Create effective responsive search ads

If your responsive search ads are under review for more than 1 business day, they will not show. To fix this, make sure that each ad has at least 5 different headlines and 2 descriptions that do not repeat the same or similar phrase.

In this article, you'll learn best practices for writing responsive search ads and some common mistakes to avoid. Google recommends adding at least two expanded text ads and one responsive search ad per ad group. We have a video tutorial to help you create responsive search ads to serve the right messages to the right customers. Watch the tutorial here.

Best practices to create responsive search ads

Get started with creating responsive search ads, by reviewing the “Add responsive search ads” recommendation.

1. Add as many unique, relevant headlines and descriptions as you can

Providing too many redundant headlines and descriptions restrict the system’s ability to assemble ad combinations.
To increase the likelihood that your ad shows, focus on these key guidelines for each responsive search ad:

• Provide at least 8-10 headlines. The more headlines you provide, the more options there are to assemble your messages into relevant ads, which may increase performance.
  • Provide at least 5 unique headlines that don't repeat the same or similar phrases.
  • Be sure to include a keyword in 2 headlines.
  • Be sure to have at least 3 other headlines that do NOT include your keywords.Try highlighting additional product or service benefits and features, a problem you're solving, or highlight shipping and return information.
• Provide at least 2 unique descriptions.
  • Try highlighting additional information about your product or service that isn’t mentioned in your headlines.

Note: Responsive search ads can show up to two descriptions at a time.

2. Reuse existing content from your existing text ads

Reuse your existing headlines and descriptions from your high-performing text ads. The same content that worked in your existing text ads will work well in your responsive search ads, which can help improve performance.

3. Add popular keywords to your headlines

Try including text from your keywords that serve most often in your ad group to your headlines. This increases the relevance of your ad combinations for search users, which can improve the effectiveness of your responsive search ads.

For example, if you've included digital cameras as a keyword, your ad headline could be "Buy Digital Cameras." If there are five keywords in your ad group and three of them have the most traffic, try adding those keywords to your headlines to get your ad strength to the next level and improve the performance of your ad.

4. Improve your Ad strength → Get to ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’ ad strength rating

Ad strength provides you with feedback to help you focus on providing the right messages to your customers. Try getting each responsive search ad to at least “Good” Ad strength. Use the action items to see what next steps to take to improve the effectiveness of your ad.

If you have pinned some of your headlines and descriptions, try removing the pinning to allow the system to assemble more ad combinations and potentially increase performance of your ads. You can also try pinning more than one headline to the same position.

Note: Ad customizers are currently not supported by responsive search ads.

Example responsive search ads

Example #1 - Women's Shoes

Good example

This example follows the best practices for creating a responsive search ad.

Headlines and descriptions

Possible ad combinations

Headlines STORE Fashionable and Comfortable Trendsetting Women's Shoes Buy Womens’ Shoes Online Today Free Shipping on All Orders Top Brands at Great Prices Official STORE Website {KeyWord:Awesome Women’s Shoes} A Style for Every Occasion Buy Cool Shoes With Confidence Starting from as Low as $39 Save 15% on your First Order Descriptions Find all your favorite brands and the latest styles in one place. Don't wait, order today! Free shipping on orders over $50. Wide selection of stylish and comfortable shoes. Shop STORE's wide variety of high quality women's shoes at prices you'll love. Buy now!

Ad combinations assembled Example combinations: STORE | {KeyWord:Awesome Women’s Shoes} | Buy Womens’ Shoes Online Today https://www.example.com/ Shop STORE's wide variety of high quality women's shoes at prices you'll love. Buy now! Official STORE Website | Trendsetting Women's Shoes | Free Shipping on All Orders https://www.example.com/ Free shipping on orders over $50. Wide selection of stylish and comfortable shoes. Find all your favorite brands and the latest styles in one place. Don’t wait, order today!

Bad example

This is an example of how NOT to create a responsive search ad.

Avoid repeating the same text in every headline. In the following example, “Women’s Shoes” is in every headline.

Issues

• Redundant text in headlines
• Fewer than 5 headlines

How to fix

• Add more unique headlines
• Break up your headlines into smaller units (for example: Latest Women's Shoes at STORE -> 1) Latest Women’s Shoes 2) STORE

Headlines and descriptions

Possible ad combinations

Headlines Fashionable Women's Shoes Trendsetting Women's Shoes Latest Women's Shoes at STORE Purchase Women's Shoes Online Descriptions Find all your favorite brands and the latest styles in one place. Don't wait, order today! Shop STORE's wide variety of high quality women's shoes at prices you'll love. Buy now!

