In this article, I’ll give you tips on how to create an effective Google Ads ad.
By effective: a well-optimized ad that will improve your click-through rate.
These tips complement the “Announcement” section of my mini guide to Google Ads.
I’ve written a guide to help people create profitable campaigns on Google Ads.
I invite you to read it.
So why is it important to create a good ad?
There are several advantages to taking the time to write effective ads:
- Increase your click-through rate (CTR)
- By increasing your CTR, you improve the quality level of your keywords
- And therefore a better quality score will positively impact the positioning of your ads in Google’s search results.
Convinced?
Okay, let’s move on!
The step in creating is when setting up the ad group.
You can also create new ads for your existing ad groups if you’ve seen (after analysis) a low CTR among your ads.
At first, glance, creating a Google Ads ad that will ensure you a good click-through rate does not seem difficult to achieve.
Probably, you already know the rules to follow to write an ad that works well:
–Add a keyword from the ad group within the ad
title–Write your sales pitch in the descriptive lines
–Use a call to action to encourage users to click on your ad…
It’s a good start if you put these actions in place.
👉 However, I will share with you other elements that will allow you to perfect the creation of your ads.
Simple tips to make your ads 💪 even more powerful
Before I give you 13 tips, I’m going to introduce Google Ads text ads for those who have never heard of them.
1. What is a Google Ads text ad?
A Google Ads text ad allows you to show an ad to people who search on Google’s search network.
You can also create text ads for the Display Network.
However, we will focus on displaying ads in the Google search network.
1.1 Where do text ads appear in the search network?
They appear above and below Google search results.
The ads are composed of three main parts: 3 titles, 2 descriptive lines, and a URL to display.
- First title: 30 characters
- Second title: 30 characters
- Third title: 30 characters
- First description: 90 characters
- Second description: 90 characters
- Display URL: 2 paths of 15 characters each
1.2 Title
The first line of your ad is the one that customers are most likely to notice.
Your text ad consists of three titles.
In each of them, you get 30 characters to promote your product or service.
Your three titles are separated by a vertical bar (“|”). They may be displayed differently depending on the device used by the user.
1.3 Display URLs
Usually displayed in green, the URL to display indicates the address of your website.
It consists of the domain of your final URL and the text you entered in the optional “Path” fields.
These are designed to allow the user to get an idea of what content they will access if they click on your ad.
Note that the text you enter in these fields doesn’t have to match the exact text in your display URL.
1.4 Description
Description fields allow you to highlight specific information about your products or services.
1.5 How to create a Google Ads ad
- Sign in to your Google Ads account.
- In the page menu on the left, clickAds & Extensions.
- Click the More button, then click the “Text Announcement” option.
- The interface will show you all the elements to set up your ad
- To finish creating an ad, click “Save Listing”.
At any time you can view how your Google Ads are displayed without impacting your statistics by using the ad preview and diagnostic tool
When writing your ad, it’s important to think about the user’s experience: from the query typed to the ad displayed and the landing page.
After the presentation, I will give you my tips for creating text ads that will boost your click-through rate!
2. 13 Tips to improve the performance of your Google Ads ads
2.1 Conduct a competitive analysis
Before you start writing your ads, start looking at what your competitors are doing.
I am not telling you to copy the ads of your competitors but rather to be inspired by them.
The idea is to analyze the content of competing ads to distinguish yourself by presenting your unique value proposition (I explain this concept in the article).
To analyze your competitors, you can use a manual method.
👉 Open your browser in private browsing and search for keywords in your sector, searching keywords on which your competitors are positioning.
By observing the results, you will be able to observe the ads of your competitors, but also you will be able to identify new players.
In the end, this competitive analysis has several interests:
–Be inspired by its competitors–Distinguish itself from its competitors by formulating a unique
value proposition–Identify new players
–Know the competitive intensity in the market
In addition to the manual method, there are several tools to analyze your competitors.
✔SEMRushoffers a feature to view your competitors’ ads.
✔GoogleAdsallows you to identify competitors who are bidding on the same keywords in your campaigns with the “bid analysis” report.
To access the report, simply go to your Google Ads interface and then to the “Keyword” section located in the left sidebar.
You will then be able to compare the performance of your Google Ads campaign to that of your competitors: the overlap rate, the impression rate…
2.2 Meet the needs of the visitor according to his purchase cycle
When writing an ad, put yourself in the shoes of your future visits.
