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Why Google’s Responsive Ad Strength Tool Is An Idea Factory

I have no doubt, one of the most challenging parts of digital marketing is creating quality search ad copy that both stands out from the competition and motivates searchers to click. Not only do you have to know the product/service, offer, and company well to communicate what sets them apart, you have to know what things to say in a limited character space.

It can also be difficult to come up with ideas and to figure out where in the ad is the best place to put the ideas? Headline or description? Which headline or description? This is where using Google’s Responsive Search Ads can really help out.

Let’s be honest, Google has been begging us to add Responsive Search Ads for years. Some have, some haven’t. But, are you giving your ads the best chance for success? Maybe you were annoyed about seeing them in your Recommendations tab for months and rushed through them without considering how having more options can lead to better performance? In this post I am going to:

• Remind you what Responsive Search Ads are
• Introduce you to the Responsive Ad Strength Tool and how to get a better score
• Give you three reasons to use the Ad Strength Tool

What Are Responsive Search Ads (RSAs)?

Google says…

“Responsive Search Ads let you create an ad that adapts to show more text—and more relevant messages—to your customers. Enter multiple headlines and descriptions when creating a responsive search ad, and over time, Google Ads will automatically test different combinations and learn which combinations perform best.”

Read more about responsive search ads from Google.

What Is The Responsive Search Ad Strength Tool?

Google’s Ads Strength Tool is a built-in Google tool that will inspire you to try a variety of unique headlines and descriptions by giving you an “Ad Strength” score of either: incomplete, average, good, or excellent. It is important to note that this measures relevance, quantity, and diversity of ad copy and not performance. “Excellent” simply means you are giving the algorithm the best chance for success.

To get an excellent score you’ll have to:

• Provide at least 8-10 headlines
  • At least 5 should be unique headlines that don’t repeat the same similar phrases.
• Include a keyword in 2 headlines
• Have at least 3 headlines that do not include your keywords.
  • Google says to “try highlighting additional product or service benefits and features, a problem you’re solving, or highlight shipping and return information.”
• Include at least 2 unique descriptions
  • Google says to “try highlighting additional information about your product or service that isn’t mentioned in your headlines.”
• Keep the “pinning” of headlines to a minimum so Google can test more variations.

Example of Ad Strength Tool

Three Benefits Of The Ad Strength Tool

1. Easy To Gauge Diversity Of Ads

Google allows you to save time by writing multiple headlines and descriptions and then gives you immediate, but basic, feedback on them. This helps you increase your chances of success by allowing Google to test more unique combinations of ad copy. It also can lead to more opportunities (see benefit #3 below).

2. Google Suggestions And Topics Are Usually Helpful

Google will often suggest headlines and descriptions that I have found helpful and relevant (especially if the account has a history). They often need a little tweaking but are a great place to start. Note: I do not suggest just simply adding all of Google’s suggestions because I have also seen many bad suggestions (ex: putting the wrong year in a headline), but with some effort, even these can be crafted into viable headlines and descriptions.

The Ad Strength Tool also shows a categorized breakdown of topics and angles (with examples) to consider in ad copy. This is what I consider to be the tool’s idea factory — it’s basically a one-pager on ad copy ideas, and the topics included here allow you to consider a lot of different angles to test.

3. High Ad Strength Can Lead To More Opportunity

By getting an “Excellent” Ad Strength score, you give your ads the opportunity to be more relevant and match more search queries. This allows you to compete in more auctions and often leads to more impressions, clicks, and hopefully conversions!

Although I cannot guarantee performance increases by using the Ad Strength Tool, I can say that it will help inspire you to increase the relevance, quantity, and diversity of your ad copy. Responsive Ads are here to stay, and I recommend using the Ad Strength Tool as your personal idea factory.

Spice up those ads and up your PPC game!