Have you ever wondered what makes people click on certain words in search ads? Is there a magical formula that makes one site shoot to the top of the search rankings while other languish several pages below?
Search engine Bing were curious too, so they decided to take a close look at word choices in financial services ads to see if there was a link between high traffic and certain words and phrases. Bing researchers looked at 55,000 search ads during January 2014 in the financial services vertical. The vertical was broken into five categories: Financial Institutions, Insurance, Loans and Lending, Credit Cards and Credit Reporting. Only queries that were used by at least ten different advertisers were included.
Two results stood out. Firstly, ads were more likely to be clicked on when words like “official” and “secure” were used in the ad title or description. This happened in all the categories apart from Credit Cards and Credit Reporting. It reflects that the general public are indeed cautious when searching for financial services and are keen to click on a site that seems trustworthy.
Secondly, the words getting the most clicks varied a great deal depending on which device the searcher was using. PC users were more likely to fill out forms, request forms and do other activities that take a certain amount of time, whereas mobile users were keener on a more immediate course of action. Tablet users seemed adaptable to both.
So it seems like it’s best to tailor your search campaigns by device, aim it to that particular user’s habits and use dependable, trustworthy words.
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