How to Write Ad Copy (That Actually Converts): 10 Top Tips

What does it take to write really good ad copy?

You know, the type of ad copy that makes you fold your arms, nod smugly, and say “Yep, that was me” while new customers fall over themselves to click on the ad, and your competitors think “Why didn’t I come up with that?”.

Quick answer: These top 10 ad copy tips, right here.

With these tips, you can avoid costly mistakes for your business and see maximum results from your paid advertising.

Let’s jump right in.

What is ad copy?

Ad copy is short-form advertising copy that is used for pay-per-click advertising, including:

• Search ads
• Display ads
• Native ads
• Social media ads

With effective ad copywriting, you’ll reap the benefits of increasing website traffic, brand awareness, numbers of leads generated, and ideally, sales and ROI.

How to write ad copy (that actually converts)

Now, enough of the basics – you want to get started on learning how to write ad copy that sells. Here are our top 10 tips on writing ad copy:

1) Offer a solution

The number one rule of marketing: provide value to your users. It’s a – mostly – guaranteed way to get the attention of your target audience, and get them wanting to know more.

Before setting out to write your ad copy, you should have an idea of the buyer persona or personas you’re targeting, along with their typical pain points.

Then? Hit ‘em where it hurts (but in the nicest, and most respectful way possible).

Let’s say we’re targeting an advertising executive or manager. Their typical pain points include:

• Keeping within a – often strict – advertising budget
• Targeting the right audience for the business
• Measuring the success of advertising campaigns
• Staying up to date with the ever-changing landscape
• Knowing the best brands for ad copy inspiration

In terms of solutions for these problems or hindrances, this persona is looking for best practices for ads that convert, an easy way to reach their target audience, and simple reporting for most efficient working.

Below, LinkedIn caught me out and caught my attention with this cheeky sponsored ad; it’s providing anyone seeking inspiration with a clear solution.

2) Use the right target keywords

The hard work you put into your ad copywriting is kinda redundant if you’re not using the right keywords for both your business and your target audience.

Align your ads with what people are *actually* searching for, with thorough keyword research.

Use tools like Similarweb’s Keyword Generator to understand different variations of the core keywords your business wants to target, as well as the search volume for each.

You can even filter the results to discover specific question queries and trending search terms in your niche, and work both your ad copy and your landing page content around these.

But please note: DO NOT keyword stuff your ads – or any of your content for that matter. It doesn’t look good, doesn’t make your business look good, and it doesn’t make your target audience want to hear more. Got that, partner?

3) Understand your competitive landscape

We’re living in a competitive world – especially when it comes to online marketing. That’s why it’s important to know what you’re up against.

No, this doesn’t just mean knowing who your competitors are and stalking their content from time to time, it means really good competitor analysis.

We talk about competitor research a lot for two reasons:

1. Because it’s crucial to your business success
2. Because we have all the data you need to do it

Spying on your competitors’ ads will not only give you inspiration for your own ad copy, but give you insight into which of their ads are generating the most traffic and Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).

Using Similarweb, gain insight into your competitors’ paid strategies – here, we use LuluLemon as an example. 

Similarweb has the PPC competitor analysis tools you need to find out what your competitors are targeting in their ad copy and content, what paid keywords they’re bidding on and for how much, and how successful (or not) that ad is in terms of website traffic and conversions.

4) Include a super snappy call to action

Whatever solution you’re providing, target keywords you’re providing, and competitor you’re competing against, you need a call to action. Otherwise, what’s the point in the ad?

And if you want a call to action that actually works, there are a few best practices for you to follow, including:

• Make it specific: Make sure your audience knows where they’re headed
• Make it snappy: Keep it brief but actionable – ideally, up to three words
• Make it audience-oriented: Focus on your target audiences’ goals and needs
• Make it fit with your campaign: It should also align with campaign objectives

Some very general examples include:

• “Buy now” 
• “Try for free”
• “Download now”
• “Send a gift” 
• “Sign up for free”

But it’s important to consider CTAs that are more personalized to your brand or campaign – doing this can make your ad campaigns even more powerful. We’ll look into some examples from well-known brands further down.

5) Align it with your landing page copy

We already touched on how successful ad copy needs to resonate with your target audience, as well as align with your campaign. The landing page that the ad sends your audience to should follow the same rules.

If it doesn’t, your users won’t be happy – and neither will your bounce rate or your PPC budget.

Let’s say you’re an ecommerce brand, for example. You sell a particularly niche selection of cow-print footwear but with the season changing into summer, it’s time for a summer sale to get rid of cow-print boots, to make way for your cow-print sandals.

You promote the cow-print boot sale via pay-per-click advertising, which is doing well but you feel your new cow-print sandals are missing out on a slice of the action so change the landing page to the homepage.

Now, Brenda – who was really looking forward to browsing some affordable cow-print boots – is faced with a longer (and very much assumed) customer journey, after not being taken to the page she so hoped for. Sad face and a quick click on the X of that tab.

The moral of the cow-printed story: Always consider search intent in both your ad copy and your landing page, keeping them aligned always.

