Since ChatGPT came on the scene in late 2022, PPC marketers have a new way of using artificial intelligence.
We use AI-powered platforms like ad engines, third-party management tools and copywriting software daily. With generative AI tools like ChatGPT, you can use artificial intelligence without trading control for automation.
Read on to learn how ChatGPT can help you improve your marketing without sacrificing strategy, authenticity and creativity.
ChatGPT: Basic vs. Plus
If you still haven’t logged into ChatGPT yet, no worries!
To get started, go to chatgpt.com and create your account. The basic version is free, so you can experiment without worrying about trial periods or token limits.
The paid version, ChatGPT Plus, offers benefits like faster response times and access to the latest models, but the free version is more than enough to get started and see what the tool can do.
Once logged in, you’ll see a search-style box where you can enter text. Go ahead and try it out!
How ChatGPT prompts work
ChatGPT can generate full movie scripts, thousands of headlines or a year’s worth of social media posts.
You also know that AI tends to produce some pretty dumb results.
However, you can control the quality of your responses (outputs) just by changing the quality of your prompts (inputs).
Poor prompt: “Write a headline for my landing page.”
Better prompt: “Write a headline for my landing page that sells organic skincare products to women looking for natural alternatives.”
Great prompt: “Write a headline for my landing page that sells organic skincare products to women looking for natural alternatives, emphasizing the benefits of our all-natural ingredients and the satisfaction guarantee for first-time customers.”
The first prompt is generic and lacks any substance for ChatGPT to use. It is the embodiment of “Garbage In, Garbage Out.”
The last example provides information like:
Product details.
Value proposition and key benefits.
Risk-reversal element.
Target market.
The prompt is clear, explicit and specific and will create a far better headline. We’ll dig deeper into even more powerful prompts for headlines, but you get the idea.
Dig deeper: 7 ways to use generative AI in PPC
Here are 17 strategic prompts to inspire you, lighten your workload and improve your results.
Create strategic ads and assets with ChatGPT
ChatGPT is great for outputs at scale, but doesn’t always give the most strategic responses. Let’s ask ChatGPT to apply the same type of strategic thinking to your ads that you would use on your own.
Produce a viable A/B test for responsive search ads
What happens when we don’t just request ad variants but also ask for the underlying methodology?
Prompt 1
“Create two Google Ads in an RSA format (using multiple headlines and descriptions) for an A/B test for “Ms. Hvac’s HVACs.” Explain why the ads would make a good test.”
Here, ChatGPT did a great job explaining the merits of the test: Ad 1 is focused on providing reliable and efficient services, while Ad 2 is focused on cost savings and energy efficiency.
Now, it didn’t hit the target with character count (it often doesn’t) or number of description lines, but those are easy edits now that the bulk of the work has been done for you.
Let’s look at another example.
Get creative concepts for responsive display ads
In this prompt, I’m asking for a lot of creative consideration for some image-heavy ads.
Prompt 2
“I need to create some responsive display ads for a Google Ads campaign. Please suggest images, headlines and descriptions for a meatless shepherd’s pie with spokesperson Paul McCartney. Lyric puns are acceptable.”
Not only did ChatGPT recommend compelling ideas for product shots and ad copy, it came up with this line: “The Vegetarian Way to Live and Let Pie.”
Bravo, ChatGPT. Bravo.
Optimize your landing pages
Are you a paid search marketer who doesn’t build landing pages? If so, you probably feel out of your depth giving feedback on them – even if the pages are hurting your ad performance.
Use these prompts to identify smart LP recommendations and share them with confidence.
Prompt 3
“What can a person do from this page and why would they want to do it? [LP URL]”
This is a quick-and-dirty way to evaluate whether the page content and call to action are appropriate for your prospects.
Prompt 4
“Rewrite a headline for [LP URL] that explains [unique value proposition] and includes the phrase [keyword phrase].”
Many landing page headlines are still catchy instead of clear. Use this prompt to create a better message-match sequence and stronger above-the-fold content.
Andrew Yedlin, Founder at Tested: Landing Page Optimization, recommends this next prompt to use ChatGPT to create natural-sounding ideas for headlines and crossheads:
Prompt 5
“You are a [description of your ideal customer]. Give me 10 statements that describe what you want from a [product category]. Use normal, everyday language. Your output should start with the words “I want”, then give me a bullet list of the 10 statements.”
Yedlin shares an example input:
“You are a Sales director at a company with 50 salespeople. Give me 10 statements that describe what you want from a CRM. Use normal, everyday language. Your output should start with the words “I want”, then give me a bullet list of the 10 statements.”
With this prompt, you’ll get specific prospect desires like “I want to be able to see all our sales activities in one place, so nothing slips through the cracks,” which you can easily rewrite as a natural sounding headline.
We’ve looked at prompts for RSAs, RDAs and landing pages. You can expand your ChatGPT skills further by enlisting its help for ad extensions, YouTube ad scripts and hooks, product feeds and other assets.
Use ChatGPT for AI-assisted research and planning
Do you ever ask a client for their key benefits and they come back with “we’ve been around for 30 years” and “our products are high quality?” No? Just me?
Either way, it just got much faster to get intel on your clients – and their competitors.
Create a SWOT analysis for your company
Get an objective overview of your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats with this simple prompt.
Prompt 6
“Please write a SWOT analysis for EGO power products.”
ChatGPT responded with a correctly formatted SWOT analysis. I took the list and pasted it into a template I found on Canva, and in less than five minutes, I had this polished deliverable:
Build a display media plan
Prompt 7
“If I were going to run ads for Impossible Foods on the Google Display Network, what types of sites and channels should I target?”
Some of the ideas it provided are decent. Some would get you in hot water if you included them in your media plan (good luck trying to target Facebook profiles on the Google Display Network).
But reducing a list of ten down to a few solid ideas is much faster than starting completely from scratch.
Conduct competitor research
Prompt 8