The Best 6 Point Checklist For Writing Flawless Google Search Ads

[fusion_dropcap boxed=”no” class=”intro_dc” id=”” color=”#222222″]T[/fusion_dropcap]o be real, writing text ads in Google Ads can feel like absolute torture. Sometimes, you’d rather fit yourself under your desk than fit a well-written ad into 300 characters or less (including your headlines, expanded description lines, and URLs).

But what can you do? Reword, rewrite, and revise again and again, and hope that your ads are getting great CTRs (Click Through Rates) and Quality Scores. We’ve taken the guessing out for you in this article. After tons of research and countless hours spent testing ads, we’ve found the top six must-haves for flawlessly written Google ads.

Before we get started, we want to mention a very, very important note that won’t be covered again in this article. When you’re first starting out placing your keyword in the Headline 1, Display Path, and Description is an absolute must-have for every single ad. Without it, your quality score will tank, and the amount of money that you’re feeding Google will shoot up.

Unless you’re able to create a more profitable ad by breaking all the generally accepted rules of Google’s quality score algorithm. Then, by all means, go that route, but that’s a totally different article for a different time.

Now, what actually are the six items for a top-notch text ad that will have consumers clicking on ads faster than a cop chasing a robber?

I can already hear you saying, “But listen, I sell…and it’s the most boring…” No, anything and everything has a why behind it; that why, that reason, is the emotion that you want to target when you’re writing your ads. There are a few steps before you begin to type away at an ad:

First, imagine yourself as a client. Ask yourself, “What do I want from this company?” Most people want basic things: to save money, to save time, to use less effort, to feel better, etc.

Once you’ve decided what you want as a client, think about the best emotion you want to elicit to inspire them to buy. The current majority of ads have a neutral tone; writing yours with a neutral tone will wash it away with all the other “blah” ads out there. Choose your emotion, and choose carefully. For some companies, choosing anger or fear is powerful, but for most companies, we recommend positive and affirmative tones for your ads.

For example, one of our clients is a Heating and Air Conditioning Service. In order to write ads for this client, I pictured myself as a person typing in the words, “Air Conditioner Repair”. Is that person typing in those words relaxing in a cool house while watching their favorite show? Are they currently happy? Probably not. They want cool air, and they want it now; it’s a simple request. That’s why it was fairly easy to write the ads for them:

In the ads written, I tried to focus on emphasizing that we will show up, and we will repair the air conditioner right away. The tone I chose to go for was urgency; everyone knows that sweating sucks, and customers are more likely to call and get the ball rolling towards their A/C repair than submit a form and wait around for a call back.

Appealing towards what the client wants and why they want it is the key to writing effective ads with a high CTR.

We love ourselves: our company, our services, and our brand is just so much better than everyone else, right? But don’t let pride clutter your Google ads, or you’ll find your metrics rooted in one spot, just like Narcissus. Our ads are written for other people, and that small fact can be difficult to keep in your mind; even the best of us will end up writing ads about ourselves from time to time, but that doesn’t bring in the money. Vanity is part of human nature, and your potential consumers are the exact same way.

Bringing it back to thinking about who the client is and what they want, you’ll realize that they aren’t inclined to read about you and how awesome you are; no, they want to read about what you’ll give them. They want to read about themselves, and it’s actually easy to do that for them.

Let’s take a look at a business owner who just wants some customer reviews:

The one that stands out most to me has gotta be the second from the top for two big reasons.

First, it has a positive tone (check the first point on this list) by suggesting that it will help you get more positive reviews; this business owner doesn’t want to get software that will give her all one-star reviews, right?

Secondly, it used words that a consumer wants to hear; it said “your” and “free”. Of the top words that people want to read, anything about themselves, and anything free are pretty good words to start with.

A quick list of solid words that speak to the customer’s soul:

• You & Your (It’s about them…what more could they want?)
• Get & Now & Today (Instant gratification implication words)
• Free & Save (Who doesn’t like to save money?)

“Some people find inspiration in cooking their families and their dogs.” (How about no.)

“Some people find inspiration in cooking, their families, and their dogs.” (That’s nice.)

