Google Search Ads Specs: The Guide to Better Advertising ROI

Are you thinking about spending a hefty share of your budget on ads to reach your target audience? You should consider spending it in the right place to get the most out of your advertising efforts.

Google search ads are helping advertisers save time and provide users with the best ads for their search query. Targeted, persuasive text ads are indispensable to a high-performing pay-per-click (PPC) campaign because they’re often the first point of contact a potential customer has with your business. When a prospect searches for something, your text ad appears if it is relevant to the search query.

How you design your ad has a major influence on whether users click it to visit your site or landing page. So, you should focus on making your ad relevant and compelling.

In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about Google search ads specs to create successful campaigns, including features specific to the Google Ads platform. Plus, you’ll explore ways of optimizing your campaigns to generate a better return on investment of your search ads.

 

What are Google Search Ads?

Google search ads allow you to advertise your product or service directly to your audience. These ads are based on the precise need of the customers instead of offering general information on broader topics. This focused approach increases the probability of clicks and conversion.

The actual working of Google search ads is quite similar across most of the popular search engines. These ads are text-based ads that are shown on Google’s search results pages.

For instance, when you search for ‘Best Jeans’ on Google, it’ll return sponsored results or ads as shown below:

The biggest advantage of search ads is that you can show your ad where most people seek information first – in Google’s search engine. Plus, your ad is displayed in the same format as other results but is clearly labeled as an ad. Thus, people are used to seeing and clicking on results.

The Anatomy Of A Search Ad

Here is a basic, sample search ad that Google published:

Headline: Comprehensive Insurance | Protect Yourself on a Budget | Get Your Free Quote Today

Display URL: Ad www.example.com/insurance

Description: Get affordable & trustworthy insurance. 10% discount on all online quotes. Easily compare insurance plans side-by-side in just a few seconds.

With this model, you can see the basic anatomy of a search ad.

Headline

The first thing visitors see is perhaps your headline text. So, consider adding words that users may have entered in the Google search box.

Your search ad can include 3 headlines (up to 30 characters each) to advertise your product/service. These headlines are separated by a vertical line (“|”) and may appear differently depending on the device you’re using to see the ad.

Display URL

Typically shown in green color, the display URL is your website address. It includes the domain from your final URL as well as the text in the optional “Path” fields.

The Path fields are intended to help visitors better understand where they’ll be taken when they click on your ad. The path text doesn’t have to be similar to the text of your display URL.

Description

The description field allows you to highlight the details of your product/service. Consider adding a call to action (CTA), which includes the action you want the user to take.

For example, an online clothing store might have a description that includes “Shop now” or “Buy clothes now.” Likewise, a service provider might add something like “Get an instant quote” or “Check out pricing.”

Length Limits

Here’s a table summarizing the maximum allowed length for each field in Google search ads specs:

Initially, when Google Ads started at that time there were some other limitations of the characters limit. Now as mentioned above limits are more acceptable. The main motive behind changing Google search ads specs is that Google wishes to give advertisers more room to communicate with their potential customers more effectively.

Almost many searches are expected to be done via voice in the coming future. This means you should also focus on voice search when crafting your paid search ads. By increasing description fields and lengths, Google can make more sense of what you are offering to the consumers.  This way, it can serve your ads to relevant users via voice search, just like it reads the meta descriptions during a text-based search.

5 Tips to Create a Successful Google Search Ad

Want to reach your potential customers effectively? Make sure your search ads are targeted, relevant, enticing, and empowering.

Here are five tips to help you create high-converting Google search ads.

1. Emphasize Your Unique Points

Mention your unique selling points, showcasing the products, services, or offers that make you competitive. For instance, you can include free shipping or high-quality as key selling points.

2. Mention Prices, Promotions, and Exclusives

Customers often search on Google to make their buying decisions. Help them decide quickly by offering details on prices, promotions, and other exclusives. For example, let the users know that you’re offering a limited-time discount or stocking an exclusive product.

3. Use a Strong CTA

If you’re selling some product, let customers know what they can purchase. Similarly, if you are offering a service, let them know how to contact you.

Use an explicit CTA like buy, call today, order, browse, sign up, or get a quote. This will help customers know the next steps.

4. Insert At Least One of Your Keywords

Using the right keywords in your ad text makes your ads more relevant in relation to the terms customers use during searches. For instance, if you’ve added shoes as a keyword, your ad headline can include “Purchase Shoes.”

5. Match Your Ad to Your Landing Page

Analyze your landing page and ensure that whatever promotions or products you have mentioned in your ad, they are also included on your landing page. Visitors might leave your site if they don’t find what they’re expecting.