- What is he trying to solve?
- What is its need?
- What problem does he face?
The objective is to meet the specific needs of its customers while taking into account their Buyer Journey in the ad writing strategy.
Depending on your ad groups and the keywords you’re targeting, you’ll adopt a different strategy with your ads.
Let’s take the example of 3 keywords and their location in the buying cycle:
- More spacious ➡ car First step “Awareness”: discovery and expression of a problem
- Which station wagon ➡ car Second step “Consideration”: evaluation of available solutions
- Buy Skoda superb ➡ station wagon Third step is “Decision making”: selection of the solution
Each keyword represents a stage in the visitor’s buying cycle.
Each keyword has a different purchase intent.
By knowing the stage of your visitors’ buying cycle about the keyword searched, you can adapt your ad.
You can’t clone your ad for its 3 keywords and only change the keyword in the ad title.
👉 You need to customize your sales pitch to specifically meet each need.
Each keyword in the buying journey should be in a specific ad group with a Google Ads ad tailored to the situation.
2.3 Include numbers or statistics in your headlines
Numbers and statistics are elements that influence a person’s decision-making.
You can strengthen your value proposition by putting in the title of your ad:
“Number 1 in France of wooden cabin construction” 100% success rate for our students in the TOEIC”
For an e-commerce site, you can include different elements:
- Your prices
- The amount of a promotion
- The satisfaction rate of your customers
- Your delivery times…
👉 Adding numbers and statistics helps influence your customer’s decision-making process by highlighting how your product or service stands out from your competitors.
How do I find statistics and figures for my ads?
To get compelling statistics like “customer satisfaction rate,” you can survey your customers.
👉 First, collect and process the information.
You can use Google Forms to conduct this survey.
👉 In a second step, highlight the results you found:
“9 out of 10 customers find our products effective” “
100% customer satisfaction on our service X.”
Another idea to publish numbers in your ad: compare your performance against that of your competitors.
👉 If in a particular segment of your sector, you have the most market share, you are a leader, put it forward!
“Number 1 in France in… »
👉 If you won an award from a recognized organization, include it in your ad.
“1st prize for the realization of… »
These statistics and figures are a way to attract attention and make your offer more credible.
In addition, figures and statistics allow you to save characters when writing your ads.
One more chance to seize!
2.4 Include your keywords in your Google Ads ads
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, a simple but essential practice to implement: include keywords from the ad group within the ad.
The goal is to make the user’s query appear in our ad.
By integrating the keywords searched by the user, Google makes the keywords appear in bold.
👉 In addition to being more visible, it sends a signal to the user by reassuring him that he finds his query in our ad.
You have to make sure you use the keywords wisely within your ad.
No need to spam by copying your keyword 10 times in the ad.
👉 In this case, you will produce the opposite effect: an advertising message incomprehensible to the user who will pass his turn by clicking on a competing ad.
In general, I recommend using the keyword a maximum of 3 times:
- Once in the first title of your ad
- A second time in the first or second line of the description of your ad
- And finally, in the URL to display
You can perform tests on the position of your keyword: heading 2 instead of heading 1 for example.
The presence of the keyword does not stop at the ad!
To make sure that the user who clicks on your ad, acts on your website (buy a product, leave his contact details …), you must make sure to integrate the keyword searched by the user in your landing page.
For example, someone searches for a “remote photography course” on Google and clicks on an ad displaying their search query.
👉 Logically, the landing page must display to the user a distance photography course.
We can find the keywords in the title of the landing page and the description of the service.
On the other hand, redirecting the user to a service that does not meet 100% of his needs (physical photography course in Paris) will have the effect of generating frustration.
In this case, you are sure that the visitor will leave your site and will not return!
👉 Depending on the variety of keywords, it is sometimes complicated to create a landing page for each search query made by the user.
However, try to get closer to:
For example, someone types the query “travel two days to Rome” and clicks on your ad.
👉 She will not be disturbed to arrive on a landing page that talks about “short stay in Rome” or “weekend in Rome” since the terms are very close to each other.
Using our example, write headings that can work for multiple sentences to limit the number of pages you need to create.
2.5 Include calls to action
An element not to be overlooked is your Call to Action (CTA).
Call to Action is the verb or phrase that will push the visitor to click on your ad.
