Danny Andrawes 20 February 2022

Some Great Ad Copy Examples To learn From

Ad Copy Examples – Want to know the easiest way to transform your PPC / paid advertising campaign into a conversion-making beast? Impactful ad copy.

While it might seem a little too simple, a couple of words could mean all the difference between your ad becoming the click-crazy machine it deserves to be or one that gets ignored by everyone entirely.

By taking the time to meticulously craft persuasive, enticing, and meaningful ad copy, you’ll be rewarded with a paid advertising campaign that will drive more conversions than ever before.

  • What is ad copy?
  • How to write ad copy that gets more clicks
  • Ad copy examples and lessons
    • Search
    • Display
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn

Ready to learn how to get more clicks on ads? Great! Let’s start with the basics first.

What is ad copy?

Ad copy is the written portion of any advertisement you see online or in real life including the headline, body text, and call to action. When combined together, this forms the foundation of your advertisement.

While other elements such as graphics, sound, and even the platform you choose to place your ads are essential for success, effective ad copy can often be the main trigger that causes your target audience to click again and again.

How to write ad copy that gets more clicks

1. Define your target audience

Before we even begin writing up your ad copy, we need to first outline the target audience of your product or service. Nothing is worse than spending hours building an ad, only for the wrong people to click through that will never convert.

If you’re already thinking about creating ads for your business, then this process should be fairly straightforward. Regardless, you need to ask yourself the following questions:

  • How old are your target customers?
  • Where do they generally live?
  • What kind of interests and hobbies do they have?
  • What kind of jobs do they have?
  • What pain points do they have that your product or service can solve?

2. Identify your unique selling point (USP)

What makes your product or service stand out amongst the crowd? That’s your unique selling point.

You don’t want to be “just another company selling x”, so once you figure out your company’s USP, display it loud and proud on your ad copy. Every second counts, and with your USP placed front and center, prospective customers can immediately tell what makes you stand apart and can be the difference between your ad being clicked through first over your competitor.

3. Create an impactful headline

First impressions matter, and an eye-catching headline can make or break your advertisement. Every second counts, and with attention spans growing shorter and shorter, you need to write a headline that can immediately hook potential customers in.

Push your USP, connect with the potential customer through emotional triggers (more on this in a moment), highlight the benefits of your product or service, these can all draw in the interest of your target audience! Pair your strong headline with similarly constructed body text, and you’ll have an ad that gets clicks and drives conversion in no time.

4. Incorporate emotional triggers

Emotions can often become a major factor in the decision-making process for most people. Whether it’s a negative emotion such as guilt, anger, and fear or feelings such as exclusivity, anticipation, and belonging, these can become powerful motivators when deciding which product or service to choose first.

With that in mind, why not use those emotions for your own benefit?

When a potential customer reads your ad and has an emotional response, they will more than likely click-thru to your landing page. While a great statistic can help bolster trust, emotional triggers can help give people that final push that gets them onto your business website or store.

5. Drum up a little FOMO

You’ve probably seen this a couple of times online, on print or in-person, but it’s a tried and true strategy that always brings in the results.

The fear of missing out is a powerful tool that plays on the idea that if the customer doesn’t buy now, this limited-time offer will go away and may never come back. “Ends Today”, “Only Two Left in Stock”, “Limited availability” these phrases, naturally, play on the consumer’s mind. Curiosity often wins, and the person will click to see what the limited time offer is all about. Success!

6. Keep track of your keywords

When working on a pay per click platform such as Google Ads, it’s essential to keep track of the keywords that you include in your advertising copy. Search platforms like Google often rely on the keywords you provide in the copy to show the most relevant ads to their users. As such, incorporating a keyword of a search term often typed in by users can lead to fantastic results.

But beware! You can’t just stuff in as many keywords into your ad as possible and hope for the best. This is because of a little thing called Quality Score.

In essence, Quality Score is a metric used by Google that determines the relevance and quality of your ad. The lower the Quality Score, the lower your chances of the advertisement being seen by a potential customer and how how long it takes for your Adwords campaign to show results. As you might suspect keyword stuffing is something that Google punishes you for, so write in keywords, but do so with plenty of care.

