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30th May 2016

How to Create an Effective Google Ads Advert

11
minute read

Using Google Ads can be a very good way of helping you increase the number of potential customers who see your business when searching online. But if your advert isn’t created in the right way, it won’t have the impact you want.

One of the ways in which Google decides which adverts will appear in search results, and in which position, is by the quality of the advert – what Google calls ‘Ad Rank’. It’s important to make the quality of your advert as good as possible so it’s more likely to be shown in the results.

Google's latest update introduces Price Extensions which will now be live across all devices. This update allows your business to highlight price points for your products or services in your adverts to help improve search visibility.

If you’re just starting with Google Ads, we recommend reading our article A Beginner’s 101 to Google Ads for Small Businesses before you start to write any adverts.

Once you’ve had a look at that article, read on for our tips to help you write an effective Google Ads advert so that you’re making the most of your spend.

Get the basics right

Google Ads has specific criteria for when you’re writing an advert which you have to stick to, such as maximum character counts (the number of letters and spaces you’re allowed). There’s more detail about the specifics of this criteria below.

A Google Ads text advert has four lines of text. Each one of these has a different maximum number of characters:

  • Headline: 25 characters
  • Description line 1: 35 characters
  • Description line 2: 35 characters
  • Web address: shows 35 characters but your URL can be longer

Here’s an example of a Google Ads text ad which sticks to these criteria:

  • Headline: Her Favourite Flowers (21 Characters)
  • Description line 1: Local, quality flower delivery (30 Characters)
  • Description line 2: at a price you'll appreciate. (29 Characters)
  • Web Address: www.topflowers.com/valentines (45 Characters)

Here’s an example of a Google Ads text ad which doesn’t stick to these criteria – all the advert text, except the URL, is too long:

  • Headline: Buy Her Favourite Flowers Online (32 Characters)
  • Description line 1: We sell local and high quality flowers (38 Characters)
  • Description line 2 which are well-priced and delivered quickly. (44 Characters)
  • Web address: www.topflowers.com/valentines/roses-and-daisies (47 Characters)

Google have recently updated their standard text ads with expanded text ads. The new ads are designed to increase the amount of information made visible on mobile search results with a bigger headline and a longer description. Expanded text ads contain the following criteria:

  • Two headline fields (up to 30 characters each)
  • A single, expanded description field (up to 80 characters)

It’s really important to get these basics right, as otherwise your advert will not be approved by Google. When you start to write adverts in your Ads account, it’ll show you how many characters are on each line to help you.

Keep it concise

As you can see from the examples above, you have to make your advert short and sweet to ensure it fits with Google’s criteria, even with the expanded text ads. Keeping your advert concise can be tricky to achieve, but the key here is to think carefully about the focus of the advert.

Although there might be lots of things you want your potential customer to look at on your website, try and focus each of your adverts around one particular keyword or phrase.

For example, if you’re a plumber and you really want to promote your emergency boiler repairs service, you might bid for the keyword phrase “emergency boiler repairs”. When you write your advert, everything should be focused on that keyword: it can even include the keyword to help increase your Ad Rank.

  • Headline: Get it fixed, fast! (19 Characters)
  • Description line 1: Emergency boiler repairs from (29 Characters)
  • Description line 2: a trusted local trader. (23 Characters)
  • Web address: www.tomsplumbing.com/emergency-boiler-repairs (45 Characters)

Here are a few more tips for keeping your advert text concise:

  • Don’t use jargon – always try to speak in the same way as your customer
  • Clearly explain your offer as simply as possible
  • Write a few drafts and keep editing to help you cut the text down

Include the benefits

You’re more likely to get potential customers clicking on your text adverts if you show them what the benefits are when they use your product or service. This is the same for all marketing, but even more important in advertising where there’s lots of competition: what makes your business different to competitors? What are the benefits of buying from you above anyone else?

In the examples we’ve already shown, the adverts clearly explain the benefits of using the services:

Advert text:

Her Favourite Flowers

Local, quality flower delivery

at a price you'll appreciate.

www.topflowers.com/valentines

Advert text:

Get it fixed, fast!

Emergency boiler repairs from

a trusted local trader.

www.tomsplumbing.com/emergency-boiler-repairs

In the florist’s advert, the quality and price are emphasised, as well as knowing that the recipient of the flowers will be pleased – “her favourite flowers”. In the plumber’s advert, “trusted, local trader” helps people feel at ease and the headline shows exactly how Tom will solve a customer’s problem: “get it fixed, fast!”.

Use features to encourage clicks

Finally, you can use the additional features Google Ads provides to enhance your advert. These are called ‘extensions’, and include a variety of things which make your advert look better and encourage people to click.

Here are the extensions Google Ads currently offers.

Sitelinks

You can add up to six links to other pages on your website, which are shown in your advert alongside the main URL. These are displayed as text links (so customers don’t see the URL) and you can use them to direct customers to specific pages that might be helpful.

For example, our florist might include sitelink extensions in her advert which link to different pages featuring types of flowers that her customer is likely to buy: “Red Roses”, “Colourful Bouquets” or “Budget-friendly Flowers”.

Location

You can use this extension to show your bricks-and-mortar address, which is great if you don’t sell online and want to encourage people to visit your shop. The address is displayed underneath the main text advert and automatically links people to Google Maps.

Call

The ‘call’ extension in Google Ads lets you show your phone number or a call button. The call button is ideal for customers who are searching on mobile, as they can click it and it automatically dials your phone number for them.

These extensions don’t cost you anything extra to use, and you only pay for them if someone clicks on an extension in your advert. If you use them, you might find that your advertising costs are a little higher, but you’re getting more people who click on your advert and visit your website.

To make sure your Google Ads text adverts are as successful as possible, remember to follow our four tips: get the basics right, keep it concise, include the benefits, and use features to encourage clicks.

For some more advice on Google Ads, try some of these articles:

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