• Click-through-rate (CTR) is one of the key factors used by Google to determine the relevance of your campaign, and ultimately your overall quality score.
• If you want to have a high CTR, you need to know how to construct a Google AdWords campaign, and how to write compelling ad copy.
• Keep reading to learn the components of a Google text ad and get copywriting tips to help boost your CTR.

If you have ever run an AdWords campaign on Google’s Display Network, you will understand the importance of the click-through-rate (CTR). CTR calculates the number of people that click on your advert.

Basically, your CTR is one of the main factors Google uses to determine the relevance of your campaign. If for instance, you have a low CTR, compared to advertisers competing on the same keywords as you, then Google may lower your quality score.

Quality score (QS) is a rank out of 10 given by Google, which is based on these three main factors: CTR, keyword relevancy and website landing page quality, that being relevancy, use of keyword in content, page loading time and many other factors that vary from each advertiser.

In turn, your quality score has a strong influence on the cost you will be paying for your advert clicks. By ensuring that you have a strong CTR, it is almost imperative to the success of your AdWords campaign.

To achieve a strong CTR, advertisers need to understand how an advert is developed on Google’s Search network, and how to write compelling adverts. 

In this article you will:

• Learn how Google’s text adverts are developed and;
• Learn five methods you need to use to write a compelling advert.

How to Create Text Ads in Google AdWords

There are 6 steps involved in creating text ads for the Google Display Network:

1. Headline
2. Description line 1
3. Description line 2
4. Display URL
5. Advert extension
6. Destination URL

 Below is an example of a Google AdWords text template:

1. Headline

This is the heading of the text advert, which is limited to 25 characters (including spaces).

2. Description line 1

This is the first description line, which may appear alongside the heading (if the advert has a high enough QS), but generally appears as the first line of the advert, and is limited to 35 characters.

3. Description line 2

This is the second description line that appears on an advert, which is also limited to 35 characters.  

4. Display URL

This is the website URL that appears on the advert, which is limited to 35 characters, due to the limit, the home page is generally used as the display URL.

5. Advert extension

There are many types of advert extensions available for you to use with your advert. We have decided to use a call extension which has our number in the advert. If someone is searching using a mobile device, then they will have a ‘click-to-call’ button which allows a potential lead to call you by pushing this button.

6. Destination URL

This is the page the potential lead lands on when they click the advert – this can vary from the display URL, which is unlimited. The best practice is to have your destination URL set to reflect the keyword.  

As you can see, there is not a lot of space to baffle on. As a result, advertisers need to make their adverts stand out, especially in industries that have a high CPC for keywords and have a strong unique selling proposition.

Below are five ways to writing a compelling and successful text advert for your AdWords campaign.

How to Write Compelling Google Ads Copy 

Undeniably, writing an advert is important for the customer and the CTR of your AdWords campaign.  Here are five methods to use when developing Google Ads copy:

1. Unique selling propositions (USPs)
2. Reduce your customer’s risk
3. Call to actions (CTAs)
4. Use your keyword in the text advert
5. Experiment with different adverts

1. Unique selling propositions (USPs)

When writing a compelling advert, you can use your USP. USPs are elements that differentiate your product and/or service from your competitors. For example, free shipping and 60 days returns are USPs that are used in adverts that are implemented by e-commerce stores.

2. Reduce your customers' risk

In marketing theory, there are six risks that marketers are required to reduce in advertising. These include: functional, financial, temporal, psychological, social and sensory.

When thinking about your product and/or service, one or more of these risks may be an issue for advertising. Moreover, you may use this as a focal point for your site. For example, if you are relatively inexpensive with a high quality in your market, you may specify your price in your adverts to attract the right market.

3. Call to actions (CTAs)

CTAs are used to create immediacy for the potential lead. For example: ‘buy now’, ‘call now’, ‘limited time’, develop this immediacy for the lead, which will help to increase your CTR.

4. Use your keyword in the text advert

Have you ever notice when you type something in Google and the keywords you searched are usually in bold in the search results? Well, this can happen to your adverts if you use the keywords you are bidding on in your advert.

5. Experiment with different adverts

Being involved with statistics for as long as I have, I must say I love experiments. Initially, I would recommend you start with three adverts in your campaign and then make variations based on your best-converting adverts.  

Final Remarks

Adverts are closely related to your CTR, which have a heavy ability to affect the performance of your AdWords campaign.

I hope this article has shown you how to understand the structure of an advert, and more importantly, how to write compelling adverts for your campaigns.

If you have questions, feel free to comment below!