If you’re trying to build up your online business, creating effective Google ads can be a great way to reach potential customers without being too disruptive or expensive. Just how great? There are roughly 228 million searches per hour on Google, so the potential to reach a wide audience is there. But with high volume, also comes high competition. It would be all too easy for your Google ad to get lost in the mix, but knowing how to craft quality copy optimized for the search engine can help you target active searchers (and buyers).
In order to create high-converting Google ads, you need to understand what motivates the people who click on ads and what makes them different from those who don’t click at all.
Google Ads Basics
Before you can create highly effective ads, you need to understand a few things about how they work. Like any advertising medium, it can be difficult to get right — especially for newcomers who aren’t sure what type of ad copy works best on which search terms. But once you’ve got the basics down, the rest will become a lot easier. And so, here are a few things to keep in mind when starting to advertise on Google.
- Know your goals before publishing.
- Always aim to keep your copy as concise and as specific as possible.
- Have a clear, well-defined target audience or demographic.
- Be sure your copy doesn’t violate any of Google’s policy guidelines.
How to Write Strong Google Ads
Use Keywords To Your Advantage
If you have your own website, and especially if you’re a local business, be sure to use keywords that relate directly to your business. Your keywords should reflect what you think your audience would search in Google. This not only improves your ad’s Quality Score, but it also tells the user that your ad is relevant to their needs.
However, it’s also best to avoid keywords that are too broad. This could cause Google to place your ad in front of audiences that don’t quite fit who you’re looking for. How do you combat this? It’s all about trial and error. Test a few different keywords and see which ones work best for your content. However, it’s likely that you won’t get it right the first time, so don’t be discouraged if it takes a few mixes until you find the perfect fit.
It’s also important not to overuse a specific keyword. If you must repeat a keyword in your ad, do so only about two to three times. Any more than that and you could actually do yourself more harm than good.
To see good keyword placement in action, take a look at these examples from Credo Clean Beauty and Reformation.
Focus On User Search Intent
What exactly is search intent? Sometimes also known as user intent, it refers to the identification of what a specific user wanted to find when they opened up Google and started typing in their search.
Seems simple, right? Sometimes you’ll be able to discern search intent simply by looking at which keywords would best suit your product. But other times, it will be more difficult. Make sure you really understand what your target customer is trying to do with their search query before you start writing your ad text. If you can write something that speaks directly to that intent, you’re likely going to see higher clickthrough rates than if you don’t pay attention or aren’t even aware of what that customer is trying to accomplish. But this shouldn’t just stop at your actual Google ad. Your landing page, or wherever you’re directing your audience, should also reflect that same search intent.
What does this look like in practice? Use specific numbers, special offers, or dates whenever possible.
Make It Personal
Speak directly to your customers, addressing their needs and concerns, letting them know that you are a trusted resource in your niche. Start thinking about your ads from a user standpoint and consider including an image of yourself on them — letting users know there’s a real person behind your company.
You should also remember that creating great content makes for great ads; if it doesn’t inspire you, it won’t inspire anyone else either.
CTAs Are A Must
It’s not enough for your ad’s copy to sound good — you have to convince readers to take action. In other words, you have to have a strong call-to-action (CTA). If people don’t know what they’re supposed to do when they see your ad, they won’t click on it. So, you should always include a strong CTA and tell your audience exactly what they should expect when they visit your landing page after clicking on an ad. Use these CTA best practices when writing your own ads:
- Use action-oriented words.
- Keep it short and sweet.
- Be persuasive, but not too salesy.
- Personalize it to your offering.
Have a Google Ads Expert Right at Your Fingertips
Having your ad appear on a Google search page is one thing. And getting a user to click on your ad, among a sea of others, is the real challenge.
That’s why a lot of marketers have turned to AI copywriting to help beat out the competition. Enter: Anyword. Anyword’s AI platform hosts a specific feature just for Google Search Ads, generating effective (and high-converting) headlines and descriptions for your ads. The tool not only creates the copy from scratch, all in just a few clicks, but it also allows you to cater its AI to fit your specific tone and style.
Creating advertising copy that caters perfectly to your brand and your audience has never been this simple. And to top it off, Anyword actually tells you how well your ad might perform before you even put it in Google’s hands, using a unique Predictive Performance Score. Ease the stress of promoting your content on Google by treating yourself to a free, 7-day trial. Or, just jump right in and sign up for Anyword’s Free plan.
