Text ads are typically added to Search Campaigns and Display Campaigns. Once set up, they can be very effective, but they can sometimes be intimidating to write up and put together.
How to Set up an Expanded Text Ad in Google Ads
- Enter your landing page URL. This is the page that your ads will lead to. You may want it to be the home page, or a much more specialized landing page depending on what you are trying to advertise.
- Enter up to 3 headlines (up to 30 characters each). Your headlines are typically only a couple of words and they are what your prospective customer sees first. This is where you want to use powerful language and sharp keywords to catch people’s attention.
- Enter up to 2 descriptions (up to 90 characters each). Your headlines are longer, roughly the length of a short sentence. This is where you want to describe the product you are selling, advertise free shipping or customization options, or other longer descriptions to help encourage people to click on your ads
1. Enter Your Landing Page URL
The first text box you’ll be asked to fill is that of your final URL. This is the URL that your text ads will take prospective customers that click on your ad. The landing page you use is very important. Your ads could be perfect, but if your landing page doesn’t convince your prospective customers to buy your product, join your email list, or visit your physical store, your ads will still fail.
If you are selling a specific product you won’t want to link your ads to the home page, you’ll want to link them directly to the product with a “BUY NOW” button right in front of the prospective customer’s face. Similarly, if you are trying to spread brand awareness, build a contact list by having people join an email list, or have someone become interested in visiting your physical location, linking your ad to a specific product wouldn’t make very much sense and would ultimately be very ineffective.
2. Enter up to 3 Headlines
Your headlines are quite short, a maximum of 30 characters, and are usually just a few words. It is important to use strong keywords and impressive language. This is the first thing your prospective customer will see, so you want it to grab their attention and give them a brief snippet of what you are advertising.
The first two headline fields are required and the third is an optional addition. Your headlines will show in order of 1-3 so you want to make sure your headlines flow together when you write them. The third headline doesn’t always show on mobile devices and is more commonly seen on computers or wider handheld screens. While the third headline is not necessary, it can be a very helpful addition to include more information, more headlines, and more chances to grab your prospective customer’s attention.
When deciding how to write your headlines it is best to do research on what you are advertising. For example, if you are advertising an acne cream, you should spend some time looking at advertisements for other acne creams. The best way to do this is to log out of your google account and use a different web browser than your usual browser to get the most accurate information. Typically, the ads shown at the top when you search for acne cream are the most successful ads. By reading these ads you can replicate the style and kind of language used to give your ads the best chance of success. You can write absolutely anything for your headlines but knowing the type of language that has already proven to be successful with your competitors can give you a great advantage.
3. Enter up to 2 Descriptions
Your descriptions are longer segments of text, a maximum of 90 characters each. Since the descriptions allow you to write out short sentences, they are best used to describe the product you are selling, advertise free shipping or seasonal sales, and mention additional customization options. Descriptions are a great way to tell your prospective customers exactly what you are selling to help alleviate any remaining questions or doubts someone might have before clicking on your ad.
Only one description field is required, but two are available. Just like the headlines, your descriptions will show in the order you type them in if you choose to add an additional description. Just like the headlines, it can be very useful to add in the extra optional description to your ads. Descriptions give you much more control over your ads. Your headlines will hook people in, and your descriptions will convince people to click on your ads. It’s important to add enough information into your descriptions so satisfy any doubts your prospective customers may have. Your ads are often the first interaction with your business a new customer may have, so building rapport and trust through your descriptions can be incredibly useful in the long run.
Just like with your headlines, doing research on how your competitors write their descriptions is a very useful technique. The information they include, the things they choose to highlight, and how long they decide to make their descriptions can give you an amazing insight into what descriptions will perform well in your ads and which ones will only be average at best.
Ultimately, the words you use and the information you choose to include in your ads can make all the difference in whether or not your ads are successful. The combination of a good landing page, solid headlines, and informative descriptions can all come together to give you a beautifully successful ad.
Commonly Asked Questions:
Do I need to use the additional headline and descriptions text boxes?
Not at all! They can be a very useful addition to spruce up your ads, but if you don’t feel like you have enough information to utilize the text boxes without repeating the same information over again, it is perfectly fine to leave them blank.
How do I know if my ad is performing well?
The performance of your ad is reliant on the goal your ad is meant to satisfy. If the goal of your ad is to bring in sales, your ad will only be performing well if it is indeed driving sales. If the goal of your ad is to drive website visits or phone calls, you can measure the success of your ad by looking at how many people actually clicked on the ad or the phone number provided.
How many ads should I create for each ad group?
Ultimately it doesn’t matter how many ads you create per ad group. Personally, I usually create three ads per ad group as a baseline minimum. I will create two expanded text ads with different wording and one responsive text ad combining the text used in both of my expanded text ads. There really is no right or wrong number for how many ads your ad group should have.
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