7 Tricks: Improve Facebook Ads CTR, Get More Clicks

Improve CTR Facebook Ad Results – Target Narrowly

Wondering how to get more clicks on your Facebook ads? Do you want to improve CTR Facebook Ads results? Of course, you do, so keep reading.

Facebook is known for providing a set of targeting options that dwarf other advertising media. Since the platform itself focuses on people making personal connections with others, an ultra-targeted approach is more appropriate here than a wide-range perspective.

If you watched Mark Zuckerberg speak before the Senate, then you were assured of one thing no matter what your view on Facebook and privacy may well be. That is, Facebook is the most optimal data collector in human and technological history. Facebook ads, of course, leverage all of this data by making it available to ad buyers (somewhat).

But how much do you utilize the greatest siphon of personal data in history? If not much, you’re doing it wrong. As an advertiser, Facebook can serve as a goldmine when you utilize Facebook’s ad network targeting capabilities.

Let’s look at a few steps to follow.

Step #1 is to install the Facebook Pixel.

Right from the start, define your market as precisely as possible regarding age, location, interests, education, relationship status, and any other options the platform provides. Pay particular attention to the “interests” category. If you don’t make the right decisions here, your ambition to improve CTR Facebook Ads results will be squandered.

Continually refine and add to the list of targeted interests to keep up with new trends in your target market. This will ensure that your brand is front and center alongside the newest craze that your market is following and optimize your digital ad spending.

Use after-sale surveys and customer feedback to continually learn more about the people who clicked your ads and spent money on your website. Then, use that information to further refine your ad targeting on Facebook to capture more of the same market.

Targeting USA, Men, and Women 25-55, that like Moz, Semrush, or Spy Fu

Let’s pay particular attention to the three red arrows above. Yes, I love to use red arrows for effect.

If we look at the initial settings, we will notice an extremely general, or broad approach to our ad campaign. Remember, this was just for example’s sake, so I’m going to tell you some potential refinements to make this Facebook ads campaign a bit more targeted.

First, the location being set to “United States” is broad. If you are a news website or a website that sells generic products not related to a region, this could certainly serve as a focused target setting. But if you are a local restaurant, you’re way off course.

What you can do to vastly improve this ad campaign is to target to a city, then narrow the miles. See my example below.

Now, you can see that I can set the mileage radius parameters much tighter. This might serve to help eliminate folks who would be less likely to consider driving to my restaurant. In this way, I would potentially improve my CTR pretty quickly.

Now, the age and gender are both broad as well. One idea here would be to start the campaign broad and only use a small amount of funds. This way, you can collect data. When the campaign completes, look at your stats. You will be able to see which age groups and which genders performed best. You can then “duplicate” that same ad campaign, but adjust the age and gender to more tightly reflect who will click on your ads.

In this example, I’ve chosen “women,” and I’m tightening up the age parameters.

Now, the next significant step will be refining your demographic interest settings. In this case, you will put in a broad term that you feel reflects the interest of the Facebook users you intend to target. This is hugely important and probably the most complicated part of your ad campaign settings.

When you put in an interest, Facebook will kick back a series of suggested interest typically (but not always) related to your term. Be careful, don’t just blindly accept Facebook interest settings, many of them just won’t apply, and then your ad will display to people who likely won’t care for the offer.

The word “restaurant” is what I typed in, below that, Facebook Ads is making suggestions.

In this case, you simply choose what applies to your campaign. When you scroll over the term, Facebook Ads will show you the size of the term’s reach.

If this reach is too small, this could render your ad’s total potential reach to a number too small for Facebook Ads to accept. Facebook will combine the interest(s) you choose with the age, gender, and location demographics. If you get so niche that Facebook can’t provide ad reach for you, you will see that in the far right column.

Let’s have a more in-depth look at what I’m talking about.

In the below example, I’ve input Facebook Ads settings for “lamps” as an interest. But only those who are in the Dallas region, or within 25 miles, who are women between the ages of 18 and 65, can see the ad. Taken all that into account, plus what I’m willing to spend per day on the campaign, Facebook will generate “estimated daily results.”

Now, this example campaign is created to collect leads, such as emails or phone numbers. Facebook is telling me I have the potential to collect leads of between 21 and 110 per day. That number is broad because the headline, image, and copy of my ad may be great, or it may be terrible.

One pro-tip I’d like to point out. Facebook has the option of allowing their ad campaign algorithms to expand interest to increase leads and lower cost. This is Facebook Ads asking for your permission to allow them to go off your prechosen grid for the benefit of improving your ad campaign. This is always unchecked.

I usually allow Facebook to do this. You can see below I’ve checked the box.

Facebook Ads constantly evolves ad results on your behalf. Allowing them to fluidly insert new interests can help refine your audience and capture more leads or more clicks.

That said, anytime you run an ad campaign on Facebook, no different than Google, you need to allow for an adjustment period. I’ve often found that it can take a few days before Facebook Ads refines my audience to the point that I know my real stats and then, I can either duplicate that ad campaign and go big, or go back to the ad creation drawing board.

Use a Compelling Headline In Your Facebook Ads

Aside from images, the headline text of Facebook ads will be the first thing that a viewer notices. Thus, headlines can determine whether the viewer considers the remainder of an ad worth viewing, or whether he just returns to his Facebook feed. Remember the expected flow of viewers’ eyes and attention.

