Most Google Ads are hopeless.
The copy is boring, timid, and completely ineffective.
Google Search Results are highly competitive and the best performing ads get the lion’s share of the clicks and business.
To stand out you need a compelling message that grabs your audience by the scruff of the neck and forces them to pay attention.
Your ads should compel searchers to click and respond.
Ask yourself this question and answer as honestly as possible
Are your ads unique and exciting?
Or are they like this?
- Business name
- A list of services
- Some comments on your stellar customer service
- A free quote call to action
Rank and file. Dull as dishwater. Just another undifferentiated player in an overcrowded space.
Fortunately, the majority of ads fall into this category, so there is an opportunity here to do better, to stand out from the crowd and command clicks.
How to write better Google Ads
In this article, I am going to outline some of the ways you can improve your messaging to write high performing Google Ads that enjoy more clicks, generate more business, and save you money.
Alternatively, if you would like some help, get in touch and one of our copywriting experts can help you craft a message that will take your Google Ads to the next level.
10 Tips to Improve your Google Ads
Below are 10 tips that will help you improve every aspect of your Google Ads.
We will start with your overall brand messaging and value proposition all the way through to the nitty-gritty of Google Ads.
Our advice here would be to tackle each of these, in order, one at a time.
Any questions get in touch.
1. Brand Story
Creating a brand story using a framework like StoryBrand can help ensure you clarify your messaging so your customers pay attention. The StoryBrand framework also taps into the power of storytelling to put your customer at the centre of all of your messaging.
Implement this consistent approach across your website and marketing materials and your customers will better understand your offering and you will get more consistent engagement.
This is a simple framework that anyone can implement.
Actions
- Read the StoryBrand book
- Create your own StoryBrand using the free online tool
- Use this messaging in your Google Ads
2. Value Proposition
Using a simple tool like a value proposition canvas can ensure you understand your customer’s goals, pains, and jobs.
You can then detail all the parts of your service that alleviate the pains, help achieve the goals, and take care of the jobs that eat up their time.
Better still, you can rank order all of these areas of your solution so you can ensure that your messaging focuses and gives the most exposure to the most important elements.
Value Proposition Canvas
Feed the output of this into your ad creation and you will see hugely improved results.
Actions
- Read the Value Proposition Canvas book by Strategyzer
- Download the value proposition canvas
- Create your own value proposition
- Implement this in your Google Ads (and landing pages)
3. Call to Action
When we search the web we are to some extent on autopilot. So if you want people to click you have to compel them to do so.
Do this by including a clear and compelling call to action in your ads that uses strong words and sets them up for whatever action you want them to take when they reach your site.
- Download
- Claim
- Complete
- Maximise
- Schedule
- Call
- Appointment
- Buy
- Get
- Try
- Visit
- Register
You get the picture – just ensure you tell your customer what they should do now and once they reach your landing page.
Note: Google does not allow the use of “click here” on Google Ads.
Actions
- Identify powerful words
- Utilise these in your Google Ads
4. Features & Benefits
As business owners, we can all be guilty of talking about the features of what we do, but customers are interested in how that benefits them. Create a table with a list of all features on the left and then detail the customer benefits on the right and include these in your ads.
By focusing on the benefits to the customer you talk in their language. This should be built upon the pains, gains, and jobs work you did with your value proposition.
Actions
- Create a table of all features and related customer benefits
- Implement this into your ad copy
5. Special Offers
In some business categories, standing out is just plain difficult.
In this case, utilise a deal or offer to help ensure there is a clear reason to use you over the competition.
If you have a deal or special offer, mention this in your ad to help stand out and offer additional value over the competition. If this is time or number limited then all the better as this introduces some kind of scarcity.
Actions
- Create and promote a special offer that will drive customer engagement
6. Emotion & Logic
As humans, we like to think we are rational first, yet that is not the case. Humans tend to initially make emotional decisions and then use logic to justify those decisions. Use emotion in your ad copy to draw people in on a human level and back it up with logical justification on your landing pages.
