Journey Based Advertising: Chapter Ten
The core components of a paid search ad contain up to three headlines, a display URL, and up to two descriptions.
- Headline: 30 characters
- URL: Can be a customised version of the destination URL
- Descriptions: 90 characters that should highlight the benefits and details of your product or service and serve as your CTA.
The organisation of your search ad components will vary depending on the device they are being viewed on. Keep this in mind when writing your ad copy.
So how do you write great ads? Google recommends best practices that fall under two categories: ad copy and ad experience.
Ad copy
You need to deliver the right ad at the right time; great ad copy will help you do this. It will also help you deliver relevant ads that your target audience will thank you for.
To write the best ad copy:
- Include your keywords in your ad
- Use specific language that matches the way your target audience speaks
- Include a clear and direct call-to-action
- Give people answers to their problems rather than posing questions
Ad experience
You want to make sure that your ad experience sits well within the context of your copy.
- Include all ad extensions that make sense for your business (Google recommends at least 3)
- Think about how your ad makes sense for users across devices and create separate ad campaigns as needed
- Align your landing page to the copy of your ad
How does Google rate your ads?
While your bid amount has a massive effect on whether your ad will be served or not for any given keyword, Google also uses something known as a quality score in making this decision.
Quality score algorithm that scores each of your ads for relevancy
Google looks at how closely your keyword relates to your ad and how your ad relates to the page content and aims to provide an optimal user experience for their searches. Since the quality score has been introduced, ads will always be shown for relevant search terms.
Quality score is on a scale of 1-10
The higher the score, the better the ad, which means that even if your bid is below a competitor’s, if you have a higher quality score, Google may give you the top position for your lower price because your ad is more relevant.
Note that it makes sense to make your ads relevant as it is more likely to get clicked on, which is a better experience for Google, searchers, and users.
Quality score can also tell you which keywords are efficient to bid on
Reasons for a low-quality score may be telling you that the content on your site is not relevant enough to compete in that space, and it is not a cost-effective channel for you.
Grow with Google Ads by learning the CTR to beat for your industry.
If you want to succeed with PPC, show Google how you can relate your copy to the landing page experience using these best practices to guide you or ask the experts for help! Our PPC team is always on hand for a consultation.