No ad combinations assembled Example combinations considered and rejected: Latest Women's Shoes at STORE | Purchase Women's Shoes Online | Fashionable Women's Shoes https://example.com/ Find all your favorite brands and latest styles in one place. Don't wait, order today! Fashionable Women's Shoes | Latest Women's Shoes at STORE | Purchase Women's Shoes Online https://example.com/ Shop STORE's wide variety of high quality women's shoes at prices you'll love. Buy now! Find all your favorite brands and the latest styles in one place. Don't wait, order today!

Example #2 - Widgets

Good example

Headlines and descriptions

Possible ad combinations

Headlines STORE: Widgets 100s of Options to Choose From Lifetime Warranty Best Prices from STORE Over 100 Years in Business 24/7 Customer Service Free Shipping Orders Over $99 Same-Day Delivery Order Today and Save All Shapes & Sizes High-Quality Widgets The Best Widgets Available Descriptions Made from durable, high quality materials. Customize with any color you need. Trust STORE. Deliver to over 100 countries in 3 days. "Best widgets. Period." Buy Now! Your satisfaction is our priority. We offer great prices and no-hassle ordering.

Ad combinations assembled Example combinations: STORE Widgets | 100s of Options to Choose From| Lifetime Warranty https://www.example.com/ Made from durable high quality materials. Customize with any color you need. Trust STORE. Deliver to over 100 countries in 3 days. "Best widgets. Period." Buy now! High-Quality Widgets | Free Shipping Orders Over $99| Order Today and Save https://www.example.com/ Your satisfaction is our priority. We offer great prices and no-hassle ordering.Made from durable, high quality materials. Customize with any color you need. Trust STORE.

Bad example

Avoid using keyword insertion in too many headlines.

Issues

• Redundant text in headlines through keyword insertion
• Redundant descriptions

How to fix

• Add 2-3 more headlines without keywords
• Add one description that's unique from the existing descriptions

Headlines and descriptions

Possible ad combinations

Headlines {KeyWord:Durable STORE Widgets} {KeyWord:Free Shipping} {Keyword:Lowest Prices, Huge Selection} {KeyWord:Widgets on Sale} {KeyWord:Quality and Affordable} {KeyWord:STORE Widgets} {KeyWord:Buy Widgets Today} Official STORE Website Descriptions Order the latest widgets from STORE that are durable and built with high quality. Order the newest widgets from STORE that are durable and built with great quality.

No ad combinations assembled Example combinations considered and rejected: Official STORE Website| {KeyWord:Widgets on Sale}| {KeyWord:STORE Widgets} https://example.com/ Order the latest widgets from STORE that are durable and build with high quality. {KeyWord:Durable STORE Widgets}| {KeyWord:Widgets on Sale}| {KeyWord:Buy Widgets Today} https://example.com/ Order the newest widgets from STORE that are durable and built with great quality.

Related links

• About responsive search ads
• About Ad strength
• About the assets report for responsive search ads

How to create an effective video ad for every stage of the customer journey

Article

Megan Haller September 2019Video, Experience & Design

Ad creative has long been — and remains — the most important driver of campaign effectiveness. But while it may be a no-brainer that good creative is good for business, what exactly makes ad creative “good” is harder to decipher, particularly when it comes to online video.

That’s why we decided to study thousands of skippable TrueView ads across 11 verticals, from around the globe. Our goal? To better understand how creative elements, such as narrative structure, visuals, audio, and characters, influence brand metrics.

The ABCDs of effective creative

Our findings revealed several insights about what works, which we organized into simple guidelines: Attract, Brand, Connect, and Direct. These ABCDs of effective YouTube creative are not intended as a one-size-fits-all model, but they are a helpful starting point for anyone looking to create or adapt an ad for YouTube. They may even be useful beyond online video. Research shows them to be effective for TV as well.1

Once we had the foundations of what works well on YouTube, we went one step further, and sought to establish how certain creative elements correlated to different metrics across the marketing funnel.2 For example, if a video very prominently featured a brand logo, what, if any, effect did that have on a metric like consideration?

Here are some patterns we saw in the data, along with recommendations for using specific creative elements to optimize video ads based on marketing goals. As you read these findings, bear in mind that the best way to understand how to create an effective video ad is to experiment for yourself.

Creative elements that positively influence metrics across the entire funnel

Our analysis showed that there are many creative factors that positively influence upper, middle, and lower funnel brand metrics. Consider these tactics, which will help set any campaign up for success, regardless of its particular objectives.

Creative factors that contribute to campaign success

First we saw that videos featuring tightly framed subjects and ads incorporating memorable visual elements helped grab people’s attention and correlated to positive lifts in ad recall, consideration, and purchase intent. Videos that made people core to the story were similarly impactful, suggesting that viewers are inherently drawn to and relate to other people. And introducing a brand or product within the video’s first five seconds positively influenced all metrics tested.

