Every affiliate in a highly profitable niche has to go up against fierce competition. So the question is, how can you make your PPC ad copy stand out from the rest?

There is a mega-ton of advice on the Web and in various search marketing books on how to write outstanding copy for Adwords text ads.  In spite of all the literature available on the subject though, it’s still far from being an exact science.

Most experts in the field agree you should use compelling and creative “buy language” combined with tricks for dynamic keyword insertion. One might argue, however, that the magic bullet affiliates can use when writing high-CTR (click through rate) ad copy is a lot more basic than that. So what’s it all about? CREATIVITY IN CONTEXT.

Being creative in context is about first knowing your competitor’s ads and then creating ones that are unique and which speak directly to your prospect in a style uniquely your own. Creativity in context means that you never write your ads in a vacuum, because you understand that those ads are always viewed by the user in relation to other SERPs. Creativity in context means that compelling ad copy originates from a strong understanding of your product or service’s competitive landscape. It means knowing that even though you might have the most original copy in the world, if it isn’t in the proper context, your ads will probably crash and burn.

Getting context right requires that you do some market research first.  Let’s start with paid search. Before writing new ads, you should take your top three converting keywords in the ad group you’re writing new ad text for, and Google them. Can you find common threads in the top competitive ads that might provide an opportunity for you to capitalize? For instance, if every ad has some variation of “fix error x”, your ad will stand out better if you write something along the lines of: “Don’t fix error x until you read this advice.” Trying twists like this can significantly improve your CTR.

What about content network ads? Some top affiliates assert that very few keywords or ad groups allow advertisers the flexibility to have the absolute 100% best possible ad text on both search AND content.  Again, originality and context are the keys to success here. If you’re writing search ad text to pop out on the SERPs, it stands to reason that you’ll also want to stand out on the content network.

The main challenge with the content network is that users see your ads in a different order and placement than on the search pages. If you use a content network conversion tracking solution (even the one in Google Analytics will do), take the time to scan the content network sites that send you the best traffic and get an idea of where your ads are placed on their site.

What do the other ads you see look like? What AdSense layout option are they using? Try to find common threads in all the other ads and then be creative and go a different route with your copy so that it’s still in context, but stands out from the crowd.

Note: It may also be worth your while to experiment with search-only or content-only adgroups to measure the success of writing copy for the individual delivery channels (i.e., search vs. content).