An ad copy is often the first link (and sometimes the second, third, and even fourth) you see in Google in response to your query. Advertising is the driver of progress; an ad generates traffic for sellers and sales, while offering buyers the opportunity to purchase the desired item or service, sometimes spontaneously.
Important: this article specifically discusses copy ad for Google Ads. The article is intended for beginner marketers, marketing students, and small business owners who handle advertising independently. We will examine typical advertiser mistakes and provide advice and examples on how to write an copy ad that hits the mark.
What will be discussed?
- What is an copy ad
- Types of copy ad
- What to do before writing an copy ad
- How to properly compose an copy ad
- How to write a good ads text
- What is a selling text
- How to choose an image
- Common mistakes
- Where to find inspiration
- Conclusions
What is an copy ad?
An copy ad in Google Ads is information in Google and on partner sites. Copy ads are not only made up of text: they are interactive, meaning they have links to separate pages, as well as additional attractive elements: images and videos. An advertising text can be a product card, an HTML5 banner, as well as the familiar and already dear simple text ads.
Types of copy ads
In Google Ads, there are 12 types of copy ads and 6 types. Let’s see what they are.
12 types of ads copy in Google Ads
- Ads copy with phone numbers
- Comparative product ads copy
- Custom (self-uploaded) ads copy
- Hotel ads
- Display ads
- Local ads
- Mobile device ads
- Responsive display ads
- Responsive search ads
- Text ads
- Video ads
- Local ads
6 types of ads copy in Google Ads
Google Ads copy types differ by placement location and the predominance of text, graphics, or video. Let’s look at them in more detail.
1. Text ads
Appear above and below search results, containing a headline, description, and the webpage URL.
2. Banner ads
Come in various sizes and shapes. Banners consist of graphic images and text. Banner ads are placed on Google partner sites, on YouTube, or in mobile apps.
3. Video ads
Placed on YouTube, on Google partner sites, or in the Google Display Network. Videos can be in the TrueView format, where users can skip the ad after a certain viewing time, or in the Non-Skippable In-Stream format, which must be watched through (although YouTube Premium users are exempt from this).
4. Mobile app ads
Can be placed in any part of the screen or cover the entire page for some functionality in exchange for viewing. Ads usually combine text, banner, and video formats. Sometimes, you need to watch an ad to perform an action in the app if you don’t want to subscribe.
5. Google Shopping ads
These are product ads that contain the product name, its price, photo, delivery cost, etc. Essentially, it’s an integrated marketplace. Convenient because you don’t need to visit separate websites; sellers immediately showcase their products upfront.
6. Google My Business ads
Display information about a company or organization in Google Search and on Google Maps. Very useful advertising for local businesses because it directly reaches the target audience.
What to do before writing an ads
The approach “I’m advertising a product and I want as many people as possible to buy it” will not help in creating an effective ad. It lacks specifics, doesn’t consider your advantages over competitors, and the needs of users. Plan the preparatory stage, break it down into parts: you need to know for whom, why, and what the ad text will be about.
Here’s a brief overview of what to do:
- Analyze the goals and needs of your aAudience.
- Collect keywords.
- Register for services to track search query statistics.
- Keep an eye on your competitors.
Analyze your advertising goals and audience needs
Prepare and outline your marketing goals. They will determine the choice of campaign, and thus the use of a specific type of ads, preparation of banners, videos, and text.
Examples of marketing goals:
- Attract new visitors to the site to increase traffic.
- Increase the number of conversions.
- Attract new potential customers.
- Increase brand awareness, etc.
Think about what exactly you need a potential visitor to do: buy a product, subscribe to a newsletter, click on an ad, or visit a specific section of the site?
The strategy will depend on what you want to achieve: if you want as much traffic as possible, write about discounts and other tempting offers for the audience in the ad. If you want more sales, the ad should be neutral and truthful—the tactic: better fewer visitors, but those who are sure to buy, the number of traffic and CTR of the ad are not important.
If you want more traffic—work with CTR and the top of the funnel.
If you want to sell more—scale advertising campaigns by working with ROAS or CPL and the bottom of the funnel.
📌 Also read in the blog: How to calculate ROI, ROAS, and ROMI metrics
For this, besides self-analysis of the market, you can use tools like Analytics 4, conduct surveys among your visitors, and on social media.