👉 Your CTA can be different depending on the action you expect from your visitor (a purchase, filling out a form …) but also on the position of the visitor in the purchase cycle.
Taking our example of station wagons and CTA:
- More spacious car Discover the Top 3 most spacious ➡ cars
- Which station wagon to choose ➡ Compare our Estates!
- Buy car station wagon Skoda superb ➡ Buy now your (model name)!
Using a call to action in an ad copy helps frame the visitor experience.
Your CTA allows you the to-qualify your visitor.
👉 You tell him what you expect from him.
This can help eliminate people who are not interested (and therefore save your money by avoiding unnecessary clicks).
You need to make sure you keep a logical link between your CTA and your landing page.
👉 If you have included in your ad the following CTA: “Buy your Renault Clio 3 Sport now”,
You should logically redirect visitors to a landing page that gives them the option to order the model mentioned in the ad.
👉 If you only suggested actions such as: “Discover” or “Learn more”
So make sure that the landing page contains information about the product or service that answers the visitor’s questions.
I recommend including your Call to Action in the third title of your ad or at the end of your second line of description.
2.6 Use psychological techniques
There are several psychological techniques to optimize the experience that users have with your ads.
✔Translating the characteristics of your product/service into an advantage: a character is defined as a technical particularity, an element in the composition of the product and/or in the description of the service.
The idea is to translate features into benefits so that the customer correctly perceives how and why your product or service will satisfy them.
👉 A mattress seller can sell the fact that his mattress is so comfortable that it solves back problems
✔Exclusivity: exclusivity makes it possible to convince uncertain customers but also to distinguish you from your competitors.
If you are the only one offering or selling a service/product, highlight it in your ad:
“Unique seller of brand X… »
“Limited edition Star Wars figure… »
✔Rarity: This principle states that people are highly motivated by the idea of risking losing something.
For example, communicate about a price drop but for a limited time (Example: Black Friday)
It is important to test the different techniques and adopt the one that works best for your customers.
2.7 Unique Value Proposition
Unless you’re alone in your market, you need to differentiate yourself from your customers.
A Unique Proposition Selling (UPS) is the selling point that will set your offer apart from your competitors.
It’s a competitive advantage.
Your unique value proposition should be easily recognizable.
👉 It should allow you to quickly identify the benefits that your customers will have in buying your products or services.
In general, the unique value proposition is present in your landing page.
This is an important part of your sales page to convince your visitors to buy your product or subscribe to your service.
Despite the lack of character available in a Google Ads ad, you can always try to include it.
👉 If you are the only company to deliver furniture in 24 hours, mention it in the description of your ad:
“Unique company to deliver your furniture in 24 hours throughout France”
2.8 Give your ads more visibility with ad extensions
Ad extensions represent an opportunity to give more visibility to your ads by providing additional information for the user.
Setting up ad extensions can improve the click-through rate of your ads.
There are many types of ad extensions available to us.
Here are the full list available in Google Ads:
- Extension Links
- Hook extension
- Site snippet extensions
- Call extension
- Form extension for BETA leads
- Les extensions SMS
- Location extension
- Affiliate Location Extension
- Price extensions
- Application extension
- Promotion extension
Each of the extensions offers to help you achieve a specific goal.
For example, the app ads extension encourages people to install your app while the call extension pushes visitors to call the company.
👉 Only use ad extensions that are tailored to your goals.
2.9 Use Google’s features to make your ads more dynamic
Google offers several features that allow you to boost your ads automatically.
There are three features:
- Keyword insertion
- IF functions
- Countdown
While I don’t recommend the first feature, I’ll still introduce it.
Keyword insertion
The keyword insertion tool allows you to update your ads automatically with keywords in your ad groups that triggered the ads to run.
So how does it work?
Let’s say you’re advertising floor renovation.
You can use a keyword insertion code in your ad title:
Title: Expertise {KeyWord:Floor renovation}
👉 Google Ads will try to replace this code with one of the keywords in your ad group (“Renovate your home floors”, “change your indoor floor”).
However, when this is not possible if the number of the user’s requests is too long, the word “Floor Renovation” is used.
The problem is the lack of control with this feature.
If a person types a spelling mistake in their search query, this feature will not correct it and will include the keyword with the spelling mistake in your title…
IF functions – {=IF(,insert text):d efault text}
IF functions allow you to insert a specific message into your text ad when a condition is met and default text when it is not.
