When you first start running paid Google ads for your company, it can feel a little like throwing spaghetti at the wall. Some things stick, and some just… don’t.
A healthy click-through rate (CTR) is the foundation for the success of your entire funnel, so it's worth taking the time to optimize. So how can you improve the CTR of your Google ads?
There are tons of tweaks you can make to improve your results. Below, we’ve rounded up our top tips to help you write better copy, craft stronger CTAs, and target more qualified traffic with Google ads.
1. Craft Compelling Ad Copy
Powerful, compelling ad copy is one of the main drivers of click-through rate. If you’re familiar with marketing copy best practices, these tips should sound familiar!
Address Value Props
Take some time to think about what customers like best about your product – or the exact pain points your product solves. Highlight those benefits in your ad copy!
Instead of "We offer cloud-based storage,” try focusing on the benefits by saying, "Access your files from anywhere – no downloads, no hassle."
Be Specific and Relevant
Generic is boring, and it won’t stand out among competitors. Specifics build trust, paint a clearer picture, and help users see themselves using your solution. Add details to your ad copy to increase confidence – and by extension, Google ad CTR.
For example, instead of “Shop Shoes,” be specific about the type of shoe and who might buy it. “Shop Cowboy Boots for Men” or “Explore Red Heels for Women” are more specific. Dynamic keywords (which we’ll cover more later) can be a big help here since you can tailor the ad to the exact keyword someone is searching for.
You can also add specific numbers and data to your ad copy to build credibility. This could be claims like “Trusted by 10,000+ Freelancers” or “Increase Your Team’s Efficiency by 45%.”
Include a Clear Call to Action
Tell readers EXACTLY what to do next. Often, people won’t act unless you make it easy and obvious.
This can be as simple as saying “Shop Now” or “Explore Products.” Use action verbs like Get, Try, Download, Explore, Learn, Start, etc.
2. Leverage Social Proof
Does your company have happy customers or impressive claims to fame? Include these in your ad copy to build credibility and improve brand reputation. When other people vouch for your brand, your ad looks trustworthy, legitimate, and click-worthy.
Types of social proof can include:
- Review ratings
- Testimonials
- Awards
- Key partners
- Number of downloads or customers
- Certifications
3. Try Out Ad Extensions
Ad extensions provide extra info to search ads, which can boost CTR by helping your ads stand out. This feature comes in a few different forms, including:
- Sitelinks - Additional links below your main ad that lead to specific pages. These give users more options, which means more chances to match what they’re looking for.
- Callouts - Short text snippets that highlight unique benefits, features, or services. They add persuasive info without needing a click, such as Free Shipping, 24/7 Customer Support, and No Setup Fees.
- Structured Snippets - A list of specific services, products, or categories under a predefined header, which adds clarity and structure to your Google ad.
4. Use Dynamic Keyword Insertion
Dynamic keyword insertion (DKI) automatically swaps the searcher’s query into your ad. Google will try to replace the code with one of the keywords in your ad group to make the ad specific to the exact term (or a very close term) to what the person searched.
In other words, it makes your Google ad highly specific and relevant – without requiring you to create a bunch of ads from scratch manually. The dynamic keyword just swaps it in for you.
For example, say your company sells chocolate, so you set up an ad headline that reads Buy {Keyword:Chocolate} Today.
If someone searches for sugar-free chocolate or dark chocolate, Google will check to see if that term matches your keywords. If it does, Google will insert it into the ad so it shows up as Buy Sugar-Free Chocolate Today or Buy Dark Chocolate Today.
If you don’t sell sugar-free chocolate (and, thus, you don’t have a keyword for sugar-free chocolate), the ad will default to “Chocolate.” In this way, you don’t have to worry about the ad dynamically changing to something you don’t actually offer.
5. Use High-Intent, Long-Tail Keywords
Add modifiers like industry, location, and product features to help attract people closer to the decision stage. As a bonus, these more specific terms mean you’ll reach a more niche, relevant group instead of a broad audience filled with general, unqualified people.