The strategy depends on your goal. But the strategy can be adjusted. Don’t be afraid of experiments.
Gather keywords
Keywords are words or phrases that describe your products or services and match your ads with user search queries.
Keywords must accurately describe your products or services and be in demand among potential customers. For example, if you sell bicycles, you can add keywords like “buy bicycle”, “bicycle price”, “order bicycle” to your Google Ads campaign. When a user enters one of these queries into Google, your ad may appear on the results page. If the search campaign is additionally targeted to the media network, your ad will also be shown on websites about cycling. That’s why it’s important to choose relevant and frequent keywords.
Useful tips on choosing keywords
- Start with keywords that are specifically related to this ad and which, in your opinion, users might search for. Have a brainstorm about how you would search for your own products or services. What queries would you use?
- Ask Google—based on the results and ads you receive, you will get a rough idea of the relevance of your keywords and the competition. Look at the search suggestions and related search queries.
- Use special tools. Since the previous two methods won’t give a comprehensive view of the situation, we recommend using special services to track search query statistics.
Register for services to track search query statistics
Google Keyword Planner
For ad account users, the Keyword Planner is available
This tool provides keyword suggestions related to your products, services, or website. You’ll see an estimated number of searches per month and the average cost of displaying an ad with a particular keyword.
Features of Google Ads Planner:
- Fixed word order. That is, for keywords “red dress price” and “dress red price”, there will be a different number of Google queries.
- Display of similar queries to your keyword.
- The ability to enter multiple phrases at once.
- More accurate data on connected ads. If accounts in the cabinet are unpaid—the Planner shows results of organic search and context.
- Keyword search by broad match type. For example, if you view results for the query “wardrobe”, you will get many irrelevant keys like “DIY wardrobe”, “used wardrobe”, etc.
Google Trends
A service that analyzes the popularity of keywords (without an exact frequency figure) and tracks their demand dynamics.
Google Trends has a feature to compare the popularity of search queries. In the screenshot below, the difference between the queries “Swarovski” and “Tiffany”:
Additional Services for Analyzing Keyword Statistics
Special services have advanced features for working with keywords. For example, on the Ukrainian platform Serpstat, you can search for keywords, their variations, and related words; compare the popularity of keywords; analyze competitors in the issuance by keyword, etc.
Report results can be filtered by frequency, absence of certain words in the phrase, and spelling (you can exclude queries with spelling mistakes).
Keep an Eye on Competitors
Analyze your advertising competitors. This way, you’ll understand their goals, strategy, tools, calls to action, and most importantly, you’ll know their results (even approximately).
Each time users enter a relevant query, your ad participates in an auction that determines whether it will be shown. Therefore, the simplest way to find out which sites primarily compete with yours is to review auction statistics in the Google Ads advertising cabinet.
How to Analyze Competitors’ Ads
- Explore the keywords and phrases your competitors use—this will help you check your keyword collection and, if necessary, supplement it. Use Serpstat.
- Review the information about available discounts, promo codes, and bonuses from other advertisers —this will give you ideas for possible promotions on your site (for example, adding free shipping from a certain amount, or introducing a discount on the next order). This way, you might even click on competitors’ ads and take a couple of dollars from their budget, hehe. Twice as nice?
- Analyze the format and structure of ad texts—for a deeper understanding of your target audience’s needs, to grasp how ads work in your market and business. Which additional links do your competitors indicate, which banners do they use. Don’t forget to research remarketing. Keep a separate document and folder where you note these things and conduct research regularly, say, once a week or month.
- Identify the main advantages of competitors, what makes them position themselves as special—this will be necessary to form your own UTP, which we’ll talk about later.
How to properly craft an ads
Neil Patel said, “The best ads meet your expectations”. By researching your goals, audience, and keywords, you should already have some ideas about how your ads will look. Now, it’s time to consolidate, supplement, and articulate them correctly.
What to consider for an effective Ad:
- Visuals;
- Trigger thesis;
- Relevance;
- USP (Unique Selling Proposition);
- CTA (Call To Action).
Visuals
Your ad has only a few first seconds to grab a potential client’s attention.