6) Use promotions, benefits and incentives

If you’re looking to grab attention with your ad copy – or any kind of copy for that matter – then it’s smart to use things like promotions, benefits, or other incentives.

This is a sure-fire way to make you stand out from your competitors.

In fact, you can put your competitor analysis and research to good use here to see who’s offering what in their marketing and sales process, and what you can offer to encourage that initial spark with prospects (or even a sneaky switcheroo from another provider).

Is it a free gift? 50% discount? Free delivery? Easy returns? A two-year guarantee?

Whatever the benefit or incentive is, make it known in the ads for more interest, more engagement, and more conversions. This might just be your competitive advantage.

Here, we can see ASOS uses a range of incentives in its current ad campaigns, mainly revolving around deals and discounts. 

7) Entice your audience with statistics and numbers

99.7% of people love seeing statistics in ad copy.

Okay, we made that one up but to prove this next point.

There is something about numbers, percentages or other statistics in copy that really gets people wanting to know more. They evoke some kind of emotional response, which lures people in – hence why it’s a popular technique to include when writing ad copy.

The thing is, people love to learn about themselves, and that includes whether they think or believe the same as a majority of not.

Think about how you can use statistics and numbers in your ad copy to get the same effect. Here are a few examples:

• Join 2,000 companies who doubled their ROI
• 99% of shoppers recommend us
• 2,567 out of 2,600 marketers say this saved time and money
• Limited availability – only 10 left

… you get the idea. You can see that the idea of product or person inclusivity and exclusivity, as well as creating a sense of urgency works well.

8) Think about mobile devices

You might be writing away on your work laptop or desktop for this ad copy, but it’s so important to remember the importance of mobile-responsiveness and friendliness.

Around 92.3% of internet users access the internet on their phone – you want to make sure your ad is there, looking good, ready to grab their attention mid-browse. And with a high percentage like that, there’s a strong likelihood your customers and prospects are using mobile phones to learn more about your brand or purchase from your website.

9) A/B test your copy

In the ever-changing world of digital, us marketers have got to experiment.

A/B testing allows us to experiment with multiple options and gather data to see what works well and sometimes, what doesn’t work so well.

It’s so important to track any successes and failures, and note why it worked or didn’t work.

For example, if your ad didn’t pick up any traffic until months after it went live, this suggests it went live at the wrong time or for the wrong amount of time. Or maybe you saw your localized ad see much more traffic than your more general ad – now you know to put more time into localization.

Some tools and platforms for A/B testing include:

• Optimizely
• A/B Tasty
• Crazy Egg

10) Consider these examples of great ad copy

Not sure where to start? Let’s go through some ad copy examples to provide you with some ad inspiration (or ‘adspiration’? … anyone?).

Example #1: Providing an incentive

Monzo has used its thorough competitor research to know what makes them stand out for those looking for business bank accounts.

You had us at “No Monthly Fees”… but “Apply Online In Minutes” sounds pretty good too.

Example #2: Knowing what your audience is searching for

Combining both competitor analysis and keyword analysis in, what could be, a fatal mix for Monday.com, Asana targets those searching for “monday.com” specifically, and encourages them to make the switch.

The idea of inclusivity steps in here. “Make the switch” implies others have already done the same, and done so very easily.

Example #3: Getting ultra competitive

Sometimes considered petty, sometimes considered straight to the point = ad copy that targets your main competitors’ branded keywords and using the real estate to show why you’re better.

Psst… if you’d prefer this to *not* happen to you, check out our Brand Protection tool. With this tool, you’ll be able to monitor the keywords that are crucial to your business, and act fast if a competitor (known or not) bids on them.

Example #4: Offering some real personality

An oldie, but a goldie: The Snickers ad campaign back in 2013 (hence the pretty old school search engine style).

Sure, it’s common practice to target misspelled search terms in paid advertising, but Snickers wanted to bring it up a notch. They gathered together a list of 500 top search terms, and used a keyword generator to create a list of over 25,000 misspellings of those terms… then bid on them.

This added a real element of personality to their advertising, showing the brand to be funny, witty, and also cost-effective given the lower ad spends of bad spelling.

Be more competitive with competitor insights

PPC advertising, amongst everything else in digital marketing, is competitive – and you want to stand out from the crowd.

By following these top 10 ad copy tips, including having all the inside knowledge of what your competitors are up to (or trying to get up to), you’ll see a huge increase in conversions and in ROAS as both a team and business.

With Similarweb, you can spy on not only your competitors’ ad campaigns, but their entire marketing strategy. And guess what? You can try the platform for free today.

FAQs

What’s the most important element of ad copy?

It’s a tie! A strong headline grabs attention, and a clear call to action (CTA) tells readers what to do next.

How do I write a captivating headline?

Keep it short, benefit-oriented, and use strong verbs or questions to spark curiosity.

Should I focus on features or benefits in my ad copy?

Focus on benefits. Explain how your product or service improves readers’ lives, not just its technical specs.

What are some powerful words to use in ad copy?

Use action verbs, emotional words, and numbers to create a sense of urgency and impact.

How can I test my ad copy?

Try A/B testing different versions and see which one resonates best with your audience.