Write Better Responsive Search Ads: Eight Types of Headlines to Inspire Your Google Ads Copy

Very few things in Google Ads still work as they did five years ago. 

Thanks to the introduction of Responsive Search Ads, ads are no exception. 

Having worked with Google Ads for 13 years, I sometimes don’t recognize the ads platform I learned to use as a Noogler. Every time a new machine learning feature gets introduced, I mourn the loss of control. But I also learned early on that the only way to thrive in this field is to adapt to the changes because the one thing that will never change is constant change.

So when RSAs became the default ad format, I moaned for a bit and got inquisitive and creative. And a few months later, I got the hang of RSAs. I know how to have good ad relevance without random results and get better CTRs than my ETAs ever did. 

Having 15 headline slots available made me more creative. In an Expanded Text Ad, I put a keyword-related headline in the first slot and then had two slots left for other messaging. In an RSA, I use keyword-related headlines in a maximum of five slots. That leaves me with TEN other spaces to share messaging with potential customers.

I fill these slots with different types of headlines. Here is a list of the eight different types that I use to brainstorm:

1. 1. Call to Action
   2. Brand Messaging
   3. Competitive Message
   4. Problem Statement
   5. Customer Benefit
   6. Product / Service Feature
   7. Social Proof
   8. Pricing & Deals

These ideas as prompts help me come up with lots of different inputs – or get an AI to give me specific ideas 😉