What visual effects you can use in text:
- Symbols;
- Punctuation;
- Capital letters;
- Unconventional spelling;
- Elements (rating, phone number, additional links, etc.).
Familiarize yourself with the Editorial Requirements, which describe Google’s prohibitions, for example, using two or more question or exclamation marks in the ad text is not allowed.
Assets are parts of content that supplement the ad with useful information about products or services or about the company in general.
Assets occupy additional space in the display, and besides additional information such as product types or additional links, they can include data that Google does not allow in the texts of ads (e.g., a phone number). Among the text, the company rating will also visually stand out.
Read our separate article on how to add it to your Google Ads copy.
Trigger thesis
“Trigger” literally means “trigger mechanism”, i.e., a phenomenon that causes a certain event. In marketing, a trigger is a reason that affects emotions and prompts the client to convert.
Marketers primarily use emotional triggers because they influence the target audience and encourage interaction with the ad.
Popular triggers in advertising:
- Fear and danger (avoiding problems or losses): “Don’t risk your business. We provide the fastest alarm response and security arrival“;
- Individuality (attracting attention to one’s personality; getting product/services specifically for one’s needs): “Buy exclusive clothing. We create personalized embroidery according to your wishes“;
- Herd behavior (the need to be like everyone else, have “must-have” items): “Be in trend! Choose among the most popular offers of the spring“;
- Greed (the desire to save through sales, discounts, promotions): “Up to 25% off all smartphones“;
- Urgency (a profitable offer for the client with a limited duration): “Offer valid until 01.06.24“;
- Competition and scarcity (limitation in the number of products or the number of customers who will have access to a promotional offer): “Only for the first 50 buyers“.
For the most successful trigger selection, consider the psychology of your target audience and do not use multiple triggers at once. Better to test 2–3 options non-simultaneously and keep the most effective one.
Relevance
Use information about the needs and interests of your target audience. Consider what events and trends affect potential clients. Offer specific solutions to problems in the ad and show how your services or products can help.
How to enhance the relevance of the offer:
- Focus on a specific product or service—specific ads are always better than general and abstract ones;
- Consider the seasonality of the product—advertising artificial Christmas trees will bring much more sales in December than in June;
- Tailor the language to the TA—informal style will be more appropriate with a younger audience.
USP
USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is a brief description of the advantages that make the products or services of a particular company better or different from competitors’ offers.
According to Rosser Reeves, who introduced the concept of USP, a good unique selling proposition should be specific, unique, and contain a benefit for the client. It’s worth spending time searching for what sets you apart from others, but it’s important to be honest and write the ad without exaggerations or false claims.
📌 Learn more about USP and how to formulate it in our article: How to Create a USP
If you’ve selected keywords, analyzed the TA and competitors, and identified the advantages of your business, the foundation for an effective ad is ready. You just need to add a call to action.
CTA
CTA (call-to-action) is an appeal or invitation to a potential client to perform the desired actions for the company (purchase a product, use a service, download an app, etc.): “Buy now”, “Book today”, “Try now”.
It’s better to articulate the call to action specifically, so the user knows what will happen after clicking on the ad, for example, “Try free for 30 days”, “Get a free demo version”.
A well-written CTA not only encourages the user to interact with the ad but also prevents them from leaving the site without making a purchase.
How to write a good ad copy
Use reliable information from the website
If you’re a marketer, only take information for ad texts from the website you’re advertising. For precise ideas, thoroughly review it and familiarize yourself with the business’s social media content.
Do not invent product features or service descriptions if they are not mentioned on the store’s pages.
If you’re a business owner, detail the values and best offers you can present to customers.
Consider character limits
We advise fully utilizing Google’s possibilities regarding the length of headlines and descriptions. This makes your texts larger, hence potentially more noticeable.
Sometimes the opposite happens — there’s a lot of text, but almost no information. Therefore, formulate your thoughts precisely, do not waste characters on “fluff”, because this way, you’re just draining your budget. Clear texts will make your ad stand out among others, increasing trust in your offer.
Use keywords in headlines and descriptions
This makes the ads more effective. To get more clicks, add keywords where possible in the first headline. To optimize this item, we recommend using the Google Ads feature “Insert keyword in text“.
Use specific facts and figures
Real facts make the advertisement informative and content-rich, and numbers, attracting users’ attention, stand out from the text and help increase CTR: “Operating since 2010”, “15 stores in NY”.