Actions
- Create a table of emotional purchase decisions and the logical justification for each
- Implement this in your Google Ads
7. Responsive Ads
Responsive Search Ads are now the default and the majority of clicks are going to these ads over any remaining Expanded Text Ads.
Therefore, you should now focus on the responsive ads and invest the time and effort into writing a series of headlines and descriptions so Google can auto test and optimise your ads in real time.
It is important to understand the structure of Responsive Search Ads and how they work:
- The two main elements are headlines and descriptions
- Elements can be shown in any order so ensure they make sense
- Focus on getting a ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’ ad strength
- Pin any elements that must show in a given spot (don’t overdo it)
Responsive Search Ads allow Google to test and tailor ads to specific search queries and generate better results, so focus on these ad types.
Actions
- Create at least one responsive ad
- Strive for ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ ad strength
8. Be Highly Specific
There is a concept known as Single Keyword Ad Groups (SKAGs).
The idea here is that you choose a single keyword like say: “Google Ads management”.
You then write your ad copy very specifically around that one keyword so it is highly relevant to the customer’s search.
When people search for a keyword it is highly important to have that keyword in the advert copy, so by being highly specific, focusing on a single keyword, or a very tight group of keywords for each ad, you can really boost click-through rates.
Actions
- Ensure your ad groups are all highly focused around a single keyword
- Write ads that are highly focused on that single keyword
- Tailor the StoryBrand and value proposition for each ad group
9. Utilise Keyword Match Types
Google Ads has a concept known as keyword match types and understanding this is key to ensuring you are targeting the right keywords.
The general idea is that keyword targeting works at levels of specificity:
- Broad Match – very loose, Google will show anything it believes is loosely related
- “Phrase Match” – moderately controlled: the words must feature but in any order and with any other words
- [Exact Match] – the most specific: still not technically exact but the tightest kind of keyword matching available
Beyond these match types, you also need to consider negative keywords that will stop your ads from showing for those terms. For instance, if you wanted to show for “solicitor” but not for “solicitor jobs” you could use “jobs” as a negative keyword.
This builds on the specificity of point #8 and is essential to running campaigns that target the actual keyword you care about.
We cover this in greater detail in our article Understanding Keyword Match Types in Google Ads.
Actions
- Ensure you understand keyword match types
- Where possible focus on exact match keywords
- Review the Search Terms report to understand what terms are generating clicks
- Build out a list of negative keywords
10. Ad Extensions
There are several types of ad extensions available including phone calls, site links, callouts, structured snippets, pricing etc. A problem we tend to see with ad extensions is that a bunch get created and then applied to everything. You can do better.
This expands #8 above and applies being highly specific to the ad extensions used with each ad. By doing this you create the most relevant possible ads for each keyword group you target – this, in turn, improves ad strength and results.
Actions
- Create specific, customised ad extensions for each ad group
Bonus Tip – Be the Best
One way to generate more business is to simply be the best at what you do.
Whatever the pool of competition you work in is, be better than the competitors.
Be the company that people want to work with when they are reviewing several potentials.
Do better work. Have the best reviews. Have the most awards. The happiest clients. The best testimonials. The most impressive case studies.
Competence sells. If you want a builder or an architect or an accountant you want the company that can do the job the best.
So focus on delivering a world-class experience and then talk about this in your ads.
Summary
Google Ads is a complicated platform and that often means that the ad copy, especially for small business advertisers, is often not given the focus it deserves.
By following these 10 tips here you can write ads that are more powerful than 90% of your competitors and boost your Google Ads performance.
Don’t forget to also optimise your keywords, landing pages, and analytics to maximise results.
If you have any questions or would like any help please get in touch.
Want some affordable help from the Google Ads pros?
References
- Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen
- Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want
One Response
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