SUBMISSION-1

Search Engine Marketing

(Semester – 2)

Creating Text Ads with SEM

NAME – Manisha Gupta

REGISTRATION NUMBER – 202104939

PGCM (DM)-2021

SYMBIOSIS CENTRE FOR DISTANCE LEARNING (SCDL)

 Create Compelling Text Ads on Google

Although video ad campaigns are extremely popular these days, particularly on Facebook and
YouTube (although they’re on pretty much all social platforms), you shouldn’t discount the
efficacy of text ads. They are very easy to produce, are one of the least expensive forms of digital
ads, and are even easier to consume than video.

But writing effective PPC ads requires a good understanding of the Google Ads network and
some creativity. In this article, I will discuss the specifics of a successful text ad and provide
plenty of examples from various brands.

What Is a Text Ad?

In the words of Google:

“A text ad is a form of marketing communication that advertisers can use to promote their
product or service on the Google Network.”

If you want to advertise your business on the Google Network – “all the places where your ads
can appear, including Google sites, websites that partner with [them], and other placements like
mobile phone apps” – you can create text ads to run on the Search Network as well as the
Display Network (explained in the below sections).

The major components of a text ad include:

 A Headline: You can have 3 headlines in your ad of up to 30 characters each. Headlines are the
first thing that people notice in your ad.
 Display URL: This consists of your website address and an optional path field where you can
give a name to your landing page URL in order to make it easier for your customers to
understand what the page is about.
 Ad Description: You can add all the details that related to your service or offer in the
description field. It is recommended that you include your CTA in this field.
This table displays the length limits of all the fields used in text ads:

Dive Deeper:
 A Simple Hack to Combine Facebook Ads and Google Ads
 6 Ways Google Ads Can Boost Your SEO Results
 How to Lower the Cost of Google Ads and Get Better Conversions
 9 Rules for Creating Ads that Convert

Search Network vs. Display Network

The Google Network is divided into groups to give you more control over where you’d like your
ad to appear:
 Search Network: Google search results pages, other Google sites like Maps and Shopping, and
search sites that partner with Google to show ads.
 Display Network: Google sites like YouTube, Blogger and Gmail, plus thousands of partnering
websites across the Internet.
 When Should You Opt for the Search Network?

Advertising on the Search Network means that your ads can appear on Google’s SERPs as well
as hundreds of non-Google websites that have partnered with Google to display search ads on
their platform. Keep in mind that websites that wish to become a partner must apply first and
receive a manual review to ensure that they are a good fit, so not just any ol’ site can be a
partner.

Choose the Search Network when you are looking to increase your sales because this option
allows you to target customers who are proactively looking for services related to yours.

When Should You Opt for the Display Network?

Advertising on the Display Network means that your ads can appear on more than 2 million
websites, videos and apps. The Display Network also allows you to target customers on a
particular location or with particular buying habits.

Choose the Display Network when you are looking to increase traffic/branding to your website
or when you are targeting keywords that have less searches. The Display Network will display
 your ad on web pages that have content related to your services, but the customers might not be
proactively looking for those services.

Note: you can keep your Ad Quality Score – the “estimate of the quality of your ads, keywords
and landing pages. Higher quality ads can lead to lower prices and better ad positions.” – at
(near) perfect levels by having tightly themed ad groups, creating keyword-specific landing
pages and increasing your CTR.

Best Practices for Creating Successful Text Ads on Google

1) Create Compelling and Genuine Ad Copy

Your ad copy must be able to bring customers to your business in a 100% genuine manner.

Many people make the mistake of preparing fake ad copy containing information that does not
match the information on the landing page. This practice should be stopped immediately.
Here are some tips to prepare compelling and genuine ad copy:

 Be as specific as possible and use the exact phrases in your ad copy that users might search for.
For example, if the user queries “Adidas Yeezy 350 shoes for men” then you should use those
exact words in your ad copy instead of just the more general “Adidas shoes for men”.

 Your ad copy consists of a headline, display URL and ad description, so use your main keyword
in all three places.
 Always include a clear, action-oriented CTA and use psychology to compel users to try your
products or services.
 2) Write Catchy Headlines that Work Across all Devices

The headline is the most important element of a PPC ad because that’s the first – and, often,
only – thing a person sees. Catchy, problem-solving, trustworthy and unique headlines have the
power to increase CTRs and conversions.
Follow these suggestions to prepare awesome headlines for your PPC text ads:

 Keep the headline simple and use the formula “Keyword + USP”. Use your main money
keyword right at the beginning of the headline and follow it up with your USP (unique selling
point).
 Create separate ads for targeting different locations and keep the headlines super local. Mention
the city and locality of your target area in the ads. For example, if you have a bakery shop in
Dothan, Alabama then mention Dothan in your ads and run the ads for people searching for a
bakery in Dothan.
 Include numbers in the headline. In a test performed by WordStream, it was found that a
numbered headline helps improve CTRs by 217%:

 Make sure your headline is easy to read on all devices.

