keyword in the ad variations and having a great call-to-action or offer).

#3: Creative Testing

Perform periodic testing of new creative (Titles and Descriptions). The ads can be tested through A/B split testing, so that you can tell which ad copy is performing and make adjustments. By creating additional ad tests that will attempt to beat the winner, you can constantly improve click-through rates, thereby minimizing per-click costs.

#4: Landing Page Identification & Testing

When setting up and maintaining a PPC campaign, you’ll want to identify the best existing destination for the ad, and constantly improve that landing page to improve website conversions (leads and sales).  Read more about the importance of a good landing page. You can also conduct A/B split testing on landing pages to identify the best landing page. Using eye-tracking heat maps, you can tell where visitors hover and click their mouse. “Spy” tools like these help you make significant improvements with your landing pages.

#5: Implement Campaign Tracking

By implementing tracking codes into your website like Google Analytics, you can watch visitor behavior, track conversions straight down to the keyword and ad copy and make adjustments on your website to improve conversion.

#6: PPC Account Settings

You will need to constantly monitor the numerous Account Settings (daily maximum spend, match type like phrase match or exact match, countries, etc.) to maximize business goals.

#7: PPC Bid Management

You or your interactive agency will also have to perform PPC bid management tasks like bid gap monitoring, bid price changes and bid position maintenance. This will maintain your position (ranking) and minimize the cost for being in the desired position.

#8: PPC Analysis

At the end of each month, an interactive agency can prepare a report of individual keyword costs, conversions, and performance trends. This is a written document that is discussed by conference call to discuss previous month activities and next steps.

The Key to Success is in the Campaign Improvements

As you can see, the key to a successful PPC campaign is not all in the set-up, it’s in the ongoing improvement of site conversion through the tweaking of keywords, ad copy (changes to Title/Description), bid adjustments and landing pages. Depending on the size of your campaign, these activities can be done on a daily or weekly basis.

Who is Available to Give the PPC Campaign Attention?

The fact remains, your Pay-Per-Click campaign needs attention to protect and maximize your investment. Otherwise, you are throwing money away. The key question to ask yourself is, are your prepared and equipped to handle the efforts needed to make your campaign a success?  If not, an interactive agency like Thrive Marketing would be happy to give you a quote for setting up and/or managing your PPC campaign.