Pose triggering questions
They help the potential client realize that the advertising offer is made precisely for their needs. For example, in response to the search query “care for dry hair,” the client receives an ad with such a headline:
Do you have dry damaged hair? We’ll free pick care from trusted brands.
On the question part, the potential buyer subconsciously responds that yes, this is about me, and the likelihood of transitioning to your site may increase.
Align the description with the headline
Ads will be more effective if all descriptions and headlines relate as closely as possible to the search query.
If this direction is relevant, it’s better to create a separate campaign, and in the existing one on indoor plants, change the descriptions to relevant ones.
Do not use generic ad texts if the website offers a wide variety of different services or products
Such ads will look illogical, and sometimes even absurd.
What is a selling text?
A selling text:
- Understands the needs of the target audience and incorporates keywords.
- Truthfully and accurately emphasizes the unique qualities of the product or service.
- Is easy to read, not overloaded with complex syntax.
- Offers a clear call to action.
- Is focused on a specific category of goods/services.
- Is well-written.
- Grabs attention with a trigger thesis.
- Is accompanied by visual elements.
How to choose images
- Understand Your Target Audience—The overall impression of potential buyers influences the design of advertising images.
- Determine the Theme of the Advertisement—The image should be related to your product or service you’re promoting, or evoke certain emotions for purchase.
- Use High-Quality and Clear Images, with a format suitable for the specific type of ad in Google Ads—to avoid image distortions and cropped display on different devices.
- Test Multiple Variants — to choose the most effective one.
If you have a limited number of images, you can use product photos.
A marketer’s opinion on advertisements
Always stand out against competitors:
- Utilize numbers to highlight your advantages or product features. Numbers are more eye-catching than plain text.
- Employ question sentences and capitalize words. For instance, instead of “Buy a TV”, a title like “Looking for Where to Buy a TV?” would attract more attention.
- Fully utilize the space for titles and descriptions, adding all possible extensions to increase the size of the advertisement.
Common mistakes
Overall, in Google Ads advertisements from various advertisers, we can find all types of errors. We offer you some of the most common ones, but remember, any mistake can cost you a potential customer.
Examples of mistakes
- Excessive or missing spaces in text copy.
- Complex, cumbersome constructions:
❌Products by the brand Rated Green are created with natural components and nourish the scalp.
✔️Rated Green products from natural components. Cleanse and nourish the scalp.
- “Empty” words:
❌Niche compositions of fragrances created in cooperation with a team of French perfumers.
✔️Created with French perfumers. Contains natural wax and essential oils.
- Overuse of abstractions:
❌Filled with a gentle light floral scent and have a light semi-transparent creamy texture.
✔️Reconstructs hair follicles. Suitable even for very damaged hair.
- Writing words in Caps Lock:
❌TRY NOW
✔️Try now
Google will reject these advertisements. This mistake does not apply to stable known abbreviations and acronyms (ETA, FAQ, GPS, etc.).
- Inattentiveness
“I have carefully reread my advertisements after writing them, I don’t need spell check”—online editors and proofreaders will protect your advertisements from typos (which happen to everyone), missed punctuation, the most common errors.
But remember, even spell checking services might not always point out a mistake. So, if you are in doubt, we advise you to clearly read aloud the texts.
- Using similar texts in different headlines/descriptions
- Unmatched headlines and descriptions
- Incorrect abbreviations
Bad vs. Good Ads
| Bad | Why It’s Bad | Good | Why It’s Good |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guarantee of quality. | Unconfirmed promise. | 12-month warranty. | Specifies the warranty period for the product. |
| Best quality. | A subjective assessment that may prove to be untrue. | With quality certificates. | The claim is supported by documents. |
| Wide assortment, large selection. | Abstract information. | More than 2000 types. | Concrete data that gives an idea of the variety of the assortment. |
| Years of experience. | A subjective assessment. | Operating since 2010. | Concrete data. |
| Call us. | An abstract call to action that does not show the result of the action. | Increase your efficiency. | A specifically outlined call to action. |
| Affordable prices. | A subjective evaluation, affordability is measured differently by everyone. | Trial lesson for $50. | Indicates the type of service and its cost. The client immediately decides whether this offer suits them. |
| Reliable manufacturers. | A subjective assessment. | Lizard, Dynafit, and other brands. | Precisely specified brands, giving the customer an understanding of the product (if the brand is unknown to the customer, they can learn about it). |
| Impeccable service. | Abstract information that does not give an idea of which services this relates to. | Free installation. | A specifically outlined action. |
| Fast delivery. | A subjective assessment. | Delivered within 1-3 days. | Precise terms. |
Where to Find Inspiration
- Behance — A media platform for designers, illustrators, photographers, and creative people from around the world.