When we looked at storytelling style, we saw that emotional elements, such as action, intrigue, and surprise, worked well across the funnel. Interestingly, our analysis also showed that functional storytelling — ads that convey a tangible, measurable benefit — also influenced ad recall, consideration, and purchase intent.

Play video

Perhaps our most surprising finding of all was that we saw a positive correlation between a clear call to action and all brand metrics. Traditional marketing wisdom dictates that we should only encourage someone to take action once they’re toward the end of the customer journey. In fact, our research suggests it can be a successful tactic to deploy across the entire marketing funnel.

Influence upper funnel goals by picking up the pace and focusing on characters

When looking specifically at lift in ad recall as a measure of success, we found two elements to be particularly influential: pacing and the appearance of characters on screen.

By pacing, we mean the rate at which a video cuts between scenes. Our analysis showed that ads featuring more than two scenes in the first five seconds had the strongest correlation with ad recall.

Play video

With respect to characters, we found that opening with actors on screen and having them mention the brand made viewers’ more likely to remember the ad. Having actors address the audience directly or provide a first-person perspective also helped boost ad recall.

Influence mid-funnel goals through thoughtful branding

For mid-funnel metrics like consideration, our research showed that the way a brand presents itself can have a big impact. For example, pairing visual and audio cues when introducing a brand was positively correlated with a lift in consideration.

Videos that used unique visuals like a mascot or colors strongly associated with the brand also saw a bigger bump in consideration, as did those that integrated their logo into the storyline or simply featured it on their product.

Influence lower funnel goals through clear offers and calls to action

Finally, when looking to influence lower funnel metrics, such as purchase intent, we saw that featuring offers and calls to action — through text cards, simple animation, or voice-over — helped. We also saw that incorporating calls to action that inspire a sense of urgency and direct users to take action also correlate with purchase intent.

Explore more about the ABCDs of effective YouTube ads by downloading this guide.

The Best Facebook Ad Examples That Actually Work (And Why)

If you do Facebook Marketing you know it takes a lot of work. You need to get right your objective, targeting and your budget only to then decide which ad formats you’re going to be using. All of that before of even thinking about designing and writing some awesome copys.

We know that too and that’s why we’ve collected la crème de la crème of Facebook Ads to keep you creative and inspired. Doing some research on Facebook Ads examples gives you more tools and ideas to get those leads you’re looking for as well as improve your overall Facebook Marketing strategy.

As we get into the examples we will comment on the things that makes them likely to get good results. So enough of small talk, let’s get into it:

1. Nike

This is a great way to use the carousel format for Facebook Ads. They show their customers they can customize the products they want using simple color blocks designs, that contrast is definitely eye-catching. The copy goes straight to the point: you will get our best products delivered to your doorstep.

• Pro tip 1: the use of high contrast color to catch the attention of users.
• Pro tip 2: they have a call to action phrase at the bottom: “customise it your way-learn more”. That takes the user to their online shopping experience.

2. Facebook Blueprint

If you’re trying to generate leads take a look at this ad it’s got a simple image and a copy that immediately shows you the benefit you get if you sign up for the webinar keeping the copy short and clear. The form is also very precise, it just asks for necessary information so user doesn’t feel overwhelmed while filling it.

• Pro tip 1: the photo appeals the targeted audience which are young digital marketers looking for new tools to get better at their work.
• Pro tip 2: it makes clear what user will get in exchange for their information. That’s key to make sure that the leads your business generates are relevant.

3. Shopify

Shopify does very well with a short copy. Notice that there isn’t a call to action within the first part, instead is a personal question that engages with the audience’s dreams and aspirations. Then They use a photo of a road to ask what’s your next move, suggesting they can make your journey better.

• Pro tip 1: They trigger some emotions with the copy and photo, then, once the audience is making those questions to themselves, they put the call to action at the bottom: Build Your Store on FB!
• Pro tip 2: In this case they did an A/B testing and they found that the “sign up” button worked better than “learn more”.

4. CoShedule

This ad got everything right. The copy is short and is sustained on facts: 20,000+ marketers use our product, period. People trust numbers and facts, so mentioning it is a good idea to catch attention and generate engagement.

• Pro tip 1: the copy’s structure is very precise here. It start with a question that a) suggest they’re going to give you organized marketing, and b) the use or the word “ready” implies that only your doubts are keeping you away of organized marketing.
• Pro tip 2: they show how their solution may look in the image below, letting the audience imagine how they would use it for their work.

5. Airbnb

This video ad wins at being short and precise. People’s attention on social media is very hard to get, that’s why short video content get more traction than longer pieces of content. This video makes you wonder and get engaged with the app.

