We’ve been having a lot of “good natured” discussion around the office regarding our Pay-Per-Click program, in particularly the PPC ad writing process. Some people think PPC ads should be written by writers; others argue PPC people. Me, I’m on the fence. I can see both sides, but having had one particularly horrid experience writing PPC ads, I’m hesitant to throw my vote to the writers’ side. But, I realize that there is a personal reason behind my resistance to writing PPC ads, and the logical part of my brain can make the argument that ad writing, of any kind, should be done by a writer.

However, logic has never been my strong suit, so this underused part of my brain needs some help. I’ve outlined the situation as I see it, but what I really want is some outside-of-AMP opinions. Tell me I’m wrong, an idiot, a genius, whatever. If you have any idea what I’m talking about, please help. Thanks!

The ads

If you’re familiar with PPC ads, I apologize, and feel free to skip ahead to the good part, past my way simplified definition of paid search advertising. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m not sure why you’re reading this, but please continue.

Pay-Per-Click ads are pretty much what they sound like: paid advertising. They are the little ads that appear on the right hand side of a search results page (SERP) under the heading of “Sponsored Links,” “Sponsored Sites” or “Sponsor Results,” depending on what browser you’re using. Bottom line, they all use the word “sponsored” because the site paid to have them placed there, unlike the results to the left. But that’s a discussion for a different day.

These ads have a very specific format and strict character limits. Last time I checked, headlines clocked in at about 25 characters and ad copy was 2 lines with a limit of 35 characters each. So you’re looking at a full ad in under 100 characters, including headline.

The problem

What makes PPC ad writing sound so easy is exactly what makes it so hard. The formatting and space limitations are such that anyone can do them, but far fewer can do them well. Any ad can be written to fit in that space, but to effectively get a message across and convince someone to click through in 70 characters? Far more difficult. That’s half a Tweet!

The writer argument

The argument for having writers write ads is fairly straightforward: writers write. Therefore, anything that entails writing should be handled by them. A copywriter has studied the English language and/or been trained in writing in at least some capacity. Many copywriters, this one included, studied traditional print advertising, and writing PPC ads is far closer to their traditional training than writing content for SEO.

A writer working on a site is also much more in tune with the product or service that the ads are for, the target audience they are aimed at and the page the ads are directing them too. The ads will be better written, more relevant to the user and more in line with the overall marketing and messaging of the site.

The PPC argument

I’m sure there is a more technical term for these guys and gals, as well as individual job titles, but I’m lumping you together for the purposes of this post. PPC peeps work much more closely with PPC ad programs and have spent a lot of time becoming familiar with the ins and outs of paid search advertising. They are comfortable with the PPC ad formula and can work more quickly than a copywriter can, at least at first. Since this is most, if not all, they do, it is easier for them and they can produce more ads in less time.

Writers may be trained to write, but it is often a print and traditional media-centric training that does not translate as well to the web. A PPC ad writer is more adept with the short copy web format.

In writing this post, I’ve almost figured out where I come down on all this, but I’d really like to know what other people think.

Who should be writing PPC ads, a copywriter or a PPC person?

I’m nursing a severe case of writer’s block, so this post is going to be short and simple. In fact, I’m skipping the long-winded introduction and cutting right to it: I’m a biatch with a red pen and a super-harsh critic, especially on myself. I hate to proofread, but when I do, look out; grammar will be corrected, and viciously!

But, I also like to express myself, so I’m starting my own grammar rules, writing etiquette, copy commandments…whatever you want to call them. They’re kind of my rules to live by.

You can totally start a sentence with and. It adds dramatic effect. And makes you look like a badass who laughs in the face of “traditional” grammar rules. Except most badasses don’t care so much about grammar anyway, so you’re kind of a dorky badass. Whatever.



The Harvard comma is optional; this is so that readers can discern if something was written by a pompous suck-up, a third grader or a writer with at least some level of talent. Use at your discretion.


If you say “alot” when you mean “a great number of,” please don’t ever try to date me.
Ditto if you put punctuation outside of quotation marks. These things make my eyes hurt and do not bode well for our future.

The usual their/there/they’re and related conundrums also annoy me, but everyone’s heard of those so I’ll spare you from more ranting. And if you happen to know of any sites with grammar personality quizzes that could explain my love of semi-colons, I’d love to know.

Facebook has been around for awhile, first as a private, semi-exclusive site, then a more public college meet-and-greet spot and finally the global social network it is today. Quickly adopted by procrastination-prone college students, then privacy-phobic pre-teens, Facebook has now become both verb and noun and is used by all kinds of businesses and brands who share one common goal—reaching people in a way they will listen.

At first, being on Facebook was enough in itself for a brand to get attention and make people think they were “hip” and “in the know.” Then Facebook really took off and people like my mom joined. Now, you’ve got to use it effectively.

I’m not saying Facebook is the be-all, end-all of the internet, or online business, or even social media. But it is a very well known part of all three, so if you’re going to join, make sure you know what you’re getting into. There are enough Facebook groupies that while a boring, bland or badly thought out profile won’t ruin you, it will incur at least internal criticism from hardcore Facebook users. Who, if you didn’t know, are more important to make like you than the one who know less than you do anyway.

So, you’ve signed up. Now what? As a business, you have two choices of Facebook formats, a profile and a page. Businesses are encouraged to go the safe, standard route and create a page, because pages were designed for groups, brands, corporations, etc. In a word (or four), not a single entity. But I’m a rebel, and I say do both. And if you can only do one, I’d pick profile.

The great and powerful Facebook came up with pages later, after the site took off, as a “solution” to businesses who wanted to jump on the bandwagon. And it shows. They’re harder to find, less fun to look at, more difficult to play with and "pimp out." In a word (just one this time), boring.

Profiles allow a lot more interaction with your customers, current and potential. This is best summed up by the fact that a user can friend their favorite brand through a profile as opposed to merely supporting it on a page. A profile carries more weight than a page, and every friend request serves as an endorsement of your product, service or store.

One caveat: since Facebook technically says that businesses belong on pages, you may need to get creative to come up with a profile that adheres to the TOS. Think spokesperson or corporate Facebook "face." And make it fun!