Posted 4 hours ago4 hr comment_12349 Most advertisers spend hours managing keywords, bids, and targeting – but overlook the one thing searchers actually notice: the ad itself. If your ads aren’t strong, nothing else in your account can save you. Why ad copy is the heart of your PPC account When I look at how many Google and Microsoft Ads accounts are being managed, I see a lot of time devoted to: Search term management. Complex bid strategies. Keyword research. Inactionable data analysis. In many accounts, the ads are often neglected. However, your ads are the most crucial part of your PPC account. Your ads are the only aspect of your account that a searcher sees. Searchers don’t see or interact with your keywords, bids, audiences, or search terms. Google emphasizes how essential ads are in their naming conventions. Google’s PPC system is called Google Ads. You create ad groups – not keyword groups. The ads come first, and the targeting methods, such as audiences and keywords, are used to determine if the ad is relevant to the searcher. The few characters devoted to your ad copy must resonate with the searcher. Your ads must: Draw the searcher’s attention. Explain your offer. Show why they should interact with your business instead of the myriad other options on a search page. Ultimately, bring qualified traffic to your website. You can have up to 15 headlines in a responsive search ad (RSA). An effective ad uses a variety of ad components to attract a searcher’s attention and convince them to click on your ad. Ads that use a few ad components are often dull and ineffective. Let’s look at the main types of ad components you can use in your headlines. Relevant headline If your ad doesn’t attract someone’s attention, all your carefully chosen words do not matter. The first step to an effective ad is drawing the user’s attention. When someone searches, they are looking for information specific to their topic. Your ad should show that you understand what the user is looking for and can help them accomplish their goal. Relevant headlines reflect the searcher’s intent, which should be the same as the keywords in your ad group. You do not have to just mirror the keywords in your ad group. If you use thematic ad groups, where all the keywords are related to a central theme, then these headlines can reflect the overall theme of the ad group. Your relevancy lines can also be used in ad group organization. If you look at each of your relevancy lines and they do not reflect every keyword in the ad group, you need to move the non-relevant keywords to another ad group so that they can also be reflected in the ad. If you use pinning, these lines are generally pinned to the first headline. In B2B marketing, these lines serve another function – prequalification. With B2B ads, you don’t want to appear to B2C searchers. Use these lines (and sometimes other headlines or ad assets) to appeal to business searchers, but do not show relevance to B2C searchers. These lines are so essential that Google’s responsive search ads serving defaults to these headlines. Google will serve your relevancy lines over every other ad component in your headlines, and these lines usually have the most impressions of all your headlines. Features and benefits Features are bullet point lists of facts about a product or service. They aren’t spicy and are just facts. A benefit is what someone gets out of using the product or service. For instance, a computer might have a 12-hour battery life. That’s a valuable piece of information if someone is comparison shopping and sorting by various product features. However, it lacks the context of what that means to a user. Consider these headlines: No need for plugs – 12-hr battery. Be productive on long flights. Hunt for insights – not power. To turn a feature into a benefit, just look at a feature and ask, “Why does this matter?” and finish the sentence. Then you’ll need to reduce the characters to fit into your headline or use the entire line in your descriptions. As features can be crucial, but boring, they usually make better callout or structured snippet extensions as opposed to headlines. However, we buy products and engaged services based upon what something does for us – that’s a benefit and one of the most crucial aspects of ad creation. Unique selling proposition (USP) There are many options on a search page. Users can interact with ads, AI Overviews, organic listings, and vertical-specific information. They have many options to satisfy their search. Why should they choose you over all these other options? What is unique about your product, service, or company? In niche industries, changing a USP rarely affects your CTRs or conversion rates. However, in highly competitive industries, especially ones where many companies offer the exact same product or service, your USP can set you apart and increase your ad’s effectiveness. Authority statements Authority statements showcase why you are the go-to authority for your industry. 10,000+ 5-star reviews. Over 1,000 patents granted. 150+ years of legal experience. Established in 1897. A+ BBB Rated. These can be worthwhile headlines to test in competitive areas where you are trying to stand out. If they aren’t working well for you or aren’t as powerful as your other headlines, they also double as wonderful callout extensions. Dig deeper: How to benchmark PPC competitors: The definitive guide Pain point solutions Many searchers are trying to solve a problem. Speaking directly to the issue they face can be highly effective as a headline. Consider these headlines: Stop overpaying for insurance. Tired of low investment returns? No more missed appointments. End website downtime. Ditch manual budget tracking. Say goodbye to late fees. Eliminate invoice errors. Stop leads from slipping away. With these ad components, you are showing the searcher that you not only understand their problem, but you can fix it. Users hunting for solutions are often frustrated with their current products and are looking for something new. Addressing and fixing pain points has been a successful marketing tactic for years. Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. Business email address Sign me up! Processing... See terms. Emotional appeals Humans are emotional. We often buy something because of how it makes us feel rather than its usefulness. This is especially true when spending disposable income on: Self-help. Travel. Weight loss. Other life-affirming or life-improving items. Emotions are powerful to tap into, and can make highly effective headlines when coupled with a relevancy line. For instance, consider these headlines: Make Memories That Last. Freedom to Choose Your Path. Feel Confident About Tomorrow. Love How You Live Again. Turn Dreams Into Plans. Peace of Mind Starts Here. Empower Your Financial Future. These can be substituted for a corporate slogan in your case. If you have a common slogan throughout your advertising, you might also use it as an emotional appeal in your ads. “Just Do It” – Nike “Think Different” – Apple “I’m Lovin’ It” – McDonald’s “Because You’re Worth it” – L’Oréal “A Diamond Is Forever” – De Beers In these instances, you connect the emotional feelings from your video or TV ads with your search ads by using the same lines across various ad formats. Offer or promotions Everyone likes free. Everyone likes to save money. Showcasing specials, offers, or promotions in ads is powerful. These are often straightforward headlines that show your offer. Buy 1 Get 1 Free No Setup Fees – Join Now Sale ends on XX date. This is usually coupled with the countdown customizer. Try it free for 30 Days 25% Off – Limited Time If you test these lines and they don’t improve your metrics, you can still use these offers in your promotion or price asset. Dig deeper: 3 tips for using promotions and discounts in paid search Calls to action (CTA) Arguably, the second most crucial headline type after your relevancy line is calls to action, which tell someone what to do. When someone is searching, they are looking for information. They are not the expert since they need assistance answering a question. The user is looking for direction on how to solve their issue. Telling a user the next step often increases conversion rates. The biggest issue with calls to action is that most are boring or overused. The number of ads that use, “call now,” “buy now,” “shop now,” “subscribe today,” is so overwhelming that we’re blind to these words. Powerful calls to action combine other ad components with a CTA. The most common item combined is a benefit. However, you can do this with most ad components. Help Humanity – Volunteer Today. Subscribe to power marketing tips. Get Leads. Start a free trial. Learn how to cut costs. Discover the majesty of Egypt. Your other consideration with CTAs is the buying funnel. If someone has just started their purchase journey, you don’t want to say “buy now,” as they are still researching. Softer CTAs, such as “discover” or “learn,” are better when a user is higher in the funnel. Conversely, if a user is ready to buy, start a trial, or subscribe, you don’t want to tell them to learn more. You want them to take the next step in their buyer journey. Examine your keywords, consider where someone is in their journey, and then use CTAs that are appropriate for that specific step in the buying process. Combining ad aspects into a single headline Many headlines can address multiple ad components in a single line. For instance, if we look at pain point solutions, we can add calls to action to them. Stop Overpaying – Switch Today. No More Late Fees – Join Free. Cut Tax Stress – Book a Call. Say Bye to Spam – Try It Free. Or they can double as relevancy lines by including keywords. Tax Pros- Eliminate Tax Stress. End Hidden Credit Card Fees. Stop CRM Frustration. In some cases, they can be relevancy lines and calls to action. Ditch Your Outdated CRM. Switch to a No-Fee Credit Card. Get Advice from Expert Lawyers. Not all your ads will use every ad component. However, by combining different ad components into single headlines, we can convey more information with a set number of characters. Build better PPC campaigns by focusing on your ads There are more ad components than can be used in an ad. Not every ad component is going to be best for your messaging. Each ad component has its strengths and weaknesses. This is why you must not just write ads, but test them as well. Your ultimate goal is to improve your account’s goals. The strength of a copywriter is the ability to concisely pack ad elements together while making the ad easy to understand and focused on your business outcomes. Putting too much information into an ad can make the offer convoluted and confusing. Too little information, and your competition’s ads will outshine your own. Simple is more difficult than complex. Can you take complex messages and boil them down into easy-to-comprehend statements? PPC headlines have character limits. They are short, concise, and packed with information that: Speaks to the user. Shows them why they should choose your company over all the other options. Your ads are the only part of your account that a searcher actually sees. Are your ads using a variety of ad components to showcase your company’s offers effectively? Dig deeper: 4 practical ways to use generative AI for ad copywriting View the full article
