You’ve got a lot of levers to pull in your paid search account that might improve performance.
But the absolute best optimization you can make is one you won’t find in the Google Ads interface.
The open secret of successful paid search managers is to start with a magnetic offer.
Magnetic offers attract your target market and repel everyone else, saving on ad spend and driving up conversion rates.
In this article, you’ll learn how to make your offer magnetic and 10x your conversions.
The number 1 offer problem
When I’m helping marketers struggling with conversion volume and rates, I’ll ask them what their offer is.
No matter the company’s size or industry, they all have almost the exact same problem with their offer:
- “We don’t have an offer.”
If you’re running campaigns that track conversions, you have an offer.
“Offer” doesn’t mean discount or promotional pricing. Instead, it refers to specific elements that help your audience decide whether to take action.
The ‘3 Ps’ of an offer
You may have heard of the “3 Ps” an offer is built on:
- Product: What it is that you’re selling or promoting.
- Price: How much it will cost them (in money, time, effort).
- Positioning: Why or so what? How desirable it is to own or use the service.
A high-value offer has a high perceived worth with a small perceived cost, while a low-value offer isn’t worth much in the mind of a buyer but is charging a lot for it.
The overlooked fourth ‘P’ of an offer
Notice that we’re using pretty subjective language here (“perception” of value, “in the mind” of our audience).
One person’s treasure is another person’s trash, so it’s important to understand the point of view of our prospective buyer. What do they need in order to buy?
In the illustration above, we have a great skin care product, at a great price, with great positioning.
But if we’re marketing to Doug, who hates skin care, we won’t get the sale.
When considering the three core “Ps” of an offer (again, that’s product, price and positioning), don’t forget about a fourth P – people.
Who you’re speaking to makes all the difference in how they’ll respond to your offer.
Now that you understand what goes into a great offer, here’s how to magnetize your offer and get more people to say “yes.”
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Increase your product’s perceived value
Increasing the perceived value of the product doesn’t mean changing the product itself (though it can include that). It means changing what your audience understands about your product.
Products aren’t limited to ecommerce
You don’t need a shopping cart to have a product. The “product” in your offer can essentially be any conversion action:
- Sale: A purchase (physical products, digital products, SaaS).
- Lead: Collected contact info (lead magnets / gated content, demo, consultation).
- Engagement: Tracked activity (interaction, link clicks, views, downloads).
Each conversion action has its own challenges when it comes to increasing the likelihood of conversion.
What it takes to get someone to use your online calculator is different than getting them to buy a high-ticket item, as is each one’s value to your business.
That said, any conversion action needs to be perceived as valuable for visitors to complete it.
A confused mind says ‘no’
If you’re not seeing the conversion rates you want, chances are your visitors aren’t seeing the information they need about your product or service on your landing page.
Up to 45% of U.S. adults will abandon their online purchase if they can’t find a quick answer to their question, according to Forrester.
What does your prospect need to know about your product or service that your landing page isn’t telling them?
Consider:
- Features, specifications, dimensions, quantities, appearance
- “Will this fit in the hallway?” / “How long is this video?”
- Process or support
- “What does it look like to work with you?” / “What if something goes wrong?”
- Shipping/delivery process, rates, speed
- “Will this arrive before our anniversary?”
- Locations, amenities, hours of operation
- “Is this on my way to work?”
- Options, customizations, alternatives
- “Does it work for left-handers?”
- Materials, ingredients, designations
- “Is it steel, vegan, Kosher, locally sourced?”
- Benefits and outcomes
- “What do I get for clicking the ‘next’ button?”
Marketers go astray here when they feature only flattering details about themselves that mean nothing to their audience.
This isn’t a magic trick – you can’t use misdirection to make a conversion appear.
Increase perceived value by meeting your visitors on their own terms, with as much clarity as possible.
Improve your offer’s positioning
You’ve probably had a marketer tell you, “people don’t buy mattresses, they buy a good night’s sleep.”
