One filled copy of this template is one responsive search ad. Running several ads in an ad group means several filled copies, each with its own ad name. The variant block below is what ties them together and marks which one is the control.
Setup
Theme
Copy these across from the search theme brief for the ad group this ad runs in. They are the constraints the headlines below are written against, and having them on the same page is what stops an ad being written to the campaign in general rather than to this theme.Every keyword in the theme should be served by the ad you are about to write. If a headline that suits one keyword would be wrong for another, the theme is holding two intents and wants splitting before the copy is written. See the one-ad test.
Angle
Copy these across from the angle brief for the angle this ad executes. They are what the copy below has to deliver.A hook written fresh here belongs back in the angle’s brief once it is approved, so the next writer starts from it rather than reinventing it.
Variant
Fill this in on every copy, including the control. Leave the experiment ID blank if this ad is not part of a test.
Every ad in this set. Copy this table onto each filled template so any one of them shows the whole picture.
Pinning
Unpinned fields rotate freely. Pinning narrows the combinations Google can test, which usually lowers ad strength; that trade is deliberate when a claim is required or a variable is under test, and worth writing down so the next person doesn’t remove the pin to lift the rating.
A theme phrase is the third case. If the theme depends on a specific phrase reaching the searcher, writing it into one headline only puts it in the pool that might be shown. Pin it, or accept that some serves will not carry it.
Display path
Optional. Appears after the domain in the ad’s display URL.Headlines
Minimum 3, up to 15.Descriptions
Minimum 2, up to 4.Sitelink assets (optional)
Callout assets (optional)
Structured snippet assets (optional)
Related resources
- Search theme brief The theme this ad is written against.
- Search theme concepts Why the ad and the landing page have to carry the same phrase.
- Copy brief
- Ad name conventions
- Ad set / ad group / variant naming conventions
- Creative brief
- Marketing campaign brief
- Experiment ID convention Where the ID in the variant block comes from.
- Creating an experiment The process a copy test runs on.
- Legal review Why a required claim gets pinned.