- Pinterest — A photo service that allows users to save and share their interests and ideas.
- Envato Elements — An online library with digital assets, including video recordings, audio clips, images, and templates for graphic design.
- Freepik — A search engine that helps users find high-quality photos, vector images, illustrations, and PSD files.
- Facebook Ad Library — A tool to enhance the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. The library helps to refine ad content and maximize its impact. It is also a market research tool that allows tracking competitors and predicting their next move.
On these platforms, you can look for works related to your business, view projects with similar products or services, or generally from advertising and marketing. Saving and comparing visual examples will help you understand which ads are suitable for your target audience. Ultimately, good ideas are the best inspiration for creating new ones.
Expert Comment
In your ad, specify real advantages, not those you would like to have. Google is gradually making its rules stricter.
Check the ad extensions at the account level, especially if your site is in multiple languages, as they can get mixed up. In such a case, you need to delete all extensions at the account level and add them again at the campaign level with the appropriate languages.
Fill in everything in the ad, from the logo to the video, to occupy more space in the search results and get more clicks.
Common Questions
To create a good ad:
— Define your advertising goals and audience needs.
— Gather keywords.
— Check them using search query statistics tracking services.
— Analyze your competitors.
A CTA is an appeal or call to potential customers to perform the desired actions for the company (buy a product, use a service, download an app, etc.) like “Buy now”, “Book today”, “Try now”.
It’s better to specify the CTA so the user knows what will happen after clicking on the ad, for example, “Try for free for 30 days”, “Get a free demo”.
A well-written CTA not only stimulates the user to interact with the ad but also prevents them from leaving the site without making a purchase.
The ad should include:
— A well-chosen visual.
— A trigger that will act on your audience.
— A product or service relevant to potential customers.
— A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) that contains a benefit for the customer.
— A specifically written Call to Action (CTA).
To write advertising texts correctly:
— Define your advertising goals and audience needs.
— Gather keywords.
— Check them using search query statistics tracking services.
— Analyze your competitors.
After that:
— Choose a visual related to this text.
— Write a trigger thesis that will stimulate interaction.
— Indicate the relevance of your product or service.
— Define a unique selling proposition that will contain a benefit for the customer.
— Write a specific call to action that will reflect what the customer will get after clicking.
What marketers advise
Writing a good ad is easy when you have something to offer: a useful product, values, a defined brand. Ads are an extension of your communication with the audience.
Moreover, even the best ad has a shelf life. In other words—ads go stale, so change banners, texts from time to time, because people get tired of intrusive remarketing.
Conclusions
- In Google Ads, there are text ads, banner ads, video ads, mobile app ads, Google Shopping ads, and Google My Business ads. They differ in placement and the dominance of text or visuals.
- Before creating ads, you need to define your advertising goals and analyze your audience.
- Relevant keywords will make the ad more effective, as the advertisement will be shown to interested users.
- Competitor analysis will help evaluate your business’s position in the niche, understand the direction to move in to become better.
- An effective advertisement depends on:
- A trigger that will act on your audience:
- Properly selected visuals;
- A trigger that will act on your audience;
- The relevancy of the offer;
- A UTP (Unique Selling Proposition) that contains a benefit for the customer;
- A specifically formulated CTA (Call To Action).
- A good ad text takes into account the technical requirements of Google Ads as well as content filled with the advantages of a specific product or service.
- To attract users’ attention, it’s necessary to choose relevant and high-quality images.
- The most common mistakes in Google Ads include lack of spell-check, mismatched headlines and descriptions, violations of logical connections between parts of the ad, excessive abstraction, etc.
- Abstract and subjective ads are bad. Good ads contain specific data and verified propositions.