If you’ve ever sold mattresses, you know that people absolutely buy mattresses.
But how you frame what you’re selling can make a big difference in how well it sells.
Strengthen your value proposition
In the context of paid search, your value proposition is usually found in your landing page headline. It tells your audience the key desirable outcome of your offer they won’t get from your competitors.
In a case study, Widerfunnel achieved a 128% conversion rate increase for The Sims 3 by changing the value proposition in the headline.
- Control: Join the Fun!
- Winning variation: Register Your Game and Get a FREE New Town Now!
This is no lazy headline hack.
The promise of value in the second version (including additional bulleted benefits) is completely different – and something that speaks to the desires of their target market.
Use proven persuasion principles
Whether someone says “yes” to the invitation to convert depends not just on what is being offered but how it is offered.
Psychologist Dr. Robert Cialdini is well known for developing the seven principles of persuasion, which include:
- Reciprocity
- Scarcity
- Authority
- Consistency
- Liking
- Social Proof
- Unity
How can you use these principles to increase the likelihood that your visitor will say “yes” to your offer?
Let’s look at “social proof.” Testimonials are table stakes for most websites, but slapping an endorsement of “I love working with Jessica!” won’t do much to convert your audience.
Instead, showcase testimonials that describe what it’s like to work with you, why your customers or clients chose you, or how you solved their problems.
Use reviews strategically to make it safe for your prospects to believe your claims.
Add a call to value
When Copyhackers drove a 108% increase in revenue for SweatBlock, they dropped the standard call-to-action (CTA) button and replaced it with a “call to value.”
- Call to action: Order Now
- Call to value: Sweat Less. Live More.
With CTA buttons, we’re telling our visitors what action we want them to take.
By using a call-to-value button instead, we’re emphasizing the value of taking that action.
Poor-performing offers expect that people who clicked the ad are ready to convert.
Magnetic offers help visitors see how converting will benefit them.
Decrease the perceived cost of converting
Are you missing out on conversions because it costs too much to convert?
Cost doesn’t just mean price tags
We tend to associate “cost” with “money,” but that’s just one price we pay when we convert.
Have you ever passed on a free offer? Even at $0, sometimes the price of conversion is too high.
The cost of an offer could be:
- Effort or difficulty
- Time
- Risk, loss of privacy, obligation
- Compromise
- Financial
Reduce anxiety and friction
Jared Spool tells the story of driving $300 million in new revenue with a single change to a form.
The original form was pretty simple:
- Fields (2): Email and password
- Buttons (2): Log-in and register
What did they change to get such an amazing lift?
The team dropped the “register” button and replaced it with a “continue” button so visitors could complete their orders without creating an account.
They found that registration was a huge barrier for new customers.
Existing customers also hated it and often couldn’t remember which email they used for their accounts.
The “cost” of registration seemed low to the company (it was free!) but was too high for prospects who wanted to spend their money on the site.
Purchasing customers increased by 45% when the button was removed.
If you’re not seeing the conversion rates you want, find ways to make converting less painful for your audience.
Make your offer magnetic and 10x your paid search conversions
A strong magnetic offer is within reach for your business right now.
Improve the perceived worth of your product while decreasing the perceived cost, and watch your conversions multiply.
Watch: Drive 10x more conversions with magnetic paid search offers
Below is the complete video of my SMX Next presentation.
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.
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About The Author
Amy Hebdon is a Google Ads conversion expert and the founder and managing director of the Google Partner agency Paid Search Magic. Since 2004, she’s managed Google Ads for clients ranging from Fortune 10 to SMBs at agencies, in-house, and freelancing. Her articles have been published in Search Engine Journal, Unbounce, PPC Hero, Supermetrics, Copy Hackers and CXL. Together with her husband James, she also runs the Facebook group Google Ads for Savvy Digital Marketers.
