As our mantra goes, good copy is the backbone of effective communications. But this may be never truer than when you’re writing Google Ads copy.
After all, you only have the briefest of moments to make an impact on a user before they scroll past your search ad and into the abyss of the organic search results.
Your copywriting needs to stand out among the other ads and results by making an impression and connecting with their needs and desires.
To add further challenge, it needs to do all this with minimal character availability.
But how do you achieve this?
We’re glad you asked. Welcome to the complete guide to Google Ads Copywriting.
Google Ads Format
First things first — format.
Google search ads come with their own unique formatting requirements. If you don’t meet these, you’ll fall at the first hurdle.
A basic Google search ad is made up of three elements:
– Headline
– Description
– Display URL
Your headline is made up of two required headline fields, and a third optional one that allows for more responsive search ads. All these fields have a 30 character limit, which isn’t many to get your point across. Your headlines appear next to each other, split with a | symbol.
Depending on the device of your user, the third headline may or may not appear, while the second headline may wrap onto the next line.
Below your headlines is your description. Similar to headlines, you get two description fields to fill in, each with a 90 character limit.
Again, the amount of your description that can display is dependent on the user device. For example, on smaller mobile screens, only one of your description fields will display, whereas on large desktop screens, both fields can be shown.
Last, but by no means least, is the display URL. This is the URL shown within the ad that suggests to the user the page they will end up on if they click it.
It doesn’t have to be the same URL as the one the user will actually land on because as the name suggests, it’s just for show.
Next Level Google Ads Copywriting Tips
With the formatting requirements out the way, let’s move onto the meatier stuff—like how to create killer Google
Ads with copy that converts. It’s easy if you follow these simple tips and examples.
Set Goals
What would a successful Google Ad look like to you?
This could mean a number of different things depending on what your goals are.
You could be focused on the number of clicks you get, your click-through rate, your conversion rate, or your cost-per-click.
All this to say, if you’re not sure what a successful Google Ad would look like for you or your business, then figure this out first.
Once you’ve decided on what metric or metrics you’d like to focus on, you can later analyze your results to see how successful you’ve been as well as A/B test ads to improve from here.
Know Your Audience
Great copy comes from a deep understanding of who you’re writing for. Which begs the question, who is your audience and how well do you know them?
While keyword research is great, if you can’t connect with your users, you’ll struggle to convert. For example, you might be using emotional copy when you should be using factual.
You can use techniques like user personas to better understand your users. This involves creating a fictional version of your ideal customer so you can better understand what messaging might connect with their needs.
Make Ad Copy Keyword-Focused
We touched on this above, but your ad copy should also include the right keywords. This is so your ad matches the intent of the user’s search. Ideally, you’ll include keywords within the headline and the description.
There’s a delicate balance to strike here, though. You don’t want to come across as robotic spam with no grasp of the human language. So include keywords, but include them where they fit naturally.
For example, if you’re writing copy for a company that offers products to treat acne, great ad copy could look like this:
Headline 1: Struggling with Acne?
Headline 2: Get Rid of Acne for Good
Description 1: Our clinically proven prescription acne treatment can help restore your confidence.
Description 2: Personalized to your skin, our product reduces symptoms for 87% of customers. Try it now.
This ad copy includes keywords like “acne”, “acne treatment” and “get rid of acne” without sounding too forced.
Meanwhile, poor ad copy could look more like this:
Headline 1: Acne | Acne Treatment
Headline 2: Get Rid of Acne | Buy Now
Description 1: Buy acne treatment today to treat and get rid of acne. Buy online now.
Description 2: Acne treatment that works for 87% of customers. Buy it online now.
As you can see, the latter focuses more on fitting the keywords in than appealing to customers’ needs and desires. A good copywriter can and must do both.
A good general rule of thumb is to get specific with your keywords by splitting them into ad groups. This allows you to better match user intent in your copy.
Get Statistical
People love numbers in headlines. It resonates with something in our brain. In fact, Buzzfeed has built an entire empire from our innate love of statistical headlines.
Research suggests numbers in headlines can generate up to 73% more in sales.
This is because numbers suggest authority and provide structure so our brain can process information better. In even better news, Google loves them too.
Using numbers can help improve your ad quality score. So experiment with using numbers like prices, survey statistics, and more within your ads to see how the copy resonates with your potential customers.
Evoke an Emotional Response
The best ad copy, online or otherwise, is copy that evokes an emotional response from the reader.
It’s why clickbait headlines like “You won’t believe these 10 things you didn’t know about the Dallas Cowboys” work. Football fans, specifically Dallas Cowboys fans, see the headline and feel like they have to know. The curiosity it creates is the strong emotional reaction intended.
This technique can be applied to PPC copy too. It all depends on the emotional response you want to evoke from your potential customer and there’s a couple of tricks you can use.
First and foremost, use personalized language wherever possible. This means using pronouns like “you” to address the user directly.
Better yet if you can combine this personalized language with an emotional trigger. This could include things you know your customer loves, as well as things you know your customer hates.
Anything that will provoke a strong emotional response works best.
You can also appeal to people’s fear of missing out, or FOMO. In more scientific terms, it’s known as loss aversion and it’s in our DNA to feel this which makes it a powerful tool for marketers.
You can appeal to loss aversion by creating a sense of urgency in your copy—for example, having an end date on promotions or sales within the copy. This trick can help increase clicks and conversions by a substantial margin.
It doesn’t always have to be negative emotional triggers by any means. Positive emotional triggers can work just as well and may suit your needs better.
You can provoke positive emotions by creating aspirational and meaningful copy.
Keyword-Rich Display URLs
Many marketers and copywriters alike overlook the importance of the display URL. This tiny piece of copy can have a big impact on the success of your ads. We’ll use an example to explain.
Let’s look at a few hypothetical display URLs an ad selling helicopter tours:
Example 1: www.pretendtourcompany.com/tours
Example 2: www.pretendtourcompany.com/tours/productid-37254
Example 3: www.pretendtourcompany.com/helicopter-tours
Which URL would you click?
The first is a bit vague. The user can’t be sure of how relevant the page they’re going to land on is.
The second seems like it was written by robots. It’s spammy and gives little indication as to whether it’s the right page or whether you can trust it.
Like Goldilocks though, the third one is just right. It’s got the relevant keyword to match user intent and says to the user, “Here’s the page you’re looking for, and it’s very relevant.”
The lesson here isn’t about breaking into a bear’s home.
Rather your display URL should always be keyword rich and easy to read for users for the best results.
Landing Page Copy
Similar to the above, you also want your landing page copy to match your ad copy.
Nothing will make a user bounce off a page faster than clicking on an ad only to land on a page that’s talking about something else entirely.
Make sure whatever you mention in your headlines and descriptions is mentioned on your landing page too to avoid wasting your great advertising copywriting!
Learn More About Copywriting for Advertising
Google ads copywriting follows many of the same rules as general copywriting for advertising like understanding your audience so you can craft emotionally compelling copy.
The challenge comes in taking those copywriting practices and fitting them in the limited Google ads format requirements!
We can help you raise your online advertising copy to the next level with our Copywriting to Go Class.
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