Introduction
I’m going to share it all with you so you can swipe and deploy this into your campaigns. Let’s get going. Let’s face it—Google Ads is basically all about numbers and managing data, but ads are the only area where creativity and emotional connection come into play. Ads are kind of the only inroad from Google Ads into traditional advertising, and that is messaging—and it’s something a lot of PPC professionals really love.
Because of this, I’ve systemized the creativity. Yes, I suppose I’ve taken some of the fun out of creativity, but this framework hasn’t failed me yet.
Step 1: Listing Your USPs and Benefits
The first thing you want to do is get a pen and paper, or maybe a Google Doc if you’re digital-minded like me, and you want to start making notes. Here’s what we’re going to do:
Take a moment to write an exhaustive list of all of the USPs (unique selling points) and benefits of your business. Now, this is something a lot of advertisers I speak to have never, ever done—which is incredible to me—but it’s actually what I see every single day when I look at Google Ads. Businesses often don’t do this, but it’s so important.
Ask yourself: What would make me pick your business over your competitor’s business? What is so good about what you do? What can you offer me as a customer if I were coming to your business? Write down everything you can think of, from tangible benefits to intangible benefits.
Understanding Tangible Benefits
Tangible benefits are things that are matter-of-fact. They’re measurable.
For example:
- If your price is a set amount, that price is a tangible benefit—especially if your pricing is particularly cheap.
- Say, for example, you’re a window cleaner and you say you can clean an entire house’s windows for £10. That £10 is a very cheap value, and the customer is going to see that and think, I’m getting a great deal here.
- If you’re running an active promotion and offering 10% off all purchases, that’s also a tangible benefit—it’s tied back to a specific number.
Write all of these down. The reason I start with tangible benefits is because they often tie back to numbers, and customers making decisions online love to see numbers. In fact, studies from places like Scientific American reinforce this point. These studies show that people are drawn to numbers in advertising because they provide a sense of trustworthiness and something concrete.
Understanding Intangible Benefits
In contrast, you have intangible benefits. Intangible benefits are things that customers cannot validate as soon as they hit your landing page.
For example:
- If you manufacture furniture, you might say you use high-quality materials or manufacture with precision. Customers can’t validate these claims immediately, but they’re still valuable to mention.
- Think of emotional lines for a car detailing business, like “Fall in love with your car again” or “Have pride in your car again.”
These intangible benefits tie back to human emotion, which is just as important as the logical side of advertising. People justify with logic but buy with emotion. That’s why the framework I use includes both types of headlines.
Step 2: Choosing Your Top Five Benefits
Once you’ve written your list, pick your top five benefits—both tangible and intangible. These are the benefits that, from experience, you know resonate with your customers. These five benefits will go into your ads as headlines.
Why Only Five Headlines?
You might be thinking, But Google Ads allows for 15 headlines—why am I writing just five? Here’s why:
My framework has five headlines of three different types:
- USPs and Benefit Headlines
- Keyword-Relevant Headlines
- Call-to-Action Headlines
You’ve already written your USPs and benefit headlines. Now, let’s move on to the next two types.
Keyword-Relevant Headlines
Keyword relevance is essential for your ad’s quality score and ad rank. Google likes you to include keywords in your headlines and even confirms this with a green checkmark when you do.
Pro Tip 1: Use Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI). This tool inserts the keyword that triggered your ad directly into your ad headline, making it hyper-relevant to the search term.
Pro Tip 2: Use Location Insertion. This tool dynamically adds the user’s location to the headline. For example, a headline that says “Car Detailing in [Location]” could become “Car Detailing in Balham” for someone searching in Balham.
This tactic can make your ad feel local and personalized, increasing the click-through rate.
Call-to-Action (CTA) Headlines
Call-to-action headlines are crucial because users often like being reassured about what action they need to take after clicking your ad.
Examples include:
- “Book now,” “Take a free trial,” or “Call us today.”
You can also tie your CTA to a USP. For example:
- “Book now to save 20%.”
This not only tells the user what to do but reinforces the benefit they’ll receive.
Step 3: Filling All 15 Headline Slots
With your five USPs, five keyword-relevant headlines, and five CTA headlines, you’ve filled all 15 headline slots available in the ad unit.
Pinned vs. Unpinned Content
Many advertisers pin specific headlines to control the messaging order in their ads. For example:
- Headline 1: Pinned USP
- Headline 2: Pinned Keyword
- Headline 3: Pinned CTA
This can work—but only if you’re actively testing different variations.
In many audits I’ve conducted, advertisers who pin headlines often don’t run proper tests. Instead, they assume they know what works best without any data.
If you’re considering pinning content, follow these guidelines:
- Test whether pinned or unpinned content performs better.
- If pinning, create multiple variations of your pinned messages.
- Allow Google’s algorithm to optimize within the pinned variations.
In most accounts I’ve audited, unpinned ads tend to outperform pinned ads—likely because Google has more freedom to match the right headline to the right user.
Results of This Framework
When I’ve implemented this framework, I’ve seen significant improvements in performance. The biggest gain I’ve seen was a 28% improvement in conversions due to better click-through rates.
This approach ensures that your headlines are relevant, engaging, and balanced between logical and emotional appeal.
Avoid Auto-Populated Headlines
One common mistake is relying on Google’s auto-populated headlines. These headlines are generated from website scans and often lack thoughtful messaging.
Avoid this by using your framework and crafting headlines that align with your business goals.
Final Thoughts
This framework helps you write better Google Ads headlines, preventing last-minute panic and ensuring you create high-performing ads.
Let me know your thoughts—have you used a similar approach? Share your experiences in the comments below. And if you found this guide helpful, don’t forget to like this post and check out my other content. See you in the next one!
Need help? Book a Google Ads Audit today!
Add comment