Click Through Rate (CTR): Improving Your Ad Clicks

Did you know that the average click-through rate (CTR) for display ads is a measly 0.05 percent? Ouch. That means if you have a banner ad out there, only 1 in 2,000 people will click on it. So how do you make sure your ad has the best chance at being clicked?

We’re here to help! Keep reading for our tips on improving your CTR and getting those all-important clicks.

Clickthrough Rate (CTR): Definition

The CTR of your ad is the number of clicks divided by the number of times it is shown: clicks / impressions = CTR. A CTR can provide you with insight into the performance of your keywords, advertisements, and free listings.

Think of your website like a shop on a busy street. If the store is clean, brightly lit, and has interesting displays, more people are going to stop and look. The same is true for your website.

Love it or hate it, one of the most essential measures is the clickthrough rate (CTR) for digital marketers. But what is CTR, exactly? And how can you make sure your content gets the best possible CTR?

If the content is well designed and easy to use, people will be more likely to click through to your content. In this blog post, we’ll explain what CTR is, how you can improve yours, and some tips for doing so.

Organic CTR

The clickthrough rate (CTR) is a key metric for measuring the success of your online advertising campaigns. It tells you how many individuals really click on your ad when they see it.

A high CTR means your ad is relevant and engaging. And that there is a need for what you have to give. A low CTR could indicate that your ad is not relevant to your target audience or that it’s not well-designed.

Organic CTR is a measure of how often people click on your organic (unpaid) search results. A high organic CTR means that your website is relevant and attractive to searchers. A low organic CTR could mean that your website needs some work. Organic CTR is often indicative of a healthier branded advertising campaign running in alignment with your SEO efforts.

Google Ads CTR

We all look things up on Google. And each time we do – boom – the first results that pop up are always ads. But what makes these ads so special that they’re at the top of the list? Isn’t that where you want your adverts to appear? #yup

But advertising is no longer throwing money at an advertising platform (like Google) and expecting it to produce impactful results. High CTRs takes grit, talent, and of course, following the guidelines Google requires. This step takes structure, intention, and planning.

Why Should You Care About Your Google Ads CTR?

Without becoming an ad for Google Ads, let’s briefly discuss the pros of paid ads. You have a lot of control over how you spend your money with Google Ads. For example, there is no minimum. You can also decide how much money you want to spend on a monthly, daily, or even per advertisement basis. You only pay if someone clicks on your ad. So I suppose the trick is, if you don’t want to spend a lot of money, just configure terrible ads. I guess. Maybe not…

The most common marketing tool today is Google Ads. By optimizing your CTR, you can significantly increase your chances for success with Google Ads. Here’s why marketers care about Google Ads CTR:

CTR is a key metric for success with Google Ads.
A higher CTR means more successful campaigns and lower costs per conversion.
CTR is a good indicator of campaign effectiveness and can be used to track progress over time.
Optimizing your CTR can have a significant impact on your campaign results.
By optimizing your CTR, you can help your campaigns convert to sales.
Google Ads can be customized to meet your specific marketing needs.

Save Money by Optimizing Your Clickthrough Rate

If you’re not using Google Ads to promote your business, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity. With over 2 billion active users, Google is the most popular search engine in the world. And that means there’s a lot of potential customers out there who could be clicking on your ads.

But if your clickthrough rate (CTR) isn’t optimized, you could be wasting a lot of money on those ads. Luckily, there are a few simple things you can do to improve your CTR and get more bang for your buck.

8 Ways To Improve Your Google Ads CTR

1. Improve Your Quality Score

What is a quality score, exactly? If you don’t know, it’s the perfect place to begin with your Google PPC ad campaign. The Google Quality Score is a number that determines how effective your ad campaigns are going to show up nearer the top of the search results.

The Google Quality Score is a number that determines how effective your ad campaigns are. As a result, click-through rates are higher and cost-per-click is cheaper. Check out Google’s guide for quality score here.

Here are some tips on how to improve your quality score:

Use relevant keywords in your ad campaigns. Relevancy is one of the key factors that determines your quality score, so make sure you’re targeting the right keywords.
Check to see if your advertising are appropriate for your landing pages. Your adverts and landing pages should have a strong connection. Otherwise people will click away from your site before they even have a chance to conversion.
Use positive customer reviews and testimonials.

2. Optimize Your Ad Extensions

One of the most significant things you can do to boost your ad’s click-through rate is to use ad extensions (CTR). Ad extensions are extra pieces of data that you might include in your ad. These can be anything like your phone number, address, or a call to action.

Google offers a variety of ad extensions, and you can use as many or as few as you want. However, it’s important to note that not all ad extensions are created equal.

Some ad extensions, like callouts and structured snippets, are generally more effective than others, like sitelinks. Callouts are short pieces of text that highlight specific features of your product or service. They can be up to 25 characters long, and you can have up to 4 per ad.

