How To Increase Click Through Rates In 7 Easy Steps

Are you planning to launch an online ad campaign? Or maybe you’ve already launched one and are wondering how to increase click through rates?

Advice for improving the click through rate of an online ad typically includes these points:

• Create killer headlines
• Include a prominent call-to-action
• Create a sense of urgency

Don’t get me wrong, those are useful tips. But to increase click through rates your ads need to get beyond basics to stand out from the crowd.

Here are seven powerful tips which show you how to increase click through rates for your online ad campaigns. Expert online marketers use them to generate an avalanche of traffic to their offers. They work for email campaigns, social media marketing, and also for your blog posts and landing page offers.

How To Increase Click Through Rates For Your Online Ad Campaigns

1. Free Can Be A Deal Breaker

Every experienced marketer knows the power of offering a freebie. Yet, only smart marketers understand how to apply the concept successfully.

Simply offering a free item isn’t going to increase your clickthrough rate. Why not? Because everyone else is offering similar or even better freebies!

To stand out, make your free offer relevant to resolving a specific problem. There is nothing more powerful than offering a free but valid solution to a real consumer problem.

Which brings us to the second tip…

2. Highlight Problem Solving Potential

Here’s one thing you should know about marketing, whether online or offline. Marketing is all about offering products and services that solve consumers’ problems. Of course, for this to make business sense, it must be done at a profit.

To attract more clicks to your advertisements, show that your offer will solve a specific problem. This technique has been used widely by Pay Per Click advertisers who target ‘problem’ keywords. It can – and should – also be used in email campaigns, social media marketing and business blog posts.

For example, the blog post you are reading right now focuses on the keyword phrase, “how to increase click through rates.” That is the keyword phrase I will include in my social media and email marketing campaigns to promote this blog post. Perhaps that is what attracted you to this article. 😉

So, make sure your ads quickly and clearly show how you help your target market solve a specific problem.

3. Invoke The Power Of Testimonials

One thing that reduces an online ad’s click through rate is sheer lack of credibility. Too many online offers are presented in ways which make them seem too good to be true.

Genuine testimonials from real users will improve the credibility of your ad. Video testimonials will take the credibility bar to a whole new level.

I sell a range of business products on Tripleclicks.com and I use the testimonials in my ad copy to boost my click through rate. Here’s a simple graphic made from a screenshot of some Tripleclicks customer testimonials together with the product image:

4. Leverage Celebrity Association

Love them or hate them, celebrities have a huge influence on people. As far as marketing is concerned, celebrities’ influence can be used to steer consumers’ buying decisions. When a celebrity speak positively about a product or is simply associated with it, it does wonders for an ad.

The “celebrity” doesn’t need to be a world-famous superstar either. It could be someone who is well known and respected as a leader or expert in the niche you are marketing to.

5. Leverage Past Media Coverage

You’ve seen ads highlighting the text “As seen on TV” or something similar. Those ads can attract increased click through rates because they come across as highly credible. If you can associate your ad with recent media coverage you make consumers pause and take a closer look. For best results, be as specific as possible. Name the media channel the product or service was featured or recommended on. Give the release date, say who was reviewing or praising the product and so on.

Whether or not the reader saw the recent media story is irrelevant. Highlighting the existence of such media coverage does two important things:

1. It tells the reader that your offer is of such high quality that it has received recognition on TV, in the national press, or a top news blog (such as Huffington Post).
2. It creates an element of scarcity. If this offer has been on TV, I’d better grab it before they run out.

6. Show Before and After Proof

A picture is worth a thousand words. If you know someone who’s been on a mission to lose weight, you’ll understand the power of before-and-after pictures.

There are many ways of using these kind of comparative images. So get creative and apply this trick. Before and after images make an ad more believable by proving that the product or service can indeed solve a problem.

7. Show Social Responsibility

Generally, people want to support businesses that stand for worthy causes. Have you ever chosen one item over a similar one because the company is donating a percentage to charity? If so, you’ll get the power of showing social responsibility.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be a donation to charity. It can be anything from pledging solidarity with a distressed community, a dedication to a recently deceased social icon, etc. What is important is to associate your business to what’s happening in the real world.

As an example of this, Top5Programs.com works with Kiva.org to help fund micro-loans for Internet business entrepreneurs around the world. Check out my Kiva page and get involved!

Put Your Best Foot Forward

Those are just a few ideas around how to increase your click through rate. Like everything else in online marketing, you will need to pick and choose what’s relevant for your ad campaign. When you do, put it to maximum use, and be sure to target your ads to make your offer more attractive and effective.

David Hurley

Top5Programs.com

#InspiredFocus