 Try to include your brand name in the headline because that will help improve your brand value.
If people can remember your business name, they’re more likely to recommend you to others.
 You can even use a clickbait-type headline to compel users to click on your ads – but only if it’s
genuine (do not fool users into clicking on a headline when the landing page copy does not
match!). This type of headline should be used to promote your content and not services.

 Create a unique, new offer that hasn’t been seen before. Do not copy the headlines of your
competitors, though you can (and should) study them and then create a better one.

3) Leverage the Power of Ad Extensions

Ad Extensions allow you to add some extra information about your business that is relevant for
users. Using a combination of extensions helps improve the performance of your ads.

The following are the 9 types of extensions that you can use in your text ads:

A) Sitelink Extensions
This type of extension allows you to take people to other pages on your site. Sitelinks might
appear at the top or bottom of Google search results:

For a full tutorial on how to create a sitelink, please visit this Google Ads tutorial.
B) Location Extensions
The location extension allows you to include your business address in the ad so that people can
easily find it without having to do a separate search. An example of an Ads location extension is
provided below in which a link to their Google My Business listing is included in the ad:

You can even add the address of your affiliate stores in your ad if they sell your products. This
type of extension is known as affiliate location extension and is particularly useful for sellers
who do not have a physical store address of their own but sell their products via a chain of
affiliates. An example of affiliate location extension is shown below:
C) Structured Snippet Extensions
You can highlight specific aspects of your products or services by using structured snippet
extensions, which are automatically shown by Google, depending on the keyword:

You can show a header and provide values for it. For example, in the ad above, the header
“Types” has some values in it – performance opportunities, music festival, master classes – for
easier understanding of the ad.

D) Call Extensions
Call extensions make it easier for people to call you directly from your ad, so include your
business phone number and get the phone ringing. And don’t worry – people clicking on your
phone number are counted as a click by Google. You can even specify your business hours so
that people know when to call you:
E) Message Extensions
Similar to call extensions, message extensions allow customers to send you direct messages after
clicking on your ads. Messages are a simpler and more convenient way for people interested in
your store to reach you. Hence, adding a message extension to your ad works wonders.

These ads are shown to people who are browsing the web via mobile device, so you can
accompany your ads with a note like “text us to receive a quote” or “chat with us to know more”.
F) App Extensions
These ads are shown to people browsing via mobile devices, and this extension allows them to
link their mobile app to your text ads. The primary goal of such ads is to increase the number of
downloads for your app.

Moreover, people browsing using Android devices will automatically see the Google Play link
while those who see your ad on their iOS devices will see the Apple Store link of your app:

G) Callout Extensions

The callout extension allows you to highlight incredible offers right in your ad. For example, if
you offer free shipping and have over 50+ varieties in your stock, then you can use a call
extension to highlight that offer in your text ads. These extensions are extremely useful for
showcasing the USPs of your business:
H) Price Extensions

These extensions allow you to add extra snippets of information related to pricing in your ads.
People are more interested in services or products within a specified budget, so if you
can highlight prices directly in your ads, this encourages highly relevant clicks, which lead to
more conversions.:

I) Promotion Extensions

Promotion extensions are different from callout extensions in the sense that you can display a
deal in your ad that is valid for a specific period of time. For example, if you are offering a 50%
flat discount that is valid for the next two days, then you can use a promotion extension to
highlight that deal:
 4) Test Your Ads for Success
The best PPC professionals in the industry always A/B test their ad creatives, especially the title,
in order to improve CTR and conversions.
Here are some ways to optimally test your ads for success:

 You can create campaign drafts to run a predefined experiment by applying changes to your
campaign. If the results are positive, you can apply the changes to your original campaign.
Campaign drafts let you make changes to your campaign and run the changes for a specified
period of time. If you are not happy with the campaign draft results, your original campaign will
run:
 You can create and test ad variations such as changing the CTA from “call now” to  “book now”
or swapping title 2 with title 1. Google allows you to test ad variations and you can even
compare the performance of the ad variants with the original ad. Once you are sure that the
variant is performing better, you can apply the modified ads to your campaign:

 You can choose an ad rotation setting in your Google Ads dashboard, such as “Optimize” or
“Rotate Indefinitely”. When you choose to “Optimize”, ads with a higher CTR are preferred.
When you choose “Rotate Indefinitely”, all your ads rotate continuously.

The first option should be chosen when you have appropriate data that some of your ads are
performing better than the rest of them. When you are unsure whether you have a clear winner
among your ads, you should choose the second option:
Final Thoughts
Creating the best Google ads lies in your creativity and presentation skills. A keen knowledge of
the latest Google Ads rules and the vast ad extensions are also required to make your ad offer the
best ROI. Remember, text ads are all about delivering the right message to the right person at the
right moment, so your ads should look less keyword stuffed and more user friendly.