For example, instead of just “accounting software,” use “accounting software for freelancers.”
6. Add Negative Keywords
There’s a misconception that more impressions will lead to more clicks. While that’s true to some degree, it’s not always true.
Some keywords are simply not relevant to what your company offers and sells. Negative keywords let you avoid showing up for irrelevant searches, which saves budget and improves CTR by filtering out unqualified clicks.
Regularly check the “Search Terms” report and add irrelevant or low-converting terms to your negative keyword list.
Going back to the chocolate example, let's say your company doesn’t sell sugar-free chocolate. If that’s the case, “sugar-free” would make sense as a negative keyword.
7. Add Keywords to your Display URL
Your display URL doesn’t have to match the actual URL. In fact, you can use this space to reinforce relevance by repeating the keyword. This is especially effective if your actual URL is not short, clean, and direct.
Instead of: www.example.com/loan-landing-page-2
Try: www.example.com/small-business-loans
8. Provide Value
Sometimes, shoppers need a little extra incentive to click your ad. Another way to improve CTR in Google Ads is to focus on the customer’s “reward” for clicking.
Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and ask, “What’s in it for ME?”
The value you provide can be a coupon code, discount, or ongoing sale that can save them money on a product or service they’re shopping for. If it's a limited-time offer, pair this with a countdown timer (details on this in the next tip!) for best results.
For example: Shop 50% Off: Dark Chocolate Bars
Experiment with pinned headlines to make the discount stand out even more! This will let users immediately see your offer no matter what they search for. Your pins could focus on a discount with terms like “Clearance On” and “Shop Discounted” or promise fast turnaround with “In-Stock” and “Ready to Ship.”
Depending on your industry, you can also offer free resources. Does your marketing team have any lead magnets you could leverage in paid ads? This could include free downloadable guides, templates, and cheatsheets.
Expert advice can hold value, too. If it's relevant to your company’s offerings, promote a free audit or consultation that emphasizes what the prospect gets when they click.
9. Test Countdown Timers
FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) can be a powerful motivator for would-be customers. Creating urgency with Google ad customizers can increase your CTR by encouraging consumers to click NOW before they miss out.
Countdown timers are great for use cases like:
- Limited time sales
- Upcoming events
- Product launches
- Holiday ship-by deadlines
As a best practice, only use this strategy for real timed offers, not manufactured ones. In other words, don’t just slap on countdown timers for the heck of it. If someone clicks on the ad only to find out that the countdown timer wasn’t real, they may just abandon the page entirely.
10. Raise the Bid
Another fast and effective (AND costly) way to improve Google CTR is by simply raising your bid. “Pay to play” can be frustrating if you’re working with a limited budget, but for some keywords or campaign strategies, it might be the best play.
Raising the bid on your ads can help place them in a better position. Ads in positions 1-4 will nearly always get a better CTR than ads at the bottom of the page in position 11.
The increased clicks you get might even be worth the increased spend!
11. Try Something Wild
Use humor. Ask a question. Make a bold claim (as long as it’s true).
Sometimes, breaking from the mold and trying something completely different and unexpected will stand out from competitors and help you attract attention. Curiosity is a powerful motivator when it comes to attracting clicks!
Just be sure to test your approach and make sure it's worthwhile. Questions, for example, can make your ad sound unsure and hurt your CTR instead of helping it. It’s worth a try if you’re struggling to make something stick, but look at the data to gauge its impact.
Get the Google Ad Results You Want
There’s no one-size-fits-all formula for the perfect Google ad, but the more intentional you are with your ad copy, targeting, and testing, the better your results will be. Whether it’s adding specificity, playing with ad extensions, or giving your audience a little FOMO, every small improvement adds up.
Not sure where to start – or just tired of managing it all yourself?
LGC is a full-service marketing agency that can plan, write, launch, and optimize your Google Ads campaigns from end to end. From keyword strategy to creative testing, we’ll turn your ad spend into real ROI – along with any email, print, video, content, and PR initiatives you want to take off your plate. Say hello@lgcli.com to learn more about what we can do for you.