Listen Up, Social Proof Matters
My husband snores. I mean, like really loud. Occasionally, his snoring interferes with simple late night tasks like reading. Therefore, I was in the market for a killer set of headphones. Not only did I need headphones to block the sound of his symphonic cacophony of nightly noises, but also I needed to be able to listen to some soft instrumental folk music in the process. So, I googled “best headphones.” The first link that pops up is an adword link. Once I click on that link, I am presented with the 10 best headphones. Next, I see that each pair of headphones has a series of reviews. So how do I decide which headphones are for me? I’ll give you a hint. Social proof put my new snoring buffer on my radar.
You can increase your clickthrough rate with adwords by having solid social proof. What does that mean exactly? First, lets address your clickthrough rate. Essentially, clickthrough rates are a way of gauging just how successful your advertising is by tracking how many people click on an advertising link to get to your website. Secondly, adwords are ads that are posted on Google. It gets people to notice your business. Adwords are paid for by the click. So, the more people that click on the adwords, the more people that visit your website. When someone visits your website they do either one of two things. They immediately leave or they stick around and peruse your website. So how do you get them to stick around? This brings us to the third point, solid social proof. When your customers post reviews it helps other customers find the product that is best for them.
Google recommends some simple tips to improve your adword performance. First, you’ll want to make sure you enable ad sitelinks. By providing the additional links beneath the main link, you give your customers more information to find what they need. “On average, advertisers see a 30% increase in clickthrough rate (CTR) for the same ads with Ad Sitelinks.” Second, if you optimize your ad to accommodate longer headlines you will have increased success. “Ads with longer headlines receive a 6% average increase in CTR compared to the same ads with a standard headline and description.” Third, showing seller ratings make it simple for customers to identify the highest rated products. “On average, ads with Seller Ratings get a 17% higher CTR than the same ads without ratings.” A review offers a stamp of approval. It makes your customer feel comfortable with their purchases. Social proof builds trust.
Personally, I am so appreciative that social proof has become a standard in online shopping. Otherwise, I would have never found those perfect headphones that completely block my husband’s snoring! I even found a review where a man had a similar complaint about his wife. And, here I thought women didn’t snore.
Photo: retailtouchpoints.tumblr.com
