1. Use keywords in your headline. Google puts them in boldface and that helps your ad grab the readers attention. Egotists and Narcissists please note: The name of any business makes a lousy headline. Your click-thru rate will be low, and bid prices will be high. That's because your ad is about your company, not about what your customer wants. Your ad needs to be about your customer, not you.

2. Use keywords also in lines 2 and 3 wherever possible.

3. Speaking of lines 2 and 3, it's O.K. to run lines 2 and 3 together intoone sentence, or all 3 lines for that matter.

4. In your headline, capitalize the first letter of every word, but avoid all capitals.

5. A single word change in your headline can make the click-thru rate go from .07% to 5%!

6. Use the following formulas to create great headlines:

For example:

-How to _________ and ___________

-What _______doesn't want you to know

-Get more _______ for less ________

Some real life examples:

-How to smoke and not suffer the consequences

-What the IRS doesn't want you to know

-Get more fun for fewer dollars

Look for other successful ads, find the formula in them, then apply them to your product or service.

7. Use numbers whenever possible.

-Wrong: Make lots of money.

-Right: Make $847/week

8. Note the difference between features and benefits. Features describe, benefits answer the question: What's in it for me.

For example, with your widget: Features include yellow, strong, etc. Corresponding benefits include easy to find when you need it, will last long

List all the features, then list all the corresponding benefits. In your ad copy, focus on the benefits.

9. To begin writing, put the major benefit into a short sentence, then hone it down, deleting excess words. E.g. Will last a long time vs longlasting

10. Be specific so you don't get random clicks.

-Wrong: Tennis

-Right: Antique tennis racquets

11. Delete unnecessary words like a, an, On, the, etc.

12. Use attention grabbing words like free, new, etc.

13. When you do use the word "free", do not capitalize all the letters, and don't use an exclamation point after the word.

14. Use action verbs (discover, retire, boost, increase, avoid, uncover, eliminate, prevent, etc.

15. Use active (vs passive) voice.

-Wrong: Discount shoes to be discovered

-Right: Discover discount shoes

16. Use emotional words (cheap, sale, limited time, don't lose out, easy, quick powerful, etc.)

17. Use motivational words. "now is your chance" "weight loss secrets you should know" "discover your potential" "tips you can use to make money now"

18. Avoid crazy punctuation and wild claims.

19. Use 3d-party endorsements "blows away Toyota Camry" says Autoworld"

20. Show how your product/service is unique (faster, wider variety, discount, most comprehensive, lowest price, etc)

21. Use call-to-action phrases (buy today, save 50%, download free trial now, sale ends tomorrow, buy today save 70% offer ends soon, hurry before they're gone)

22. Learn to steal. Yes, you read that right. All the top copywriters do it. That is, study good examples from other advertisers and substitute your own wording. Better yet, keep a collection of strong words and phrases.

23. Discourage freebie hunters by including a price. Including the price actually increases clicks.

24. By the way, the word "free" increases clicks. This refers to a free sample, which leads reader eventually to a sale.

25. Very important: Try nOT to be #1 on the first page. #2-8, yes. Why? Lots of tire kickers click on the #1 ad, fewer do on 2-8, but always shoot for the first page or you are wasting your advertising dollars.

26. Do not indicate that you are an affiliate. Google doesn't require that anymore. You'll increase sales without the affiliate indication.

27. Extremely Important: Always test 2 ads simultaneously. When you have a hit, try to beat it with another version (called "beat the control" in advertising lingo). Google will automatically rotate your 2 versions. Keep the better performing one, then try to defeat it with an even more profitable ad.