7. Finish up with a powerful call to action

For a call to action, it’s important here to keep it simple with a clear and concise message that encourages them to learn more about your business’ product or service. Not everyone will read the body content of your ad copy, those who do read the headline will generally also look at your CTA. A simple “Buy” or “Shop” might seem to do the trick, good ad copy takes this one step further by describing what you want the readers to do.

Are they signing up for a newsletter? “Sign Up For Free” could do the trick. Is there a free trial involved? “Grab Your Free Trial” might be what you need. For more help and examples, be sure to check out our guide on click-worthy call to actions.

Write Better PPC Ad Copies Using These Psychology Principles

You don’t have to be a master of mental manipulation to create effective PPC ads — but it certainly helps. After all, the entire field of psychology is a gift for marketers. The more you know about how people think (in particular, how they make decisions), the more you can devise a sales funnel that does all the right things to win them over.

Certain principles of the human thought process are more relevant than others, of course, so you can’t necessarily draw practical benefit from every last nugget of psychological insight. What you need is a stripped-down set of principles to help you write better PPC ad copy and max out your ROAS — and you’re in the right place for that. Let’s begin.

Method 1: Dual process

We like to think we’re rational creatures, carefully weighing up relevant factors and making the best decisions we can given the available data — but that doesn’t explain many of our actions. We’re also heavily influenced by our subconscious drives, often leading to snap determinations. This is where gut instinct comes from.

This is the dual process principle. It identifies two distinct decision-making processes: the long-form conscious contemplation that’s best suited to making big decisions, and the fast subconscious intuition that forms our first impressions of the people we meet.

How to use it:

  • Think carefully about how someone might make a decision about the type of product you’re offering. Is it a low-cost buy, or something more serious?
  • If it’s something viable for a quick purchase, lean into that with your copy. Focus more on emotion and indulgence. Tempt the reader to click and act now.
  • If it’s something that’ll need a longer process, don’t push too hard with your copy, because it’ll likely irritate the reader. Instead, lay out a smart case for why they should learn more, then point them towards a landing page with more information.

Method 2: Least effort

It isn’t quite fair to say we’re all fundamentally lazy, but it’s true that we’re psychologically economical — which is to say that we don’t put more energy towards thought than we feel we need to. It makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint. The more efficient the mind, the better.

This is the least effort principle. If you want evidence of it, look to how we develop habits. How much of your day do you plan on the fly, and how much of it feels automatic? The reason it’s so hard to radically overhaul your behaviour is that it requires you to deviate from a comfortable neural pathway and start trying to plot a fresh route.

How to use it:

  • Don’t ask for too much from the reader. For example, don’t mention anything about filling in a form, because they won’t want to do that. Offer them something they can achieve in just one click, and they’ll be much more likely to go for it.
  • Emphasise the ease of whatever you’re suggesting. Openly state that it’s easy, simple, and fast — and place a lot of focus on what it will achieve for them, because they’ll be weighing the reward against the up-front effort cost of doing something unusual.

Method 3: Social proof

Imagine that you’ve just entered a completely new culture and you have no idea what to do. How do you manage? It’s fairly obvious: you look to the people around you for guidance. What do they suggest? How do they talk? What can you spot about their body language? You study their actions and do your best to infer the right way to proceed.

This is the social proof principle. When in doubt, we look to others to point us in the right direction, always desiring to act in ways that will help us fit in. Naturally, social proof is vital for ecommerce, because people who are shopping online have plenty of doubts (particularly since they can’t physically inspect products).

How to use it:

  • Social proof comes in many forms, and you should use as many as you can fit into the format of whichever PPC platform you’re using in any given scenario.
  • Aggregate review ratings are vitally important in Google Ads, because they show that other customers have had positive experiences.
  • Expert testimonials make for strong social media ad copy, because you can easily include a suitable picture for visual proof.
  • You can also work general statements along the lines of “Find out why everyone loves it” or “See what all the fuss is about into your copy” to suggest popularity.

Method 4: Overchoice

It’s a hot day, and you decide you’d quite enjoy some ice cream, so you head down to the nearest scoop shop — but you discover that the menu has changed radically since last time. Instead of having 20 flavours, it now has 200. Worse, there are a lot of very similar options (e.g. peanut chocolate and chocolate peanut butter), so you just stand there, struggling to pick.