Ways to Make Your Search Ads More Relevant

By increasing search ad relevance, you can improve your quality score along with boosting your ad rank. Having low relevance between your keywords and the ad copy can negatively impact the overall user experience. This is because the searcher’s query will not match the actual ad’s content. Ultimately, your ad will end up being irrelevant to the user’s search query.

This lack of relevance between your keywords and ad copy is considered a negative signal by Google’s algorithm. Consequently, it may punish you with a “below-average” level of ad relevance.

Keep in mind that ad relevance is one of the major factors that Google considers when calculating your ad’s quality score. That’s why you should focus on improving ad relevance, as a lower quality score results in lower ad rank and, ultimately, more expensive clicks.

Here are a few tips to help you improve the relevance of your search ads:

• Create tightly themed ad groups with only relevant keywords.
• Ensure your search ads are closely related to your keywords.
• Craft text ads that include the actual keywords.
• Using fancy catchphrases in the headline and description that aren’t relevant to the keywords can backfire. So use exact keywords in your headline and description lines.
• Add your main keyword in the Display URL.
• Select the relevant landing page.
• You can insert dynamic keyword in your landing page so that it can create more relevancy with user search intent.

Making your search ad more relevant is definitely worth the effort. You’ll be able to see a remarkable improvement in the performance of your ad campaigns.

Your keywords will get a higher quality score when you improve ad relevance, resulting in your ads being shown in a higher position. Moreover, your high-quality score will result in a lower cost-per-click (CPC).

As a result, you’ll save a lot of money and receive more clicks at a lower cost.

In a nutshell:

Higher Ad Relevance = Higher Quality Score = Lower Cost-Per-Click

 

 

Text Ads Optimization for Mobile Devices

Did you know, mobile searches account for more than 50% of searches on Google? For many marketers, the majority of their traffic comes from individuals on their mobile phones.

Mobile ads can bring in calls, app downloads, mobile site visits, and more. You can capture your customers’ attention on the move. That’s why you should focus on optimizing your text ads for mobile devices.

Here’s how you can do it:

Show Your Contact Info

Customers seeing your ad on mobile phones are more likely to want to know where you are located, or to call you. So, add your location and phone number with location extensions and call extensions in your ad.

Remember, your text ads can appear differently on mobile devices. So, consider developing ads keeping in mind your mobile users. You can use the mobile version of your site as a landing page and offer exclusives suitable for a mobile audience.

Add Mobile-Specific Targeting

To ensure your search ads are reaching the customers on mobile devices, consider adding mobile-specific targeting. Include keywords that drive maximum engagement from mobile users.

Set Up Mobile Bid Adjustments

Consider setting up mobile bid adjustments to bid higher for impressions on mobile devices automatically. This will increase the likelihood of your ads appearing on mobile devices.

Offer Great User Experience

Your mobile customers expect to enjoy a great on-site experience. Do not disappoint them with a desktop-specific landing page. Make sure that your landing page is also optimized for mobile devices.

 

5 Awesome Search Ads Examples

The internet is inundated with plenty of great Google search ad examples. The majority of large-scale ad campaigns are managed by big digital agencies that have huge budgets and plentiful resources to provide remarkable results. Plus, these agencies are quite experienced in running lucrative ad campaigns and creating awesome Google Ads.

Looking for some inspiration? Here are five excellent examples of Google search ads.

1. Great CTA

As you can see, the ad begins with a great CTA in the headline, encouraging the visitor to hire the best, not just anyone. It also reaffirms this directive by calling them experts in their field, which adds another level of trust.

The description covers more details about their service and the perks it offers, for instance, a pool of top-rated freelance talent and agencies. The ad copy entices users by promising them secure payment and a trusted platform.

Overall, the winning points in this ad are:

• Engaging CTA
• Excellent second headline reinforcing the first one
• Use of Google sitelink extensions

 

2. Clear Description

This ad example has a crisp headline that clearly explains what they do, which is not evident from their brand name. This ad is proof that you can get across trust and reputation without relying on the reviews extension.

Here’s what we like about this ad:

• Clearly specified services.
• Develops trust.
• Straightforward and to the point.
• Mentions pricing to dissuade unqualified leads.

 

3. Highlighting Brand

The headline begins with the brand name and registered trademark symbol, which is a great way to differentiate your brand from the competition. Next, the ad highlights their main selling point, which mentions that if you want to use their service, you’ll have to visit their site. It’s a good strategy to increase their CTR, especially when many price comparison websites are appearing in the search results.

