January 28, 2021 Joshua Ruskin

The Ultimate Google Search Ad Writing Tips


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With only a limited number of characters to write a Google Search ad, you should be able to craft the best ad possible to convince users why they should choose you over the other businesses in the search engine results page (SERPs).  With Google’s $37.1 billion revenue from advertising in 2020, there should be at least a dozen competitors if not hundreds that compete with you for a spot on the SERPs.

So how do you do it?

Let’s start by learning the technical specifications of a text ad.  It has:

  • 3 headlines with 30 characters each
  • 2 descriptions with 90 characters each.
  • 2 URL paths with 15 characters each

That’s a total of 300 characters to showcase your business.

Now let’s see what makes up the search results page.

  • 4 Google Search Ads on top and 3 at the bottom
  • Google Maps
  • The “People also asked” box
  • 10 organic results
  • Google Guaranteed results (if you’re searching for services under the Google Guaranteed program)
  • Google Shopping Ads (if you’re searching for a product)

That’s a lot of things so your ad needs to stand out right away.  Here are proven tips on how to write ads that bring you higher click-through rates, higher Quality Scores, and higher conversion rates.

  1. Immediately Match the Search Term

Do you have what I am looking for?

Based on a study by Microsoft, the average attention span of a person is 8 seconds.  When a user is searching for something, you have to immediately let him know that you have what he is looking for otherwise your ad will easily be missed.

Also, by matching the search term, you are making Google happy because your ad is highly relevant to the user’s search.  Ad relevance is one of the three factors that affect Quality Score — the factor that influences the ad rank and the cost per click of ads.

Matching the search term doesn’t stop on the ad, your landing page should also do the same.  Make sure your messaging is consistent all throughout.

  1. Provide a Call to Action

What should I do if I choose you?

Adding a call-to-action (CTA) doesn’t necessarily make your ads stand out but a CTA empowers customers to take immediate action.  A CTA makes it clear what the next steps are for the user.

The most common CTAs include purchase, call today, order, browse, sign up, or get a quote.

  1. Give Unique Value Propositions

Why should I choose you over everyone else?

This tip is pretty straightforward — what makes your product/service unique?  Are you a DUI lawyer with a 90% win rate?  Does your restaurant use an all-vegan menu?  Do you deliver within the day?  Free Shipping?  Tell the people what makes you special!

  1. Use Title Case

With ‘title case’, you capitalize the first letter of the sentence, the first letter of any “major” words, and all words with four letters or more.  Your ad looks better and studies show that Title Case yields better click-through rates compared to sentence case.

  1. Make Use of the Character Limit

Take full advantage of the character limits.  Cover as much space as possible on the SERP real estate.

  1. Don’t Make False Promises or Bogus Claims

If it isn’t on the website do not advertise it.  People will go to the website disappointed to not see what they are looking for.  Further, do not fabricate discounts or value propositions!  That is false advertising and you will be wasting money on clicks that don’t convert.

  1. Use numbers and proper symbols

People respond to numbers and stats. Our brains are hardwired to find patterns, and you can make the decision-making process easier for your customers.

Also, use a number sign symbol (#) or a question mark symbol (?) when appropriate.  An exclamation mark (!) after the Call to Action is really good.  Just don’t overdo your symbols or your ad might get disapproved.

  1. Solve people’s problems.

Perry Marshall, the author of the world’s best-selling book on Google AdWords, is always talking about the importance of solving prospects’ problems in your ad copy.

When people search, they don’t want to buy “things” – they want to solve their problems.  Ads that create the perception that your product or service can help them do that leads to higher click-through rates than those that don’t.

  1. Use empathy

Apart from solving people’s problems, they want to know that somebody else understands what they’re going through.  This is what makes empathy such a powerful technique.  By sympathizing with your customers, you’re creating a bond that increases trust.

  1. Steal ideas from your competitors

Tools such as Spyfu allow you to see how your competitors write their ads.  I’m not telling you to steal their ads directly, but knowing how their ads look like can give you the edge you’re looking for.

Test. Test. Test.  A successful marketing campaign lies in a lot of testing and always remember that there is room for improvement, however small.  Keep testing your ads, test your unique value propositions against each other, or test different call-to-actions.  Google is ever-changing and so should your tactics.

Find out which ads are burning your budget. Contact us to get a free account audit.