This is the overchoice principle. We like options, but not too many of a similar type (that drives us to distraction). We want to make the right choices, but when there are countless similar choices, we can get stuck trying to figure out which ones are worthy of being selected.

How to use it:

  • Use each PPC ad to advertise a single product or service. Don’t try to advertise an entire range, because it’ll water down the impact and lead people to anticipate confusion.
  • If you want to add variety for a service ad, concentrate on different tiers up to a maximum of three — such as a free tier, a cheap paid tier, and a more expensive paid tier that’s largely there to make the other paid tier seem like better value.
  • Stick to just one action. Go here, go there, do this, or do that. Don’t throw in several suggestions about sharing content and following on social media. A PPC ad is a precision-made tool with one goal.

Method 5: Loss aversion

Which would you rather do: win something, or avoid losing something? Psychologically, you likely lean towards the latter, and will more readily contribute something (whether it’s your money or your time) to retain ownership of what you already have. The pain of loss feels more significant to us than the thrill of victory.

This is the loss aversion principle. It may well stem from the primacy of pain: foraging for food is vital for survival, but so is avoiding a broken leg, and you can probably wait a while to find food, whereas a broken leg could easily be a death sentence in times before modern civilisation.

How to use it:

  • Instead of talking up what the reader will gain, stress what your product or service will help them keep. More often than not, it’s going to be their time and/or money.
  • Introduce the concept that they can’t afford not to consider your suggestion — that if they don’t embrace the opportunity you’re providing, it will cause them difficulty down the line in some frustrating way.

We haven’t come close to bringing up all the principles in the psychology world that can serve as inspiration to forward-thinking marketers, but these principles in particular have near-universal applicability. When you’re trying to compose your ads, think deeply about each of them, and try to cater your content accordingly. It should prove significantly beneficial.

Ad copy examples and lessons

Now that you’ve read up on the key steps for writing ad copy in an effective way, let’s dive into some examples highlighting previously mentioned techniques as well as new strategies.

Search (Google Ads)

Building a successful ad on search platforms such as Google or Bing almost entirely relies on compelling ad copy. With no imagery available (not including Google Shopping ads), good ad copy is all that stands between you and a conversion. So, let’s see some ad copy examples on search and how each business pulls potential customers in!

Ad Copy Example 1: Tokyo Accommodation

Ad Copy Example Google Ads.png?width=519&name=ad Copy Example Google Ads

First and foremost, the search ad listed here leads with one major keyword in their headline – “Accommodation in Tokyo”. As you might also spot, this is additionally reinforced in the body text of the ad. This helps outline to the potential customer the services they’ll receive upon going into their website, further reinforced with their USP of “Search, Compare & Save”.

Trivago also has the benefit of multiple Google Ad extensions, with sitelinks that help call out to customers looking for specific types of accommodation such as 4-Star Hotels or Apartments. It even has a smaller sitelink for Luxury Hotels that targets people searching for value with a mention that every listing on their landing page is only up to $200 per day in cost.

With a clear definition of their USP and their offering as well as additional options for specific audiences, this ad can reach and gain the widest net of potential customers possible.

Ad Copy Example 2: Car Insurance

Ad Copy Example 2 Car Insurance

Forgive the pun, but let’s compare the pair of examples. Both ads start off with their target keyword “Compare Car Insurance”, but the similarities stop there.

Budget Direct is centred almost entirely around the emotional trigger of trust, and that’s clearly shown throughout the ad copy. The headline mentions how their brand is “Insurer of the Year 2021”. The body text then reinforces this by listing every year it’s won that same award – five years in a row! To cap it all off, the final sitelink also repeats the same term again.

The main takeaway from this ad copy? This company is the undisputed best car insurer there is. It definitely worked on me!

Compare the Market plays on the emotional trigger of anger as well as the pain point of feeling cheated by their current insurer. “Renewal Shock” and “Find a Better Deal” are simple phrases that immediately connect to customers that feel deceived by their insurance company and are searching for more affordable alternatives. It then outlines the benefits and value of using their services by mentioning how much they can save.

