Writing Ads That Get the Click

Updated: November 13, 2026 · Leer este capítulo en español

Your keywords decide when the ad can show. The words in the ad decide whether anyone clicks, and whether the right people do. This chapter is about how to write Google Ads for a local business: how responsive search ads are built, how to write for the searcher's problem instead of your company, which numbers and offers to use, when pinning helps, which assets to add, why "ad strength" is not the goal, how to handle Spanish searches, and which claims to leave out.

How to write Google Ads: start with the searcher's problem

Most first-time advertisers write ads about themselves: the company name, the years in business, "quality service," "customer satisfaction." The searcher does not care yet. They typed a problem into a phone, and they are scanning four or five ads in a couple of seconds, looking for the one that sounds like the answer.

A useful way to write any ad is to answer three questions, in this order:

1. Is this about what I searched? Repeat the service and, when it matters, the place: "AC Repair in Hialeah," "Emergency Dentist in Doral."
2. Why should I pick you? One concrete reason that matters to this searcher right now: same-day visits, a clear price before work starts, Saturday hours, Spanish spoken.
3. What do I do next? Call, book, order, get an estimate. Plain verbs.

Compare two headlines for our example HVAC company in Hialeah (an illustration, not a client). "Excellence in Climate Solutions" is about the company. "AC Not Cooling? We Can Help" is about the person sweating in their living room. The second one usually earns the click, and it also signals relevance, one of the components of Quality Score you met in Chapter 1.

Because each ad group holds one service (the structure from Chapter 3), you can write ads that speak to that one need. That is the real reason tight ad groups matter: they let your ad text be specific.

Responsive Search Ads: the pieces and the limits

The standard text ad on Google Search today is the responsive search ad. Instead of writing one fixed ad, you give Google a set of headlines and descriptions, and it assembles combinations for each search, testing over time which ones perform best. The limits, according to Google's responsive search ads help page:

Two details are worth knowing. First, Google can show your headlines in places other than the headline line: at the beginning of the description, or, at the time of writing, even as extra links under the ad. So every headline should make sense on its own and next to any other. Second, Google says it avoids redundant combinations, but it cannot invent variety you did not give it.

That is where most ads go wrong: fifteen headlines that all say the same thing in slightly different words. A better approach is to write headlines in a few families:

• The service and place: "AC Repair in Hialeah" (20 characters), "Same-Day AC Repair" (18).
• The problem: "AC Not Cooling? We Can Help" (27).
• The reason to choose you: "Upfront Price Before We Start" (29), "Repairs on All Major Brands" (27), "Technicians Who Speak Spanish" (29).
• The next step: "Book Online or Call Today" (25).

And descriptions that add what headlines cannot fit: "AC blowing warm air? Our technicians can visit today in Hialeah. Call or book online." (85 characters). Every line in that example is only usable if it is true for the business; more on that below.

What pros do: they read the search terms report and the questions callers ask, and borrow the customers' own words for headlines. If people keep searching "ac blowing hot air," a headline that says exactly that often beats anything clever. They also keep a simple file with every headline and description, so good lines are reused and bad ones are not rewritten from scratch.

Numbers, offers and proof you can back up

Specific beats vague. "Fast service" means nothing; "Same-day visits, Mon–Sat" means something. Numbers, offers and proof are what make an ad specific, as long as they are true.

• Numbers: hours ("Open Until 9 PM"), response time you actually meet, a price or starting price you actually charge. For the dental office in Doral, "New Patient Exam and X-Rays" with a real price, if it publishes one.
• Offers: the offer you defined in Chapter 2: a free estimate, a diagnostic fee waived with the repair, a family platter for the Cuban restaurant in Little Havana. Google's misrepresentation policy does not allow promotions that are unavailable or unclear, so an offer that ended last month must come out of the ad the day it ends.
• Proof: things a customer could check. Your review rating as it appears on your profile, years in business if accurate, brands you are authorized to service if you are. Proof works because it is verifiable, which is also why made-up proof is dangerous.

A practical test before any line goes into an ad: could I show a customer, or Google, the evidence for this today? If the answer is "not really," leave it out.

Pinning: when it helps and when it hurts

Pinning fixes a headline or description to a specific position, such as headline 1, so it always shows there. It sounds like control, and that is why beginners overuse it. Google's help page is clear that pinning reduces the number of combinations that can be matched to each search, and that it is not recommended for most advertisers. Pinning can also lower your ad strength rating.

When pinning makes sense:

• Required text. A disclaimer or a condition that must appear every time. Google notes that text which must appear in every ad has to be pinned to headline 1, headline 2 or description 1.
• Lines that make no sense first. A headline like "Call Now" should not appear in position 1, where it would read as if you skipped the introduction.
• Brand consistency in a sensitive niche, when the owner insists the business name always shows.