The highlights of this ad are:

• Easy to recognize
• Attracts clicks
• Mentions benefits
• CTA ad extensions

 

4. Clear Listed Services

Their main headline begins with their brand name, making them easily recognizable. It is then followed up with “expert legal advice,” which conveys trust to the visitor.

The differentiating points in this ad include:

• Clearly listed services
• Builds on brand
• Precise description
• CTA ad extensions

 

5. Use Keyword

The headline begins with its brand name, and the keyword (Best Headphone) is used in an attention-grabbing way. The description starts with a catchy line that works well to attract people who have never heard of their brand before.

Within the first few words, they clearly explain what they sell and what makes them a popular brand. Next, they explain the advantages of shopping with them, like free shipping. That’s a great incentive that often attracts customers and stops them from going elsewhere.

The highlights of this ad are:

• Keyword
• Clearly mentions the brand name
• Live pricing extension
• CTA ad extensions

 

Tips to Create Customized Text Ads

There is an option to create customized or dynamic text ads. It’s used to craft text ads automatically updated with the information you want your prospective customers to know. Consider creating one ad with text that dynamically updates depending on your keywords, company data, or even the time of day.

You can include the following dynamic text in your text ads:

• 1. Countdowns – Run a countdown to a particular event and ensure your ads update automatically based on the current time. With the countdown customizer though, you create one ad that automatically updates with the days, hours, and minutes remaining. By using curly bracket while writing your text description you can select countdown. And set the selections accordingly.

 

 

• • I. yyyy/MM/dd HH:mm:ss is the date and time you want your function to countdown to, the end date of a sale or the day of an event for example. Make sure to use the 24-hour time format. If no time is entered into the function, it will default to 00:00:00.
  • II. Language is the language the date and time will be displayed in. Make sure you choose the language that fits with the language of our ad.
  • III. DaysBefore tells Google Ads when your ad should start running. Use a whole number to indicate how many days before the end date to start running your ad. Do not put this number in quotation marks.

 

• 2. Ad customizers – Ad Customizer helps you to change the ad details in a dynamic way by creating feed. You can change the targeting option of your certain campaigns, ad groups and keywords. It saves advertiser’s time.   You can learn more about Ad Customizer and how to use it.
• 3. Keywords – Increase your text ad relevance by dynamically adding the keywords that trigger your ad. For instance, if you have an online shoe store, you can create a text ad including the keywords searchers use to find your ad, a particular product you offer, its cost, and a countdown to a discount you’re currently offering.

 

Using Ad Extensions to Improve Ad Rank of Search Ads

Google chooses which extensions to display in response to every individual search. Therefore, it’s a great idea to use all extensions in your search ads that are relevant to your goals, especially as it doesn’t cost extra.

Google Ads display extensions, depending on several factors:

• Your ad rank includes a combination of the bid, ad quality, and quality of the landing page, search context, and more. Google Ads requires a minimum Ad Rank (factoring in your extensions) before showing extensions. So, you may need to increase your bid or your ad quality (or both) in order for your extensions to show.
• Your ad position – If your ad is in a higher position on the results page, you’ll get the first opportunity to display extensions. Ads in lower positions generally won’t have more extensions than ads in higher positions. To show ads in higher positions, generally, you need to increase your ad quality, bid, or both.
• Your other enabled extensions – In every auction, the platform usually shows your best-performing and most useful combination of eligible extensions and ad formats.

Google offers a number of ad extensions that help transform a basic message into a more complete ad experience. Thus, as mentioned in the beginning you can have an ad that looks like:

All of that extra stuff is thanks to ad extensions. In particular, this ad is using the callouts and featured snippets extensions. You can (and should) add extensions to your ad messages very easily from the Google Ads dashboard. You’ll actually be given the option to add extensions when you create your ad message!

To better understand what sort of extensions you can use to enhance your Google Search Ads, here are some of the marketing world’s favorites:

Sitelinks Extension

With this extension, you can put additional links on your ad to some of the main pages on your website. This gives potential customers the chance to choose which page is most relevant to their needs. You can learn why would an advertiser use site links?

Call Extension

Want to add a phone number to your ad so customers can reach you via their mobile smartphone? The call extension does the trick. This is crucial if you want to convert leads over the phone, as well as online through your website.

Location Extension

Alternatively, you may be trying to drive in-person visits to your store. Thus, you need customers to be able to find your address! The location extension will add a clickable address to your search ads. If a user clicks the address link, it will open Google Maps and show them where your business is on the map.