As opposed to focusing on trust, Compare the Market’s ad copy is all about how their brand can secure you major cost savings.

Display Adverting

While Google Ads relies entirely on clear copy, display network ads have the benefit of additional visual elements that can help your brand stand out on the screen. But while an aesthetic design and a beautifully designed product can go a long way, the ad copy itself is often the deciding factor that encourages your target audience to visit your sales page.

Let’s dive in and find out how display advertising uses a couple of impactful words to drive conversions.

Ad Copy Example 3: Voly

Ad Copy Example 3

Less is more, and Voly uses this mantra to create ad copy with a message that goes straight to the point: Want this specific product whenever you need it? Then use Voly.

By mentioning “in mins”, the company subtly highlights a key benefit of their service: speed of delivery. Furthermore, with a call to action of “Get the app”, the copy tells the customer that the only way to receive this product quickly is through their service.

Ad Copy Example 4: Youi

Screen Shot 2022 02 21 At 6.13.46 Pm.png?width=912&name=Screen Shot 2022 02 21 At 6.13.46 Pm

While Voly uses one message to convey one clear message, Youi uses their ad copy to tell a short-but-effective story about Marilena – their targeted audience. The first part defines their target market – people who work at home. It then tells the reader how much Marilena saved using their service. Finishing up, the ad copy then encourages the reader to find out their own potential savings alongside a call to action to “Start a quote”.

The ad copy works as it takes the time to outline both who their target market is and a benefit of choosing Youi – massive savings. What’s more, by ending the ad copy with “find out how much you could save”, it motivates the user to click the ad and discover how much they themselves could save with the brand.

Ad Copy Example 5: Skyscanner

Ad Copy Example 5

Three powerful words might be all the ad copy needs to elicit an emotional response, and Skyscanner uses theirs to great effect.

“Where to next?” paired with an image of an aeroplane wing immediately creates inspiration for the reader to hop on a flight and travel the globe. Stuck on where to go? Skyscanner offers the solution in the very ad itself, with four listings of potential flight destinations alongside the lowest price.

By playing on the customer’s need for adventure and providing them with a selection of places to go, the customer can’t help but click through and find out if there’s a flight at the specified price for them!

Facebook ad copy examples

Social media advertising can be an extremely powerful tool when used effectively, and the ad copy is an essential component that can mean the difference between a high or low conversion rate.

Whether you’re offering free trials, discounts on your service, or just want people to subscribe, it’s vital to have a solid understanding of how to write effective ad copy to avoid situations where the copy attracts the wrong type of people to your website. So, let’s see some ad copy examples to create the best Facebook ads that generate plenty of conversion grabbing clicks.

Ad Copy Example 6: The Guardian

Ad Copy Example 6.png?width=287&name=Ad Copy Example 6

The beauty of this ad is how it masterfully guides your eye from one point to the next.

Firstly, the main headline uses your sense of belonging that encourages you to subscribe. The ad then guides you down past an image of their website to their major selling point of the ad which is 50% off for three months.

Rather than using sell words, the ad copy in the caption and in the CTA below instead use words such as “support” and “protect” to play on feelings of compassion which then feed into their USP of “open access journalism”.

Ad Copy Example 7: Dharma Bums

Ad Copy Example 7.1.png?width=246&name=Ad Copy Example 7.1

Ad Copy Example 7

The ad copy here is the perfect blend of FOMO (the fear of missing out) as well as product features and benefits. Not only does the reader clearly see how much they could save on a purchase, but they also gain a clear understanding of what the product is all about.

Comfortable to wear, great for the environment, and very affordable, the ad copy in a couple of sentences has built a social media marketing ad that is perfectly geared to sell products.

Ad Copy Example 8: My Muscle Chef

Ad Copy Example 8

The ad copy written by My Muscle Chef goes straight into their product benefits, using words that appeal to their target audience. “Fresh”, “high-protein”, and “chef-created” are all keywords that directly resonate with customers who desire high-quality, ready-made meals.

What’s more, they build brand trust by outlining in their headline that they’re “Australia’s #1 Food Delivery Service”. Note that despite the company selling products, they instead focus on their delivery service, further highlighted by the underlining of the word. This subtly indicates to the user that this isn’t just a one-time purchase, it’s a delivery service that you’ll be using many times in the long term.

