Any good marketer knows the value of striking imagery in advertisements; while tempting messages can lead a customer to click, it's the visual appeal of the ad that catches their eye in the first place. If you can capture their attention, they will read what you have to say – so how do you create something like that within PPC ads?
Google believe Favicons can be the answer – so let's take a look at what they're all about!
Google Experimenting With Favicons In PPC Ads.
Favicons (short for 'favourite icons') are small images that you may see as a shortcut icon, website icon, tab icon, URL icon or bookmark icon. Essentially, they communicate what the link may contain without the user first clicking (or even reading) it.
Google believe that by including them within PPC ads in their search results, they can give browsers a visual insight into what the link may offer – providing a boost to marketers who are looking to attract people to a certain service.
As an example, say that you run a food delivery service. With so many competitors out there, optimising your ads with a pizza favicon could put you ahead simply by the icon immediately communicating to the browser what your website is all about. It may not be immediately clear what your competitors offer – and even if it is, the striking image will catch people's eye. Speed is of the essence on the web – if you can connect with people as quickly as possible, you stand the best chance of getting noticed.
That's Google's thinking, anyway. In a tweet responding to a query about the appearance of Favicons for selected websites, Ginny Marvin (Google's ads product liaison) confirmed the experiment, saying it was part of 'a small ongoing test' for advertisers.
“This is part of a series of small experiments to help users more easily identify the brand or advertiser associated with the Search ads they may see for a given query" – @adsliaison
The Likelihood of Favicons Becoming Part of Search Marketing In The Future.
While it remains to be seen if Favicons will become part of PPC ads on a permanent basis, it's an important concept to think about when designing your own online ads. The key takeaway (no pun intended, for our pretend food delivery service!), is that sharp visuals will be a factor in all online content in years to come – it's just the form they'll take that is still the question.
As devices become faster, so does the expectations of users– they already value websites that are able to provide them with everything they need in less than a second, so it's conceivable that visuals will eventually take the mantel. In the meantime, it's important that marketers understand the value of sharp, short visuals – using the right text and keywords within their PPC ads to capture the attention of browsers. And this is where we can help.
Get In Touch With Us To Learn More About PPC.
If you're looking to improve the effectiveness of your online ads, why not get in touch with the experts here at PPC Junkies? Our online marketing experts have a long and varied experience in using Google AdWords to help to establish or improve the click-through and conversion rates for our clients.
As a Google-affiliated PPC agency, we are constantly improving our services; shaping them to meet the demands of the fast-changing internet world that we inhabit – as a result, the ads we create alongside our clients help them to continue to gain the results that they desire.
If you would like to learn more about how we are able to help your business with its PPC ads, or for any advice on online marketing in general, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us today. You can call us on 0118 380 0204 or you can send an e-mail enquiry to us at sales@ppcjunkies.co.uk