How does Google build an ad from your lines?
You give it parts, and Google assembles an ad as each search happens. Google Ads Help ("About responsive search ads") sets the limits: headlines up to 30 characters, descriptions up to 90, and two display path fields of 15 characters each that sit after your website address. Headline 1 and Description 1 almost always appear. Headlines 2 and 3, and Description 2, appear when Google predicts they will help and there is room.
That means every headline has to make sense next to every other one, in any order. A headline that only works as the second half of a sentence will one day show up first.
What makes fifteen headlines better than five versions of one?
Variety in what they say. Five headlines that all mean "Albury dentist" give Google five ways to say the same thing and nothing to learn from. Headlines that each carry a different reason to click let Google match the ad to the person: one searcher cares about the price of a check-up, another about whether you open on Saturday, a third about whether the health fund rebate is claimed on the spot.
Google rates the pool with Ad Strength, from Poor to Excellent, which mostly measures how many distinct, relevant lines you gave it. Treat it as feedback on the writing. The verdict on the ad is still the cost of a booking.
What did an Albury dentist's rewrite do to the cost of a booking? (example figures)
A dental practice in Albury with two dentists spent $1,500 a month on search ads. Its responsive search ad had five headlines: Albury Dentist, Dentist in Albury, Best Dentist Albury, Albury Dental Clinic and Call Us Today. The owner rewrote it with 11 distinct headlines, among them "New patient check-up and clean", "Open Saturdays 8 am to 1 pm", "Health fund rebates on the spot", "Lavington and Thurgoona patients" and "Book online in 60 seconds". As a regulated health service, a dental practice also writes within AHPRA's advertising guidelines, so every line states a fact a patient can check.
| Spend | CTR | Clicks | Bookings | Cost per booking | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Five similar headlines | $1,500 | 3.2 percent | 294 | 21 | $71 |
| Eleven distinct headlines | $1,500 | 5.0 percent | 310 | 33 | $45 |
Clicks rose only a little, because the budget capped them. What changed was who clicked: people who saw the Saturday hours or the rebate line and found the answer they needed already in the ad. The asset report later rated "Open Saturdays 8 am to 1 pm" as Best, and "Best Dentist Albury" as Low.
Should you pin a headline?
Only when a line must appear every time. Pinning fixes a headline or description to a position, and Google advises against it for most advertisers because it cuts the number of combinations Google can test, which can lower Ad Strength. The common honest reason is a line that has to show, such as a licence number or a required disclaimer. If you pin, pin two or three headlines to the same position so Google still has a choice.
How does CoraVision follow your ads after a rewrite?
CoraVision reads impressions, clicks, spend and conversions for every Google Ads campaign each night, so the week after a rewrite shows whether the cost of a booking moved. The asset labels (Best, Good, Low) are read off your screen while you and Cora talk it through, and when the next step in your action plan is a rewrite, pill mode points to where it is done. The words are yours, and so is the click that publishes them.
Questions
How many headlines should I write?
Google needs at least 3 and accepts 15. Write enough distinct ones to give Google real choices, which for most owners is 8 to 12: the service, the place, the price or offer, the proof, and the next step, each said a couple of ways.
Can I still make the old expanded text ads?
No. Since mid-2022, Google Ads has not let advertisers create or edit expanded text ads, and the responsive search ad is the text ad for Search. Old expanded text ads can keep running, but the only way to change one is to replace it.
Why does my ad sometimes show only two headlines?
Google shows the first headline and first description almost every time, and adds a second or third headline and a second description when it predicts they will help and there is room. On a small phone screen, there often is not.