As an extra incentive, the ad copy then ends with a discount code. Rather than use a strong call to action like buy now or shop now, they instead opt for a softer “See Menu”, similar to one a restaurant might use. Using this CTA further reinforces the notion that they’re a food delivery service similar to Uber Eats or Deliveroo, not just a set of products.

Instagram ad copy examples

While similar to Facebook marketing, Instagram ads tend to have a focus on having a stronger visual and audio impact. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that you can get lazy with the ad copy, as it still provides plenty of benefits – such as in the caption – to encourage clicks. So, let’s check out some ad copy examples below!

Ad Copy Example 9: Woolworths

Ad Copy Example 9.png?width=281&name=Ad Copy Example 9

This ad copy is all about highlighting pain points, in particular, the time you lose writing and preparing your grocery shopping list every week. Woolworths then smartly focuses on how their solution simplifies the process by providing you with the ability to plan your weekly shop based on what’s available to purchase and what’s on special.

Simple and straight to the point, this ad in moments (which is often all you have) tells the potential user what to expect and what they’ll gain by clicking on the ad.

Ad Copy Example 10: Domain

Ad Copy Example 10

Domain’s ad copy aims to target your sense of exclusivity – the feeling of being in a club. Mentions of “members”, “off-market”, “before”, and of course “exclusive” tell the reader that this business has an offering better than any of the competitors.

The soft CTA of “Learn More” rather than tell you what to do or fill out a form, motivates you to click on the ad to discover more benefits and how to join this unique club.

LinkedIn ad copy examples

As the social media platform built for the workplace, LinkedIn advertising has a distinct focus on furthering the readers’ career, whether it’s through useful insights or job openings. Let’s take a look at a few ad copy examples that highlight both types of ads.

Ad Copy Example 11: Shopify

Ad Copy Example 11 Shopify

Shopify employs the always effective emotion of urgency to push the reader to click on the LinkedIn ad. By immediately starting the caption with “every brand needs to read ” you force the reader to consider the information included in this e-book is essential for their own brand to succeed.

That bold statement is then bolstered by what the report features such as “expert advice” and “tips from big brands” which help build credibility. Plus, with the image copy mentioning that this annual report has “what’s trending in global commerce”, readers can’t help but “Learn more”!

Ad Copy Example 12: Intel

Ad Copy Example 12.png?width=394&name=Ad Copy Example 12

Rather than listing out some job requirements, the ad copy focuses entirely on the great things Intel employees get up to. Access to “new technology”, connecting with “the smartest people in the business”, creating “cutting-edge solutions”, these phrases inspire potential applicants to seriously consider Intel as the place their career can flourish. Plus, using collective words such as “we” and “us” help build on your sense of belonging.

Craft compelling ad copy that rakes in the conversions

At the end of the day, you know your customers best, so write ad copy that you know can connect with your target audience. While these ad copy examples can help build the foundations for your conversion-grabbing ads, it’s important to trust your gut when it feels right! Otherwise, you might end up with the same run-of-the-mill digital marketing ads just like everyone else.

Don’t forget that the work doesn’t stop once your ads go live. You’ll need to keep track of how your ad copy is fairing, and whether it’s encouraging readers to click-thru. Be sure to test like crazy, and soon you’ll have compelling copy that drives sales on all the platforms from Google Ads to Facebook and Instagram.

If you’re ever in need of additional assistance writing an ad copy or with anything related to online digital marketing for your product or service, we, Australia’s Top SEO Agency, are only a couple clicks or a phone call away.

About the Author

Danny Andrawes

Danny Andrawes, Chief Executive Officer of OMG, plays a pivotal role in shaping the agency's strategic direction. With nearly 20 years of experience, he progressed from Content Specialist and Digital SEO Specialist to CEO, leveraging his impressive background in SEO/SEM delivery, client acquisition and retention, and change management to enhance OMG's service offerings. Danny’s leadership emphasises client partnerships and the integration of cutting-edge tools to optimise digital campaigns, positioning OMG as a trusted partner for businesses worldwide.

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