A gentler way to pin: pin two or three different headlines to the same position. For example, pin "AC Repair in Hialeah," "Same-Day AC Repair" and "Hialeah AC Repair Experts" to position 1. Google can still rotate among them, and you still guarantee the service appears first. Note that a line like "experts" is itself a claim; use it only if it holds up.

Assets: sitelinks, callouts, calls, locations and more

Assets (Google used to call them extensions) add extra information to your ad: more links, a phone number, an address, short selling points. They make the ad larger and more useful, and they can help its position: as you saw in Chapter 1, the expected impact of assets is one of the factors in Ad Rank. Google's assets help page notes that they are free to add and only show when they are predicted to improve performance, and that your ad needs a minimum Ad Rank before assets show. So adding them is close to free; they just do not appear every time.

Two practical notes. Do not type your phone number into a headline or description; Google's editorial policy does not allow phone numbers in ad text, which is exactly what the call asset is for. And link your Google Business Profile so the location asset uses the same address and hours customers see on Maps, a connection we return to in Chapter 8.

Ad strength is a guide, not the goal

When you write a responsive search ad, Google shows an ad strength rating from "Poor" to "Excellent," with suggestions: add more headlines, make them more distinct, include popular keywords. The suggestions are often useful, especially "make headlines more unique."

But understand what the rating is. Google's ad strength page says the rating does not determine whether your ad is eligible to serve, and puts it plainly: "It isn't used to calculate Ad Rank, Quality Score, or auction wins." It measures how much variety and relevance your set of headlines and descriptions has, not whether the ad brings customers.

So use it as a writing checklist, then judge ads by results. An ad rated "Average" that brings calls at a cost you can afford is a better ad than an "Excellent" one that brings clicks and no calls. Chasing "Excellent" by stuffing keywords into every headline, or by adding claims to fill slots, is a common way to make an ad worse.

Ads in Spanish for Spanish searches

In Chapter 3 you put Spanish keywords in their own ad groups. Those ad groups need ads written in Spanish, and written by someone who speaks it the way your customers do. Machine translation of English ads often produces Spanish that is correct but stiff, or that uses words nobody in Hialeah would use.

• Mind the length. Spanish usually needs more words for the same idea, and the 30-character limit is the same. "Reparación de AC en Hialeah" (27 characters) fits; many literal translations will not.
• Keep the words people use. "AC" and "Invisalign" stay as they are. If customers say "el aire," say "el aire."
• Match the whole path. Spanish ad, Spanish landing page, and a Spanish-speaking person on the phone. A Spanish ad that leads to an English page wastes the click.
• Consider a callout in English ads. "Se Habla Español" in an English ad tells bilingual searchers they can switch languages when they call.

Example headlines for the HVAC company's Spanish ad group: "Reparación de AC en Hialeah" (27), "Servicio el Mismo Día" (21), "Técnicos que Hablan Español" (27), each one only if it is true.

Claims you can't support: licensing, "best in Miami" and the like

Some phrases are tempting because they sound strong: "best in Miami," "#1 rated," "licensed and insured," "guaranteed results," "lowest prices." Each one is a claim, and claims carry risk.

• Google's rules. Its misrepresentation policy does not allow inaccurate claims, or claims that present an improbable result as the likely outcome. Ads can be disapproved, and repeated problems can affect the account.
• Licensing. If your trade requires a license and you say "licensed," make sure the license is active and in the business name, and show the number on the landing page where it applies. If you are not licensed for a service, do not advertise that service at all.
• "Best" and "#1". Unless you can point to a specific, current source, these words promise something you cannot prove, and searchers have learned to ignore them anyway. A real, checkable detail ("4.8 stars on Google," if that is your rating today) does more.
• Medical and dental claims. Health-related ads face stricter scrutiny. A dental office should avoid promising outcomes ("pain-free," "perfect smile") and check the advertising rules of its profession before launch.
• Other people's names. As Chapter 3 explained, Google's trademark policy can restrict a competitor's trademark in your ad text. Leave their names out of your ads.

Beyond the rules, there is a simpler reason: the customer arrives expecting what the ad promised. If the page or the phone call does not deliver it, you paid for the click and lost the customer's trust in the same minute.

Write two or three distinct ads per ad group, let them run, and compare them by calls and forms, not by clicks alone. If you would like a second pair of eyes on your ads, or would rather have a team write and test them, our PPC management in Miami does exactly that. Next comes the money side: daily budgets and bidding strategies, in Chapter 6.