How Google Ads Can Be An Exercise in Creative Writing

There are plenty of articles out there telling you how to write effective, compelling, or engaging Google Ads - but this isn’t one of them. Instead, I would like to talk you through my thought process whilst facing a challenging brief under a particular set of difficult circumstances and how I used the restrictions put in place on Google Ads as the framework for an exercise in creative writing.

Before getting into that, here is my curated list of 5 top tips to write effective Google Ads - I won’t go into detail, because you can find this stuff out anywhere.

Know Your Audience - How Does Your Audience Search For You?

Demonstrate Your Value - Sell Solutions, Not Services

Strong Call To Action - Give The Audience An Obvious Next Step

Use Ad Extensions - Increase Your SERP real estate

Utilise Your Headlines - You Have 15 Blank Canvases For A Headline, Use Them

Understand Your Brief, Understand Your Audience

Before jumping onto the Google Ads platform to start creating your adverts you should understand the brief inside out. Don’t have a Google Ads brief? Write one.

What is your product/service?

What is the unique selling point?

Who is the audience?

Do they know who you are?

How do they search for you?

Who are the competitors?

There are so many more questions to answer when writing a Google Ads brief and it warrants an entire blog post on its own which is coming soon. But the important thing to take away here is that Google Ads won’t work without an understanding of your audience. So actually the brief helps us to undertake the right kind of research before creating adverts.

When I started working in Google Ads one of my first clients was a national drainage company franchise in Hertfordshire. They were running their own Google Ads but spending far too much money on the wrong keywords and using the wrong language in their adverts. The client considered themselves as ‘Drainage Technicians’ - which was absolutely fine - however, their audience did not.

They wanted to be the first name that came up on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) when someone had a plumbing emergency and so rightfully started creating Google Ads. However, instead of using terms like ‘Emergency Plumber’ as search keywords and within their ad copy, they used terms like ‘Emergency Drainage Technician’. This was a problem as search volume was very low and the cost per click was very high.

It doesn’t matter what the service provider calls their service or product within their industry. If the end user calls it something else, use their terminology. When someone has a burst pipe and their home is flooding - they want an emergency plumber to respond quickly - they don’t need to be reeducated on the official term.

You must have a good understanding of what your service is, why someone needs it, how they search for it, and how much knowledge they have of it. With the answers to these questions you can then start creating the right ad copy to get yourself noticed at the right times.

Keyword Research is Never Final

You can do all the right research and be totally confident in your approach but then find that, in practice, it doesn’t connect with the audience. This is okay - because keyword research and your understanding of your audience is never finished. If you encounter a problem like this, a PPC Audit can help with getting a fresh outsider's opinion on your existing keyword setup and PPC Management will help to continually optimise the account.

I worked with a toothbrush company that had created a new bio-based plastic material that could revolutionise the toothbrush and plastic industry. With their subscription model they could take back all used toothbrushes and recycle them into new toothbrushes forever. The concept was basically faultless and created a closed loop that didn’t leak any harmful plastics into the environment.

The problem was how to get the audience knowledgeable about a new kind of toothbrush.

My keyword research told me that people were searching for ‘Sustainable Toothbrushes’, ‘Recyclable Toothbrushes’, and ‘Subscription Toothbrushes’ - so work commenced on creating a series of Google Ads campaigns and landing pages for each term. But when the ads launched they flopped. People were seeing the ads, people were clicking the ads, but people weren’t buying the product.

What I found out was that whilst people searched for ‘Sustainable Toothbrushes’ what they expected and wanted to find was ‘Bamboo Toothbrushes’. This is what the audience had come to accept as the eco-friendly alternative to traditional toothbrushes.

What followed was an exercise in creative writing…

Creatively Writing Google Ads

When faced with challenges in Google Ads I always try to think outside the box. One thing I have learnt during many years of Google Ads Setup is the 30 characters for a Google Ads Headline is not a restriction, it’s an opportunity, it’s a challenge, and it’s exciting.

Knowing that people were searching for Bamboo Toothbrushes I decided to try and disrupt that market. I would bid on those same keywords knowing full well that the product I would be leading them to did not satisfy their search intention. But what better way to educate the audience on a different solution to their problem.

The landing page was easy to come up with. A simple comparison showing the benefits of our toothbrush over a bamboo one. Easy. An enticing opening offer to get a toothbrush in people’s hands. Easy. Getting them to click the adverts. Easy-ish. Getting Google to give me a good Quality Score for the adverts and in turn lower the cost of my adverts. Easy?

When people searched for ‘Bamboo Toothbrush’ they likely had a purchase intention. What I needed to do through Ad Copy alone was convert that intention from purchase to curiosity so that when they landed on the website they would complete our desired action to show Google we had value being on the SERP. How did I do it?

“This Isn’t A Bamboo Toothbrush”

I get the search keyword in, I separate our brand from the other brands advertising, I create curiosity in the user who will click to find out more.

On the landing page I can educate them of the differences and then provide them with an offer to hopefully get a toothbrush in the customer’s hands at a convenient price.

The results were clear, Cost per Acquisition fell 12.4% after the first month and then a further 25.4% in the second month. This means in two months the CPA fell 33.9%.

When facing problems with advert copy there is a tendency to approach the issue from an analytical and data point of view. I think that sometimes it’s appropriate to let the more creative members of our team try to tackle the problem from a creative perspective. It won’t always work but it’s never a wasted exercise. Any creatively crafted adverts that don’t work can inspire blog posts, social media campaigns, newsletters, or even new product lines.

Do you recognise that your Google Ads copy is old and tired and in need of a refresh? Not sure where to start? I offer a free 30 minute consultation where we can discuss the problems you’re facing and how my solutions could help you. Click here for more information and to book your session.