Google Ads is a powerful tool for businesses to reach potential customers, and well-planned promotions are one of the best ways to grab people's attention. Everyone loves a good deal - customers enjoy saving money, and businesses benefit from increased sales. But showcasing these promotions effectively in Google Ads can be tricky. This guide walks you through seven practical methods to smoothly add your promotional offers to your ad campaigns. By using these strategies, you'll catch more eyes and stand out from other businesses advertising similar products or services. You'll learn how to make the most of your advertising efforts to increase your sales, no matter your level of experience with Google Ads. Let’s get right in!
1. Promotions in headlines and descriptions
The most direct way to show off your promotions is right in the ad text itself. You can add your offer to the headline or description of your ad. It sounds simple, but there's a bit more to it.
When you change an existing ad, Google resets its performance data. This can be a pain if you've been running the ad for a while and have gathered useful stats. A workaround is to create a new ad variant instead. This way, you keep your original ad intact and can compare how the promotional version performs against it.
Remember to check your pinned assets too. These are bits of text you've told Google to show in specific spots. Make sure your promotional message isn't clashing with these. For example, if you've pinned "Free Shipping" to the first headline slot, you might want to put your "20% Off" promotion in the second or third slot.
When crafting your promotional headlines and descriptions, be clear and concise. Instead of "Great deals available now," try something like "20% Off All Shoes - This Weekend Only." The more specific you can be, the better.
2. Headline and description assets
This method gives you more flexibility. Instead of changing your whole ad, you can create separate promotional headlines or descriptions. Google will mix and match these with your regular ad text.
The cool thing about these assets is that you can schedule them. So if you're running a weekend sale, you can set your promotional text to only show during that time. Plus, you can see how well each asset performs on its own, which helps you fine-tune your promotions over time.
This approach is particularly useful if you run regular promotions. You can create a set of promotional assets and activate them as needed, without having to create entirely new ads each time. It's also a great way to A/B test different promotional messages to see which ones resonate best with your audience.
3. Promotional assets
Google has a special type of asset just for promotions. You can set these up for specific occasions like Black Friday or a summer sale. They're pretty customizable - you choose the type of promotion (like a percentage off), write a short message, and even add any conditions that apply.
These assets are great because they stand out visually in your ad. They're designed to catch attention, which is exactly what you want for a promotion. You might see them appear as a little tag or badge next to your ad, making your offer immediately noticeable.
One advantage of promotional assets is that they can be applied at the account, campaign, or ad group level. This means you can create a promotion that applies to your entire account, or get more specific with promotions for particular product lines or services.
4. Price assets
While not specifically made for promotions, price assets can be tweaked to highlight special offers. You can show a discounted price along with a phrase like "Sale price" or "From".
This method works well if your promotion is all about the numbers. It's a clear, straightforward way to show potential customers that they're getting a deal. Price assets are particularly effective for industries where price is a key decision factor, like retail or travel.
You can use price assets to showcase different aspects of your promotion. For instance, you might have one asset showing "Prices from $19.99" and another showing "Save up to 50%." This gives you flexibility in how you present your offer.
5. Sitelinks for promotional landing pages
If your business runs different promotions regularly, consider creating a dedicated page on your website for current offers. Then, use sitelinks in your ads to direct people to this page.
Sitelinks are those extra links you sometimes see below an ad. They're a great way to give people a direct path to your promotions without cluttering up your main ad text. You might have a sitelink that says "Current Offers" or "This Week's Deals."
The advantage of this approach is that it keeps your main ad focused on your core message or product, while still giving interested customers an easy way to find your promotions. It's also easier to manage if your promotions change frequently - you just need to update your landing page, not all your ads.
6. Performance max asset groups
For those using Google's Performance Max campaigns, you can create specific groups of assets (text, images, videos) just for your promotions. This allows you to run promotional content alongside your regular ads without messing with your existing setups.
It's a bit more advanced, but it gives you a lot of control over how and where your promotional content appears. You can create a whole set of promotional assets - including images showcasing your deals, videos explaining your offer, and text highlighting the key points of your promotion.
This approach is particularly useful if you want to give your promotions a distinct look and feel, or if you want to target your promotional content to specific audiences. It's a more holistic way of presenting your offer across different ad formats.
7. Display and video ads
Don't forget about visual ads. If you're running display or video campaigns, you can create special versions that highlight your promotions. This might be a colorful banner ad or a short video showcasing your offer.
Visual ads can be particularly effective for promotions because they grab attention quickly. Just make sure your offer is clear and easy to understand at a glance. In a display ad, you might use bold text to highlight your discount, or in a video, you could have your offer appear as a prominent overlay.
These types of ads give you more creative freedom to showcase your promotion. You could create a before-and-after price comparison, show products included in the sale, or even demonstrate how much a customer could save over time with your offer.
Conclusion
Promoting your business through Google Ads doesn't have to be complicated. These seven methods give you a range of options to work with, from simple text changes to more complex campaign setups. The key is to experiment and see what works best for your business and your customers.
Remember, the goal isn't just to shout about your promotion. It's to present it in a way that's appealing and relevant to the people you want to reach. Keep an eye on your ad performance, adjust as needed, and don't be afraid to try new approaches.
With these strategies in your toolkit, you're well-equipped to make your promotions stand out in Google Ads. It might take some trial and error, but the potential payoff in terms of increased clicks and sales is worth the effort. Good luck with your promotions.