Callout Extension

As shown in the example above, the callout extension lets you add to your description with notable snippets of information that customers will find useful. “30 days to decide. Free exchange & returns. Free shipping…” are all callouts that the above advertiser found significant enough to include.

Structured Snippet Extension

Also present in the above example, the structured snippet is sort of like an enhanced sitelink. It provides links to major categories or pages on your website, along with a short, mini-description about what’s on each page. The real power of this extension is how it expands the length of the ad to command more space on the results page. It will be harder for customers to miss your ad with this extension!

Price Extension

If the price is an important selling point for your business, then the price extension will allow you to showcase this easily in your ad messages.

There are several other extensions available. These can include a business’ hours, a link to their app, customer reviews, etc. Adding these extensions doesn’t cost anything. However, not all of your chosen extensions will always appear.

Google recommends that you include 4 or more extensions with your ads to help ensure that at least some of that content appears and makes your ads more visible.

You can go into the detail of Google Ads Extensions to see how they look like on search results page.

What’s a Good Conversion Rate of Search Ads?

For search engines, a good conversion rate lies between 2% and 5%. If you have a conversion rate of 2%, an increment to 4% may seem like a huge leap. However, it depends on your industry. Some industries have low conversion rates, while others have high.

Want to improve your Google Ads conversion rate? Follow these tips:

• Evaluate your landing pages – These pages should be clear, simple, fast, and easy to use on every device. Avoid sending a specific ad to a generic landing page.
• Change up your offer mix – Often, the offer is not persuasive enough to compel visitors. Try putting your offer in your CTA.
• Ensure your ads are reaching a qualified audience – For instance, use income targeting if your offering is intended for a luxury market.

Moreover, you can further learn about if you are getting enough clicks but no leads, how you can investigate and solve the problem to get a better conversion rate.

10 Reasons Your Google Search Ads Aren’t Showing or Underperforming

There might be plenty of reasons if your ads are not showing or underperforming. But you cannot ignore the following are ten common reasons to identify the issue:

1. Irrelevant Ads

If your search ad doesn’t match the user’s intent, it will not generate sufficient clicks to justify your ad spend.

Your headline and ad text must be relevant to the keywords you’re bidding on. Plus, the product/service you are advertising should be able to solve whatever problem your users are facing.

2. Broad Keyword Terms

When it comes to your keywords, you have to nail it. That’s why it is important to make testing and tweaking a part of your advertising strategy.

When you use too broad keywords, Google will show your ad to the wrong audience. Consequently, you’ll get fewer clicks and a higher ad spend.

3. Poor Quality Score

Quality Score helps Google determine the rank of your search ad. With a higher ranking, you will have better ad placements in the search engine results pages (SERPs).

Therefore, with a poor quality score, your ad will reach a limited number of people, resulting in fewer conversions.

4. Underperforming Landing Page

The success of your search ads just doesn’t depend on your ad design and text. It also depends on what the user experiences after clicking on your ad.

Make sure your landing page is optimized for conversions. It should include the same keywords as your ad text.  Plus, it should address the searcher’s pain points or answer their queries. Your landing pages should allow the visitor to transition through to the conversion seamlessly.

5. Your bids are not too high

Think about your competitor, they are also bidding. If your bidding is not higher than them then you ad will not show. It may appear on later pages but not on the first page.

6. Keyword search volume is too low

If a keyword you’re targeting drives little to no search traffic on a monthly basis, the ads you have tied to that keyword may be ineligible to show.

7. Your ad is not approved

Normally it takes one day to approve your ad from Google. After that you still realizing your ad is not showing then there might be chances your ad is not approved. In this case contact with the Google Ads team.

8. Your CTR is too low

CTR of your ad indicates how appealing it is to your prospects. If your ad’s CTR is high, that means your message is resonating with users really well; if your ad’s CTR is low, the opposite is true.

9. Poor Ad Scheduling

Poorly planned Ad Scheduling can prevent your ads from showing for your target audience and kill campaign performance.

10. Negative Bid Adjustments

Incorrectly placed bid adjustments might be another reason campaign performance is suffering. May be on device 100% negative bid adjustment is placed which is preventing ads to be shown.

Wrap Up

It’s important to make Google search ads a part of your paid strategy. Using all the tips discussed in this guide, you can create targeted, compelling text ads that grab attention and drive clicks.

A keen knowledge of Google search ads specs and the latest changes can help you get the best return on your ad spend. Text ads are all about conveying the right message to the right person at the right time. Avoid keyword stuffing as that could lead to a Google penalty. Instead, focus on creating relevant ads that offer real solutions to the problems your audience faces.