Responsive Search Ad Headline and Description Formulas

What's inside

• The limits: room for 15 headlines of up to 30 characters, 4 descriptions of up to 90 and two display paths of up to 15.
• Headline formulas: angles including keyword and place, credentials, proof, offers, differentiators, questions, calls to action and local history, each with a character count.
• Description formulas: benefit and proof, problem and solution, what's included, and risk reversal where you can stand behind it.
• Rules and display paths: keyword use, when to pin, avoiding repetition and keeping every claim true.

Who it's for

Advertisers writing their own Google Ads, and marketers who need to fill an ad group with distinct, on-message lines quickly. The worked examples are for a made-up heating firm, but the formulas adapt to most local and service businesses.

How to use it

Google mixes and matches your headlines and descriptions, so write each line to stand alone and still read well beside any other. Use your main keyword in two or more headlines, avoid saying the same thing twice, and pin only when you have to, because pinning limits how many combinations Google can try. Check every claim against your landing page before the ad goes live.