Using Symbols in Ad Copy can have Dramatic Effects on CTR

Posted: January 5, 2009

PPC Hero wrote a nice article on adding Copyright and Trademark symbols to ad copy.

Do you or one of your clients have a registered or trademarked company name? If so, try putting the trademarked or registered symbol in your PPC ads to help increase click-through rates.

The reasoning behind this strategy and how it may help increase your click-through rates is two-fold:

1. It will help your PPC ad stand apart from other competitor ads in the SERPs.

2. It will help ensure confidence in consumers that you are a professional business.

Honestly, I wish they hadn’t written the post. I tested out adding symbols with a company in 2002 and found that in highly competitive industries it can definitely help CTR. In highly researched industries (such as b2b), it can make a critical difference in your ad copy success.

I’ve been using this technique for 5 years, and this is the first time I’ve seen someone actually write about it. While some have used it before, no one’s actually said that much about it. Since the cat is out of the bag, here’s some info to go along with their post:

The easiest way to enter these symbols into your ad copy is to hold down the alt symbol, type the below number, and release the alt key:

Trademark symbol ™ – Alt + 0153
Copyright symbol © Alt + 0169
Registered trademark symbol ® Alt + 0174

It’s worth split testing using a symbol in your ad copy.

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Written by Brad Geddes aka eWhisper · Filed Under Blog, PPC Info

Comments

8 Responses to “Using Symbols in Ad Copy can have Dramatic Effects on CTR”

Jeremy Palmer on January 5th, 2009 1:35 pm

Great article as usual. You can also insert special characters using the Windows Character Map. Just go to Accessories > System Tools > Character Map. It’s worth noting that Google may not let you use certain symbols. For example, I tried to use a music symbol in one of my ads and it was declined. Yahoo is pretty flexible, but they’ve also declined a few ads.

Best,
Jeremy
Geno Prussakov on January 5th, 2009 1:48 pm

I’ve been using this technique (precisely for a B2B campaign) for about a year now, and have also registered a better CTR in ad copies with the “symbols”.
SearchCap: The Day In Search, January 5, 2009 on January 5th, 2009 4:52 pm

[...] Using Symbols in Ad Copy can have Dramatic Effects on CTR, Brad Geddes [...]
Internet Marketing Raleigh on January 6th, 2009 10:26 am

Yes, I have seen this improve CTR dramatically for my clients!
Amber on January 6th, 2009 1:02 pm

Hi Brad, thanks for the comments on the post. Sorry I let your secret out! : )
Jon Lee Clark on January 6th, 2009 4:40 pm

I have always thought about testing these symbols in ad copy but never took the time to actually do it! I’m implementing a few A/B tests tonight for sure! Thanks for the tips!
5 More Ways to Improve CTR on February 2nd, 2009 5:23 am

[...] I have been using this method myself for years, Brad and Amber make some great points on this very topic. Not only can special symbols be used to [...]
5 More Ways to Improve CTR | 7 Step 2 Cash on February 23rd, 2010 11:13 pm

[...] I have been using this method myself for years, Brad and Amber make some great points on this very topic. Not only can special symbols be used to [...]