Ad Copy That Converts: Three Lessons from Spending 7 Figures Of My Own Money On Google Ads
In my last post, I touched on the importance of good ad copy which prompted a lot of messages asking me what exactly that meant. For those that are more advanced, this will be cakewalk, but I do hope this can serve as a useful guide to those that are new or are considering using google ads for their business. So without further ado, here goes:
Lesson 1: Emotion + Facts: The Winning Combo
Sad Woman About To Be Blown Away By Your Ad
To create ad copy that truly converts, you need to speak to both the heart and the mind. All decisions, whether we like it or not, are largely emotional, with logic serving as post-action justification. The best-performing ads tap into this, combining emotional appeal with factual proof to compel action - emotions drive clicks and facts build trust (and in turn conversions). Great ad copy blends both of them together seamlessly.
Example:
Emotional Hook: “Tired Of Feeling Stuck In Your Career?”
Factual Proof: “95% Of Our 20,000 Graduates Landed A High-Paying Job In Tech Within 6 Months.”
Pro Tip:
Adjust the emotional & factual balance by your product / service niche and audience type. Low cost commodity physical products will require different language & tonality to say an enterprise software company for example. Find the emotional and factual balance that converts best for your audience, and scale those campaigns accordingly.
Lesson 2: Specificity Will Always Beat Generalization
How Accurate I Want You To Be
Now that we’ve covered the importance of emotion and facts, let’s talk about another crucial element - specificity. Generic half-hearted ad copy doesn’t just not stand out, it actively reduces trust. People respond to offers that make them feel heard. Being specific helps your ad answer the user’s subconscious question: “Why does this ad deserve a click?”. After all, you're also competing against a sea of often higher ranked organic results.
Example
Generic: “Reduce Joint Pain Using Our Proprietary Formula”
Specific: “Relieve Joint Pain By More Than 50% In Just 14 days - Clinically Proven And Trusted By 25,000+ Arthritis Sufferers Worldwide."
Pro Tip:
Always include numbers to describe time saved, results achieved, or improvements made. Use data from real customer results and case studies to provide this type of specificity. Test out anchoring your offer to industry comparisons. By positioning your product against competitors you addresses the user’s implicit question: “Why should I choose you over others?”
Lesson 3: The Importance of Contextual Relevance
Learn From The Best
Great ad copy isn’t just about what you say, it’s about saying it at the right place & time. Contextual relevance ensures your message resonates with the user’s immediate situation, such as their location, device or even time of day. When ads feel personalized to the moment, they drive higher engagement and conversions.
Example
Not Contextually Relevant: “Fast Online Coffee Order”
Contextually Relevant: “Hot Coffee Delivered To Your Office In Under 20 Minutes - Perfect For Your Afternoon Break.”
Pro Tip:
This is quite offer dependant but using geo-targeting and separating out your campaigns to make your ad feel local will always provide better results than not doing so. Tailor your messaging to align with user behaviour throughout the day and thoughtfully account for how mobile users interact with your ads differently than desktop users.
Now, all of this is well and good but it can only take you so far without a proper landing page that knows how to convert users. But I'll leave out that rabbit hole for another time...
.svg)