Listen, as much as some people will insist that grammar and punctuation doesn’t matter in this world, an ad without grammar is a rough read. But this part isn’t about what you should’ve learned in 9th-grade English class; ads with punctuation, symbols, and numbers tend to hold a much higher click-through rate (CTR) than those without.

Here’s why: Internet users don’t actually read; they tend to skim internet pages – which are already overloaded with information. Therefore, using all 60 characters in Headlines 1 and 2 for just letters will have your reader glossing over your ad and onto one that catches their eye. If they read your description, and it all runs together, it can get confusing and possibly send potential clicks elsewhere.

How to awaken those glossing over ad readers? Take a look at a few recommendations and examples that we have:

• Use Commas (to emphasize a point)
  • (Example for an office that accepts walk-ins) Headline 2: No Appointment, No Problem
• Use Trademark Symbols On Your Branded Ads (to be official and to break up the monotony)
• Use That & Symbol (to save character count, offer more benefits, and disrupt the dull letter flow)
  • (Example for targeting towards a nervous audience) Headline 2: Gentle, Safe, & Effective Care
• Exclamation Points (to pump up your reader into clicking and converting)

In a world of uncertainty and companies holding out information on us, people like to know the numbers and data before wasting their time. This is especially applicable to prices. It’s no surprise that the Google ads with numbers in them get all the clicks.

You’ll also want to be as specific as possible when writing out your numbers; take a look:

• 836 Happy Clients & Counting
• 800+ Happy Clients & Counting
• Many Happy Clients & Counting

Of the headings, which one are you most likely to trust and click on? Chances are, the exact number has caught your eye because it shows that the site is truly counting their clients. The idea is to have a potential consumer to read the post start to finish and click without having to think too much for themselves. The 800+ will have someone pause, even if it’s just for a moment, and start wondering…” does 800+ mean 801 or 864”…and any sort of thinking about what numbers anyone is hiding can be dangerous.

Yes, having your keyword in the Headline 1, Display Path, and Description is important, we know, we know. But that’s the only writing requirement that Google Ads specifies for a great quality score. That means that you can use as many other words as you’d like for every other character of your ad. And you’ll want to use them, because people like seeing ads that have diversity, and it’s ultimately people who are clicking on your ad to buy your goods.

While keyword stuffing may please a robotic algorithm, you want to remember that the entire point of running ads is to make money from other people. Don’t sacrifice money for vanity metrics. Take a look:

A bit overkill, no? That much of one word is bound to drive some people away. Here’s a better example.

Keywords are in the right place? Check. Word fatigue? Not in sight.

This one is perhaps the biggest and most important point that we can make. A strong call to action can make or break your ad. We’ve written a full article breaking down call to actions here. A strong call to action consists of a few parts:

First, you have to tell the customer what you want them to do. This varies from company to company for what you want your call to action to be. But all across the board, if you just say, “this is now available.” and leave it at that, you’re probably not going to get a lot of results. You have to tell them what you want them to do:

• Selling something? Use words like, “Shop”, “Buy”, “Order”
• Selling an appointment? Use words like, “Call”, “Book”, “Fill Out A Form”
• Selling information? Use words like, “Find Out How”, “Download”, “Subscribe”

Secondly, you have to tell them what’s in it for them. Back to point number two, people love to read about themselves. They love to know what you’re actually going to do for them, and if they invest their time to click on something, they want to know what they’re going to get. This goes hand-in-hand with personalized words:

• Selling something? A full CTA would be, “Buy Now For Free Shipping!”
• Selling an appointment? A full CTA would be, “Call Today For Your Consultation!”
• Selling information? A full CTA would be, “Subscribe For Healthier Habits Today!”

Don’t forget your exclamation points on your call to actions, as they tend to pump people up and mentally prepare them to click away!

By combining all of these points, you’ll see an increase in your CTR and (with good landing pages) an increase in your conversions.

An example ad that’s using all of the points listed looks like this:

Let’s check, does it cover this list?:

1. Choose Emotion (affirmation, positivity, negativity, fear, anger)
2. Personalised Words (you, get, now, today, free)
3. Punctuation (commas, symbols, exclamation marks)
4. Numbers (specific numbers)
5. Synonym Variety (don’t keyword stuff)
6. Strong Call To Action (what should the customer do, what will it get them, exclamation point)