How to create search ads that bring in the clicks

Article topics

1. The anatomy of a search ad
2. Understand your target audience and their search intent
3. Keep it short and sweet
4. Look at what your competitors are doing
5. Pin relevant information
6. Add your keywords to your ads
7. Give people a reason to trust you
8. Include a call-to-action
9. Don’t worry too much about ad strength
10. Use dynamic keyword insertion
11. Use assets to enhance your ad copy
12. Creating search ads in Google doesn’t have to be a chore

Are you looking to get people’s attention and introduce new customers to your brand?

If so, a well-written ad at the top of the search engine results can get you clicks and conversions.

However, there’s more to creating a search ad than setting a bid, throwing some phrases together, and crossing your fingers.

We’re sharing our pay-per-click (PPC) advertising top tips for crafting the perfect search ad.

While we’ve written this article with Google Search Ads in mind, you can apply the pointers to other platforms like Microsoft Advertising too.

Before we start, let’s look at the different components that make up a search ad.

The anatomy of a search ad

A typical search ad is comprised of multiple elements, which you can manage independently of each other.

URL and display path

This is the link that appears in your search ad and gives search engine visitors an idea of which page they’ll land on when they click on your ad.

While the URL must reflect the URL of your actual website, the display path (if you choose to use it) is more flexible. You can use it to provide context about your landing page.

You can have two display paths that are 15 characters each.

Headlines

Your headline appears in bold and blue below your URL and display path.

You can create between three to 15 headlines per ad that are 30 characters each. Google Ads will display up to three of these headlines at a time, in various combinations.

(This might not sound like a lot, but keep reading to see how to make the most of this character limit.)

Descriptions

Your descriptions appear below your headline and provide more information about your business, product or service.

You can create between two to four descriptions per ad that are 90 characters each. Google Ads will display up to two of these headlines at a time, in various combinations.

Assets

Assets provide additional information about your business and sit at the bottom of your ad. Unlike all other elements, assets are optional, but they’re a fantastic way to drive clicks.

Google Ads uses a variety of factors to determine whether it will show assets for your ad and if so, which assets it will use. We’ll talk more about the different assets on offer later on.

Now that you understand a little more about how search ads are built, let’s look at how to create ads your customers will love.

1. Understand your target audience and their search intent

The first step to creating high-quality Google Search Ads is to know your target audience. This will help you see what issues they have and how your business can solve their problems.

Take this ad from HubSpot, which perfectly targets people who want to learn the latest social media skills but don’t have the money to spend on a comprehensive course.

When you’re thinking about who to target with your search ads, consider the following:

• Demographics. The age, gender, and location of your target audience can all impact the language you use
• Interests and hobbies. If a customer is passionate about something, you can use this to your advantage
• Their pain points. What problems do your customers have, and how can you solve them?
• Their job. This can determine the language you use as well as appropriate jargon or industry terms
• Their search intent. Are they looking for information, comparing products, or are they ready to buy?

2. Keep it short and sweet

Google Search Ads are designed to be short and scannable so that search engine users can quickly determine if your ad is right for them.

Clear and concise ads aren’t just good for legibility but ensure your search ads work well on mobile. If your ads are too long on mobile, they risk being truncated.

Here are some ways you can reduce the length of your Google Search Ads while still ensuring they stay readable and relevant:

• Don’t worry about writing complete sentences – sentence fragments are fine as long as your readers understand them
• Cut out fluff and filler words to make your ad short and punchy
• Use numerals (3) instead of writing out numbers (three)
• Use active voice instead of passive voice (‘find the perfect gift’ rather than ‘the perfect gift can be found here’)
• Top-load your headlines and descriptions, putting the most important information first

3. Look at what your competitors are doing

Not all of your competitors will be on Google Ads. If they are though, you can get inspiration from the search ads they create.

Your first port of call should be the auction insights report. This shows you who you’re competing against and how you rank compared to them. For example, you can see how frequently they appear in the same search results, and how often they outrank you.

Once you know who your closest rivals are, you can check out Google’s Ad Transparency Centre. Enter a competitor’s name and it will show you all active search ads.

Discover more ways to keep an eye on your nearest competitors.

4. Pin relevant information

The default search ad type in Google Ads is a ‘responsive ad’. With responsive ads, you can write up to 15 headlines and four descriptions, and Google Ads tries different combinations to see which gets the best response.

However, if there’s certain information that you want to feature in every single ad, you can pin headlines and descriptions. This ensures that your information appears in a set position every time.

This gives you more control over how your ads appear and ensures you always have a consistent brand voice.

(Bear in mind that pinning too many headlines or descriptions can reduce your ad strength – we’ll talk about this in more detail later.)

5. Add your keywords to your ads

Thorough keyword research is an essential part of PPC advertising – you need to identify which words and phrases your target audience uses and how much you’re willing to bid per word.

Adding the keywords you plan to target to your search ads can make them more relevant in the eyes of potential customers, increasing the chances of them clicking.

Here’s another advantage of using the right keywords – if your ad contains the keywords your prospective customer is searching for, they appear in bold in the ad. This makes your search ad stand out from the other results!

While using keywords can make your ads stand out, it’s vital that you only use them where they make sense and not shoehorn them in.