First comes the headline, followed by the copy or images, finally leading to the call to action. Without the effective launching point of a strategically crafted headline, that journey can end before it begins.

Craft your headline in a way that instills a desire to learn more. Provide just enough information to make the viewer need to continue exploring the ad to satiate her curiosity and understand what you’re offering.

Avoid using your brand name as a headline, unless you are targeting people who are already familiar and comfortable with your brand. Avoid naming your products in the headline, as well. In some cases, it may be effective to name your product category. For example, you wouldn’t want to use “XYZ Clothing Brand” or “XYZ Tees” in your headline, but something like “We’ve got the hottest new tees,” can lead to the inevitable question in viewers’ minds: “what are the hottest new tees? What do they look like?”

At the end of the day, these questions are more important to a potential customer than “who is selling them?” or “what are the product names?” These kinds of headlines can present an opportunity for you to communicate the way that your products fulfill the need that your headline exposed.

This can naturally lead to a desire to learn more and get more clicks on your Facebook ads.

Use Images Strategically

Compelling high CTR images are a key to gaining viewers’ attention long enough to draw them into your copy and increase the number of clicks per impression. Images can be more efficient at capturing web viewers’ limited attention spans than anything else. A strategic use of color can draw the eye and entice the mind to dwell on the advertisement for long enough for viewers’ to absorb your messaging, as well.

Avoid boring imagery. Go with the best free stock image sites you can find.

Instead, favor strategically designed images that uniquely convey your brand identity. Showcase high-quality product images where appropriate, and include several products with unique distinctions, if possible. Utilize color contrast to make the primary focus of your images stand out from their backgrounds.

Include images of people showing positive emotion, such as smiling or laughing, while holding or using your products. Understand the way that your images draw viewers’ eyes through a logical progression. Begin with something that compels them to view further, and end with your call to action. This is a key Facebook advertising strategy.

Use the Right Call-to-Action Button

Create a Facebook ad built around a call to action has been proven to improve conversions. Using a call to action button has been shown to improve CTR on Facebook ads by over 80%. Select the call-to-action button that most closely corresponds to what you want your viewers to do.

Facebook currently offers six options for button text, ranging from “Shop Now” to “Download.” As much as possible, take this opportunity to make the CTA button an integrated part of the advertising message itself. Choose button text that flows naturally from the text and images the viewers have just digested.

Using the wrong CTA button text can dissociate the viewers from your messaging, as their subconscious wrestles with the discrepancy that their conscious mind may not notice.

It can also be helpful to include a first call to action in your ad itself. For example, if you use the “Learn More” CTA button, consider adding the same text inside your ad image. Do it in a way that is more attention-grabbing than the button itself. This provides two options to get clicks on your Facebook ads.

Users can either click the wording within the ad or the actual CTA button provided at the bottom of the ad. This also provides two opportunities to make the all-important suggestion that leads to a higher click rate.

Once I click the Call-to-action option, I will get a full dropdown of what’s available. This includes no call-to-action at all.

How to increase click-through rate? Instill a Sense of Urgency!

There are many ways to make viewers feel a sense of urgency that focuses them on your ad and almost forces them to make a decision. Time-limited offers and phrases such as “act now” or “while supplies last” are helpful. These can all give viewers the sense that they’ve stumbled across an opportunity that might not be there tomorrow.

A sense of urgency can overcome the temptation to act on a message later. This can avoid viewers forgetting that they meant to check out your brand or products when “later” finally comes. The key here is to make clicking on your ad more important than continuing to scroll through their feed right now.

Make them feel that it’s better to view your ad now and come back to their feed later, rather than the other way around. Remember that you only have a few seconds to move viewers to action. The action of clicking is more important to you than the act of informing.

You’ll have plenty of time to tell potential customers about your products after they’ve clicked the advertisement.

Appeal to Emotion When Advertising Through Social Media

Understand how your messaging makes people feel, and try to evoke compelling emotions that drive viewers to want to know more.

Creating an intellectual appeal such as “Product X can help you communicate better with family” can be less effective to get more clicks. An emotional appeal such as “Do you want to make deeper connections with loved ones? We can help!” can be more effective.

People develop relationships with their favorite brands based on how those brands make them feel. Deep at heart, all customers are looking for products that solve some an emotional need for security, safety, connectedness, or happiness. Craft your headlines and copy based on how it will make viewers feel. This will harness an instinctual drive to obtain what you have to offer, thus increasing the number of clicks your messaging generates.

Optimize Based on Analytics

Utilize advertising analytics within the Facebook ads manager to change your ad placement strategy over time. For example, after running your ad at different times for a few weeks, analyze the times of day that people view your ad the most. Then, target the placement for those specific times.

Examine changes in the click-through rate after every small move you make. This way, you can pinpoint and remember the changes that resulted in the most significant increases and make further changes in that same direction. This is yet another way to optimize your digital ad spending on Facebook.

Success in a Facebook advertising campaign is all about strategy and optimization. The goal is to not only reach your audience but drive clicks to your website that result in purchases and new customer relationships.

Facebook advertising cost per click is a key indicator of how your ad is performing