There are lots of different types of advert formats you can use to advertise through the Google AdWords platform including text, banners, animated banner, mobile, gadgets and videos. The adverts type you chose should depend on the type of campaign you are running and the objectives you are aiming to achieve.
In this post I am going to focus on the original and in my opinion the most valuable ad format, the Text Ad. Text ads are the most recognisable PPC ads and can appear across the Google search and display networks. Depending on your set up and where they are displayed they can include a number of extensions including click to call, location, site links and product.
Each ad text starts with the same 5 basic elements –
- Headline (25 characters, inc. Spaces)
- Description line 1 (35 characters, inc. Spaces)
- Description line 2 (35 characters, inc. Spaces)
- Display URL (only 35 characters will be shown)
- Destination URL (1024 characters)
The text ad displays all of the above elements to a user except for the destination URL which is selected by you so the user lands on the most relevant page to their original search query and the ad copy. Google are always experimenting so how your advert text is displayed may change, but they will always use these 5 elements.
It can be tricky trying to fit your messaging within the character limits, but after some practice it does get easier. Also, as your campaigns are up and running you will learn which elements of your ad copy work well and which don’t by looking at the click through each of them receive.
In addition to the character limits Google have some policies that you must adhere to and some guidelines that will help your adverts perform better. We will cover these in future posts, but for now I suggest getting stuck in and seeing what works for your campaigns.