There are two conditions:
- The audience (for example, a person who visited your site or put a product in their shopping cart but did not buy)
- The device (for example, a person who uses a mobile phone or computer to perform a search)
The person who fulfills the condition will see the message in the “Than” field.
Otherwise, he will see the message of the announcement of the field “OTHERWISE”.
Using this feature can be interesting in several situations.
➡ You can adapt your Call to Action (CTA) according to the visitor’s situation.
If someone uses a mobile device, you can get them to call you:
“Call us”
If not, if they use a computer, you can encourage them to leave their contact information:
“Fill out the form”
➡ IF functions can be useful for delivering a specific offer based on your audience.
Taking the example of the screenshot, you can offer 10-minute phone coaching for people who have already downloaded your e-book.
👉 In this case, you just need to create a list in Google Ads “E-book Conversion” and select this list in the audience type as a condition.
Countdown – {=COUNTDOWN()}
I mentioned in one of my previous tips a psychological lever to convince your visitors: scarcity.
This psychological effect (called loss aversion) is a powerful way to improve your click-through rate.
👉 The countdown feature allows you to highlight this rarity effect.
➡ You can let your potential customers know about upcoming sales or special events by adding a countdown timer in your ad text.
If you have an e-commerce site, use this feature to highlight your promotions.
👉 If you’re a lead generation site, you can also use this feature to highlight an offer for your service.
“You have X days left to take advantage of the 10% discount for any new subscription to our subscription”
With this feature, you can:
✔ Trigger the countdown widget at the time you want
✔ Set time zone and language
2.10 Use all available space for Google Ads ads
Take advantage of all the available space that Google Ads offers you.
You have 3 titles of 30 characters and 2 descriptive lines of 90 characters.
👉 Fill the available space to the maximum (from 80% to 100%).
I know it’s difficult because sometimes you can lack the inspiration to fill all the available space.
If the problem is the opposite, you are making up space so look for synonyms, and keep it concise by keeping your best arguments and removing the superfluous ones.
2.11 Play on the local image of your products or services
Local results appear when people search for businesses and places near their location.
They appear in several places on Google Maps and in the Google search engine.
👉 For example, you’ll likely see local results when you search for the term “Paris tapas bar.”
Google will try to show you nearby tapas bars that are likely to appeal to you.
If you have a local business, I recommend mentioning the location in your ad to give users an accessible first impression of your business.
If you have multiple locations, create as many ad groups as you need (one store = one ad group) and attach them to a location extension.
People have a preference for local businesses.
➡ If you do e-commerce, mention the place of production or distribution in your ad:
“Made in Brittany… “
Produced in France… »
2.12 Challenge yourself
Applying the above tips will help you improve the performance of your ads.
However, one must always keep a critical opinion of one’s work.
Once your ad is written, quickly ask yourself the following questions:
- Would I click on my ad?
- Does it seem relevant?
- Does it answer the problem of the Internet user?
- Does this announcement make sense?
- Does the landing page fulfill the promise set in the ad?
After answering their questions, you can activate your ads and track the results.
👉 If the results aren’t good, don’t waste time, make changes as quickly as possible, and continue to track the performance of your ads.
Update your Google Ads ads
Updating your ads has several benefits:
✔ Remove expired offers from your listing
You avoid creating frustration for visitors.
Imagine that a person clicks on an ad that displays a 30% promo on sports shoes and lands on a landing page that does not display any promo…
There is a good chance that the person will leave your site!
✔ Make your ad more attractive
Refreshing your ads can make your ad more interesting.
👉 For example a travel agency that promotes travel to Barcelona.
The structure of its first title could be:
“Barcelona Holiday Promo”
Adding the month, the ad would look like this:
« Promo of January Holidays Barcelona »
By displaying the current month in your ad, the ad appears more attractive to visitors.
Conclusion
Writing Google Ads ads isn’t as simple a task as you might think.
Nor is it something that can be automated.
Taking the time to write ads that meet the needs of your target is the direction to follow to get good results📈
I hope my tips help you create better performing ads.
If you have other tactics for writing ads and they are not in this article, please share them in the comments ✍️
And to conclude, if you think these tips for writing Google Ads ads can help other people, please share this article 🚀.