Adding keywords that don’t fit can mean confusing ads that frustrate users as well as a lower quality score, which can lead to higher ad costs.

In the worst-case scenario, Google may disapprove your ads.

6. Give people a reason to trust you

Here’s a fact that might shock you – not all people trust search ads.

In fact, nearly 80% of people who recognise Google Ads, whether search, display, or shopping, refuse to click on them.

While you can’t win everyone over with your ad content, you can encourage people to click by giving them a reason to trust your ad. Here are some ways you can do this:

• Proactively verify your account in Google Ads – this shows that you are a legitimate organisation
• Include testimonials in your descriptions
• Showcase any certifications, awards, and accreditations you have
• Use review assets to show positive ratings and site links to link to relevant pages like your privacy policy (we’ll talk more about assets later)

Finally, make sure your landing page accurately reflects the content in your ad copy. If it doesn’t, you risk frustrating customers.

7. Include a call-to-action

A good call-to-action (CTA) isn’t just for landing pages and email newsletters. You can use CTAs in your Google Search Ads to tell potential customers what to do next.

Here’s a great example from JD Sports – ‘Shop up to 50% right now.’

• ‘Shop’ is a clear and direct action for customers to take
• ‘Up to 50%’ tells them they can save a significant amount of money
• ‘Right now’ creates a sense of urgency, encouraging them to click right away

Which call-to-action should you choose? It depends on where your customers are in the sales and marketing journey.

For example, if they’re still researching the answer to their problems, ‘learn more’ and discover’ are good starting points.

If they’re considering who to buy from, ‘compare’ and ‘view options can work well.

If they’re ready to buy, ‘buy now’, ‘sign up’ and ‘subscribe’ can win you conversions.

8. Don’t worry too much about ad strength

When you’re creating your ad, Google Ads supplies you with a metric that advises how it thinks your ad will do when it goes live. This metric is known as ‘ad strength.’

Ad strength rates your ad as ‘poor’, ‘average’, ‘good’, or ‘excellent’, providing feedback to help you optimise your ad. The factors it looks at include:

• The number of headlines and descriptions you use
• How unique your headlines and descriptions are
• The number of different combinations of headlines and descriptions (pinning can mean fewer combinations)
• The number of relevant keywords in your headlines and descriptions

However, while ad strength can help you remember to include more keywords in your headlines and add as many assets as possible, a low rank doesn’t mean your ad won’t do well.

(We’ve seen success with many ads that Google Ads considered ‘poor’!)

Ad strength can be a helpful way to improve your ads, but you’ll be able to identify your best-performing ads by their high return on ad spend (ROAS.)

9. Use dynamic keyword insertion

Dynamic keyword insertion (DKI) can help you customise your headlines and descriptions to your searcher’s specific search query, meaning they’re more likely to click on your ad.

Let’s say you sell dog food online. By using {KeyWord:Dog Food} in your headline, you can set it so your headline will automatically show the user’s search query if it triggers your ad.

You can wrap other words around your dynamic keyword too, like ‘Buy {KeyWord:Dog Food}’ – just make sure these words make sense when combined with your dynamic keyword.

Your ad will only show the word ‘Dog Food’ if the user’s search query is longer than the allotted headline length of 30 characters.

While DKI is a great way to make your ads more relevant, it’s important to use it sparingly so your ads don’t come across as spammy or confusing.

10. Use assets to enhance your ad copy

Assets (formerly known as ad extensions) are additional pieces of information that you can add to your Google Ad.

These don’t only make your ad more interesting and enticing, but increase the size of your ad in Google, meaning you can outshine your competitors.

The example above uses two examples of assets. Callout assets, which highlight additional information, and promotional assets, which show what deals and discounts are up for grabs.

According to Google, assets can increase your click-through rate by up to 15%!

Here are the assets you can add to your ads:

• Affiliate location. Show which stores stock your product
• App. Get users to download your app on mobile
• Call. Encourage users to call your business directly from mobile
• Callout. Promote what’s unique about your brand
• Image. Add an image to your ad
• Lead form. Gather qualified leads directly from your ad
• Location. If you operate a brick-and-mortar store, include your physical location
• Price. Promote the cost of specific products
• Promotion. Advertise a sale, discount, or offer
• Sitelink. Signpost users to specific pages on your website
• Structured snippet. Promote your specific products and services

You can add assets at ad group level or apply them at account or campaign level. This means you can save time and ensure a consistent brand message.

Creating search ads in Google doesn’t have to be a chore

Writing good search ads might seem daunting. The trick is to take a methodical approach.

Understand your target audience, research the right keywords, and create copy that resonates with your customers’ needs – you’ll see conversions in no time!

Let us leave you with one bonus tip. You need to keep testing your ads to ensure they’re optimised for your customers.

Regularly review your ads to see how they’re performing. Add new assets, look at which search terms are triggering your ads, and see which headlines and descriptions have the best click-through rate.

Still not sure where to begin with Google Search Ads? Our team of PPC experts is here to help. We’ll structure your account to make it more efficient, carry out detailed keyword research, and write ad copy that gets people clicking.

Contact us today and take the first step towards paid search success.