Your website is the go-to place that car buyers visit to learn more about your dealership. To drive qualified prospects to your website through paid search ads, you need to engage users with a strong call-to-action (CTA) that compels visitors to click and learn more. The key to an effective CTA strategy is getting the right message in front of the right person at the right time. Here are five tactics to consider when writing CTAs for your paid search ads.

1. Use a strong action verb to start your CTA

Be clear, concise, and get straight to the point. With limited ad space, you don’t have many words to get your message across. Let your audience know exactly what you want them to do by starting the CTA with a strong action verb. Use words like “buy” or “test drive.” Instead of writing, “the 2017 models are now here,” move users to action by saying “test drive our brand-new 2017 models.” Creating informative, yet direct CTAs will improve your click-through rate.

2. Give your audience a reason why they should act

How will your dealership offer value to potential buyers? Include language like “call today to schedule your free test drive!” or provide some sort of incentive to come into the dealership. You have stated the action you want the user to take, but you have also provided them with a valuable reason why they should take that action.

3. Create a sense of urgency

Fear of missing out is an extremely effective motivator. When there is a sense of urgency, people are quick to jump at the opportunity for fear that it might not come around again. Promote a sale that is running for a three-day weekend or announce that you have a limited inventory of a particular model. Provoking fear of missing out in your CTA is sure to drive traffic to your site; it’s tough to ignore a time-sensitive prompt.

4. Customize CTA for Mobile Ads

Consumers using mobile devices exhibit different behavior and search intent than desktop users. Users searching for something on their smartphones are often looking for a quick answer, so tailor your CTA to meet their need. Mobile searches are often spur of the moment and will also likely result in a phone call. For mobile CTAs, focus on generating more phone calls. You could try something like “call now to learn more” or add a call extension so they can easily click-to-call. Google allows you to set a mobile preference for your ads so you can designate certain ads to only appear for searches completed on mobile devices.

5. Think Outside the Box

Keep your CTAs fresh and don’t be afraid to experiment with some creative content. Use A/B testing to identify which CTAs bring you clicks and which ones don’t generate traffic. You never really know how certain messages will perform until you try them. Test and refine your CTAs to see what brings the most success.

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