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Writing Ad Copy

Ad copy development is a key component of campaign set up. Ideally, you're not even going to start with ad copy until you have the keyword list completed and broken down into campaigns and ad groups. I'm going to assume you've done this and start with the five key rules of writing ad copy. Yes, I like rules and I like numbered lists.

  1. Make sure the title of your ad is extremely relevant to the keyword category.
  2. Make sure the body of the ad represents clearly what is on the landing page.
  3. Make sure there is some sort of call-to-action (e.g., Register now!)
  4. If possible, try to build an incentive into the ad
  5. Differentiate your ad messaging from the bazillions of other people bidding on your keywords

Google Ad Specs (for ads in English):

Title = 25 characters
Line 1 = 35 characters
Line 2 = 35 characters
Display URL = 35 characters

Different countries have different specs though - here are the details on that.

Yahoo/Bing Ad Specs

Title = 25 characters
Body = 70 characters
Display URL = 35 characters

Here are some additional resources:

Google's Editorial Guidelines

Microsoft/Yahoo Editorial Guidelines