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Your ads should highlight the strengths of your products, services and offers, and take users to a page that is specific and relevant to their search query. Ads are created on the Create Your Ad page accessed from the Ads tab on the Ad Group Details page. Learn more about creating your ad.

The Ad Generator is another method for creating ads that may save you time by helping you to assemble a set of possible ads for ad testing and optimization. To use the Ad Generator, you first enter several different titles and short sentences. The Ad Generator then automatically combines various permutations of short sentences and titles to form a set of candidate ads.

The Ad Generator saves the candidate ads in a holding area that is outside of the ad group, so you can view and remove candidates that you don't want to use. This holding area is sometimes referred to as "ads on deck".

Over the next few days or weeks, ad optimization continually tests your candidate ads and keeps the best performing ads for your ad group. After the process is complete, your ad group will automatically include the highest performing ad.

Learn more about the Ad Generator.

Considerations When Creating Your Ad

• Include the keyword in the title and description. If possible, start the title with the keyword. In search results on Yahoo! and other sites, your keyword will be bolded when it appears in your title and description. Our research indicates that customers are 50% more likely to click on ads that include the keyword. You can do this easily by using our insert keyword feature, which enables you to insert a code into your titles that will automatically be replaced by the keyword.

Instead of  “Click here for more information," load your title and descriptions with appropriate keywords that tell readers what they can expect from your site, such as:

• “Compare laser printer prices, features and print speeds”
• “0% APR for the first six months”
• “Free Shipping with a purchase of $40 or more”

• Describe the product or service precisely. Ads written more concisely give users a better experience and generally get better results. Product descriptions should create a tangible image in your customer's mind and briefly explain the virtues and benefits of your product or service. Your ads may attract more interested prospective customers.

• Test your ads. Use ad testing to rotate multiple ads and determine which message works best for your business.

• Update your ads regularly. Consider how often you want to update your listing’s copy and who will be responsible for doing so.

• Highlight your unique selling proposition. Include anything you offer that might give your ad an edge – mentioning your time in business, free shipping or low-price guarantee – can improve an ad’s performance.

• Write a strong, clear ad. Ads with strong, clear and concise titles and descriptions perform better than ads that are poorly written or not targeted - especially when the keyword is vague. Also, double check your ad for spelling and grammar mistakes which can hurt your ad’s performance.

• Use Keyword Insertion to help show that your ad matches the searcher’s query.

• Use the Custom URLs feature to direct searchers to a specific landing page related to your keyword. Learn more about Custom URLs

• Avoid abbreviations and clutter that may tend to confuse searchers.

• View competitor ads. As you create ads on the Create Your Ad page, you also have the ability to view competitor ads by clicking on the any of the keyword links in the Keywords section. A popup window will display allowing you to view ads that currently appear in response to a search on your selected keywords.

• Use ad testing. Ad Testing (or A/B testing) allows you to test multiple ads (title, description and/or display URL) to determine which message works best with your customers. Ad testing provides the ability to test multiple versions of an ad for all the keywords in an ad group. Ad testing happens automatically when you create more than one ad.

Next: Writing Ads - Ad Quality and Quality Index