• Pro tip 1: the video duration is something like 7 seconds or less. That’s the sweet spot for video ads on social media.
• Protip 2: at the copy you can see an estimate that gives you an idea of what kind of money you can make with Airbnb.

6. Canva

Simplicity is key to deliver a message successfully. The copy commands you to create stunning, professional looking images and what you see after is just a very eye-catching image. The user already knows what’s this all about: composing and editing images.

• Pro tip 1: when your message is so simple and clear the image should match that simplicity in order to create harmony on your ad.
• The copy and call to action starts with verbs: “create” and “try”.

7. Gainful

Personalized is the name of the big game right now. Companies are adverting made-for-you products in everything, but not all of them advertise it well, however Gainful makes their customization abilities the protagonist. They make sure their protein it’s right for you specifically.

• Pro tip 1: To capitalize personalized products, they tell users they’ll be sending them to a quiz (which is very simple, less risk and low-obligation) and that they can get a coupon code if they purchase.
• Pro tip 2: They’ve created a mini-funnel that can be completed quickly while giving customers a personalized product — accurately what everyone wants.

8. Thinx

They do something smart with this carousel ad format: they use the text on the carousel image slides to appeal to the logical part of the brain, explaining what the product is. Meanwhile:

• Pro tip 1: their main ad text use an emotional appeal, saying they’ll give $5 for every pair to a charity. A lot of customers are prefer to spend more if it means their money is doing some good, at the same time THINX get more sales while boosting their brand reputation.
• Pro tip 2: they leveraging scarcity in the form of “limited edition” to get people to purchase.

9. Allbirds

The copy in this Allbirds ad is extraordinary because they do many things well:

• Pro tip 1: They start with a testimonial in quotes, to identify. Also, people trust testimonials more than ad copy.
• Pro tip 2: They address a pain point, find comfortable shoes, right off the bat.
• Pro tip 3: Their mention about return eligibility appeals to potential objection of someone who wouldn't want to give a gift that wouldn't go over well.
• Pro tip 4: Seasonal imagery and language is used, create an emotional connection to the thought of “warm wishes and warm feet.”

10. Grammarly

A strategy of native advertising. In this video you can witness native advertising at its best. Grammarly has used a story of their user (a beautiful and fascinating story) and elegantly stitched in a product plug for their product. It’s done in such a natural way, that the product plug even feels complementary to telling the story.

• Pro tip 1: they designed the campaign in a way that it would appeal to a large audience, so they chose to use the storytelling approach.
• Pro tip 2: Creative wise they’ve gone for using a video while keeping it to an optimal 2-minute length.
• Pro tip 3: The video finishes off with an empowering message “write the future”, a very bold message isn’t it? It certainly inspires one to take action.

11. Groupon

This simple Facebook Ad with a playful hero image that showcases a unique product line is unstoppable.

• Pro tip 1: This ad lets the image do most of the heavy lifting.
• Pro tip 2: Buyers love spoilers. They want to know exactly what they’re getting in the end. They give their audience a chance to see what are they selling.

12. Soylent

In this Facebook ad for a meal replacement product, Soylent delivers its three key messages that combine both benefits and features in an very easy-to-digest list, and with three of their products on the image.

• Pro tip 1: They use a minimal copy. Keeping the copy short and sweet can be a challenge, but it allows you to deliver a message to those drive-by scrollers who plow through their Facebook stream.
• Pro tip 2: Adding special characters such as emojis and symbols (such as ✓➕ ➡ ) is a simple, clever way to get your ad to stand out from the crowd.
• All about YOU: (or…them, rather) Write your ad copy in the second-person point of view (calling out you!). By calling out the reader in a 1:1 statement, they deliver their benefit straight to the doorstep of the audience.

13. Eco Terra Beds

Yes, the copy it’s ok, they use a testimonial and probably there’s no need to try to get someone to read reviews, call, and press a CTA. But this ad is in the list specifically for the image that they’ve chosen.

• Pro tip 1: They’re using the image to show why the mattress works, and how it delivers those promised benefits.
• Pro tip 2: It just looks so comfortable that gives the users an inside-look (literally) at the product can be beneficial.

Wrapping up

When we talk about Facebook Ads there are so many options for you that simply the sky is the limit. You got to do an exercise to determine how to best combine the available features with strong messaging, in order to really connect with the audience you want to get.

We hope these ads gave you ideas and inspiration to adopt some of their strategies to your own campaigns. Which strategy are you most excited to replicate? Which of these Facebook Ads examples were your favorite?

Getting the most of your Facebook Ads is a complex work, but there’s a way to simplify it: Leadza.

Our platform can take off the routine work like budget allocation, automated bidtesting, targeting and much more, so you can get to do the things you love the most about Facebook Ads and your business. You’re thinking about it, don’t you?