How to write irresistible
Google Ads copy that gets your
target audience clicking
If you've recently taken over an ads account or you're planning out a roadmap for an existing client, a common task often on the list is ad copy testing.
Once tracking, unit-economics & KPI fundamentals are aligned and in top shape, looking to get smaller wins through copy is a nice way to continue building momentum in the ads account and help drive improved performance.
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To truly write copy that stands out amongst competitors and gets your ICP clicking, it all starts with the customer.
Know your customer
To write RSAs that land well, we need to write them like we're speaking directly to your target audience.
One of the best ways to do this is to look at your product and/or service reviews:
Trustpilot and/or Google reviews are goldmines that if dug through, massively elevate your ability to speak to the customer.
For larger D2C brands — scraping is your friend here.
The RSA structure
Once it's clear who you're writing for and why, it's time to transform it into an RSA structure that actually works.
I've broken down the 15 headlines into specific roles — each serving different purposes.
Keep it simple, stupid
KISS is the name of the game here. Have a couple of headlines directly integrating your target keywords that your customers are looking for.
These allow you to essentially sub in whichever keyword pairs with the search term dynamically in the ads copy — making it more relevant for the user. If the keyword takes the headline over 30 characters, your inputted placeholder value shows instead.
This technique is powerful and allows for proper intent matching however be careful not to use these on any competitor terms or in DSA as this will lead to competitor brand names in your ad copy. Not only is this misrepresentation, but brands who trademark their name are then free to come your way with infringements and lawsuits pending…
Does what it says on the tin
Be explicitly clear, like with your intent matching, what your offer is. If you sell sofas, detail the sizes, fabrics or colour offerings. If you sell trainers, state the sizes and colours.
Having this and the keyword integration help provide a strong backbone of headlines for Google's machine learning to rotate between.
My favourite part of ad copy
Without this, parts 1 & 2 read like Google's own AI recommendations — absolute trash.
By having distinctive headlines that reverse risk and build trust, we can help build interest in the brand, showcase value and persuade the user to click through.
It's not enough to just match the user's search intent — you need to be showcasing your guarantees, returns, social proof, customer count, speed, ease of use etc.
It's these headlines in combo with the search intent & function that really weave together a comprehensive ad. Without these, your ads are lacking.
One is enough
If you're running a promotion or sale, having a headline dedicated to it is very handy and usually becomes one of the leading assets in the RSA anyway.
Promoting sales whether that's annual or festival-related or seasonal helps reduce friction as the customer perceives additional value received as they paid less to acquire it than what they normally would have — AKA a "One up" on you.
Don't go crazy with these, just one is fine.
If you're a high AOV product that has a lot of consideration i.e premium furniture, test pricing in your RSA as a way to filter out clicks from users who weren't your target demographic anyway. Tire-kickers, aspirers etc — they can still interact with the brand organically just not at the expense of your paid budget.
You don't necessarily need to include the promo headline/description in the RSA itself. To keep things clean and simple you could integrate it at campaign or account level as a headline/description asset — essentially giving you an extra headline/description for free!
Make the user feel something
Since we've already listed functions and features to match their search intent, we need to counterbalance with the emotional side of things by using benefits to make them feel the upside of the product, rather than the robotic side of things like a mini-spec list.
Translating these features into benefits is the aim here. Don't over-think it.
Bring it all together
This is where your different headline components come together. You'll want to mix and match your different components (search intent, function, risk/reversal/trust, promo & benefits) to create punchy descriptions that sum up the offer.
Short and sweet
Use a DKI or standard keyword from your ad group in Path 1. Name path 2 as something that illustrates where the user goes i.e collection.
Note — path 2 doesn't really hold much value so can be left blank.
You don't have to fill out every headline and description. Google's UI will reward you with a nice strong ad strength but this fundamentally doesn't mean much. I would recommend having a nice balance of each element so that Quality Scores don't suffer and the ad doesn't read robotically, but you don't necessarily need more than 9 headlines and 2 descriptions.
Quite a varied topic with pinning. I've seen results go both ways whether you leave it up to Google's machine learning to put together sensible combos or take matters into your own hands and pin each headline or just a couple of them to specific positions. Provided you've got enough conversion volume in the account on a monthly basis, you should consider A/B testing this.
Closing thoughts
Never write ad copy directly in the UI. It's incredibly slow, buggy and more likely to lead to typos and errors. I always build out in a sheet and then use Google Ads Editor to bulk upload. Infinitely faster & much less risk of things going wrong.
Use the second tab in the template for these uploads — thank me later.
Lastly, if you're unsure whether or not your ad hits the mark — always go back to the customer. Does it speak to them, relate to what they're searching for and does it read well? If it sounds repetitive, keyword stuffed or a robotic spec list — you've gone wrong.
Free resource
Grab the RSA template
Pre-structured with all 15 headline slots, description fields and a bulk upload tab for Google Ads Editor. Make a copy and start building.
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