Similar to callouts, structured snippets allow you to convey extra information about your product or service. Unlike callouts, however, you can’t control what information is included in your structured snippet. Sitelinks are hyperlinks to other pages on your site that you wish to draw attention to. You can have up to 6 sitelinks per ad.

Some other types of Google Ad extensions are:

Sitelink ad extension
Call extensions
Promotion extensions
Price extensions

Ways to optimize your ad extensions:

Think about what information would be most useful to potential customers. If you’re a local business, for example, then including your address and phone number may be more effective than including additional links to your website.
Keep it relevant. Only include ad extensions that are relevant to the product or service that you’re advertising. Including an extension for your business hours or ‘Book an Appointment’ are great examples of ideal ad extensions.
Keep it short and sweet. Don’t try to cram too much information into your ad extension.

3. Use Smart Bidding

What is smart bidding? Smart bidding is a feature in Google Ads that allows you to automatically set bids based on your goals. You can tell Google that you want to maximize clicks. Or that you want to get the most conversions at the lowest cost.

Why should you care about smart bidding? Because it can help you improve your click through rate (CTR), which is one of the key factors that determines your ad quality score. A higher quality score means your ads are more likely to be shown, and they’re also more likely to be shown at a lower cost per click.

There are a few different ways to use smart bidding to improve your CTR. One is to use keyword level bidding, which allows you to set separate bids for each keyword. This way, you can make sure that your most important keywords are getting the biggest bid.

If you’re looking for a way to improve your Google Ads CTR, smart bidding is a great option. By using smart bidding strategies, you can make sure that your ads are effective.

4. Test Your Ads

Like I said before–”test, test, test!” Advertisers on Google Ads are always looking for ways to improve their click-through rate (CTR). One way to do this is by testing different versions of your ad.

Ad testing, also known as A/B testing, is a process of comparing two ads to see which one performs better. To test your ads on Google Ads, create two identical campaigns, with only the ad copy differing between the two. Then, run each campaign for a week and compare the CTRs.

The campaign with the higher CTR is the winner! Ad testing is an essential tool for any advertiser looking to improve their Google Ads performance. By constantly testing and improving your ads, you can ensure that you are getting the most out of your advertising spend.

5. Create Captivating Ad Copy

If you want your Google Ads to perform well, you need to start with captivating ad copy. After all, no matter how well-targeted your ad campaign is, it won’t matter if your ad doesn’t capture attention and persuade users to click. So how do you write captivating ad copy that will improve your click-through rate (CTR)?

Here are some pointers:

Write a strong headline. Your headline should be attention-grabbing and relevant to the user’s search query.
Use engaging visuals. Ad images can also help to captivate users and encourage them to click on your ad.
Use persuasive language. Choose your words carefully to convince users that your product or service is the right solution for their needs.
Offer a compelling value proposition. Make sure that users know what they can expect by clicking on your ad, and make it clear why your offer is better than the competition.

By following these tips, you can create captivating ad copy that will improve your CTR and help you achieve success with your Google Ads campaigns.

6. Utilize Negative Keywords

If you’re running a Google Ads campaign, negative keywords are your best friend. Negative keywords help improve your click through rate (CTR). By ensuring that only individuals who are truly interested in what you’re selling see your ad.

For illustration, in a case where you offer men’s shoes, you’d need to include “women” as a negative keyword. This is so your ad doesn’t show up when someone searches for “women’s shoes.” Adding negative keywords to your campaign is tedious, but it’s well worth the effort in terms of improved CTRs. So, following time you’re setting up a modern Google Ads campaign, take the opportunity to add some negative keywords. Then watch your CTRs improve.

7. Split Test Your Ads

Split-testing your ads is a great way to improve your click-through rates (CTRs). By split-testing, you can compare two different versions of your ad to see which one performs better.

For example, you could split-test the headline of your ad, or the call to action. To split-test your ads, simply create two identical ad campaigns in Google Ads. And then change one element in one of the campaigns, leaving the other one as written and designed.

For example, in one campaign you use the headline, “50 percent off first purchase,” and in the other campaign you could use the headline “Get your first purchase half price.” Then, run both campaigns for a period of time and see which one gets more clicks.

8. Run a Dynamic Remarketing Campaign

Have you ever been scrolling through your Facebook, and see an ad for something you were looking at on Amazon? That’s remarketing, and it can be a powerful tool for driving clicks and sales. But what is remarketing, exactly? How can you create a remarketing campaign that will improve your click-through rates (CTRs) on Google Ads?

Remarketing is the method of targeting ads to people who have indicated an interest in your item or service. This can be done through a few devices. Cookies, which track people’s online activity is one way. Or through pixel tracking, which permits you to target individuals who go to your website.

There are two primary ways to set up a remarketing campaign: through Google Ads or through Facebook Ads. Google Ads offers a more traditional approach to remarketing. Allowing you to target people based on their previous interactions with your website. Facebook Ads give you the opportunity to create custom audiences. Which allows you to target people based on their interests and demographics.

If you’d like some help increase your click through rates, booking a call with Wizard of Ads™!