Successful Google Ads typically include a clear value prop, benefits-oriented copy, and deep insights into the target audience’s pain points. Use these Google Ads examples and pro tips to ensure yours stand out from the rest.
Looking for inspiration to create high-performing pay-per-click (PPC) ads?
We rounded up some stellar Google Ads examples and tapped into the expertise of Rachel Corak, associate director of search engine marketing at HawkSEM.
8 Google Ads examples that do it right
You’ll find plenty of Google Ads examples across Google search, YouTube, and Display networks.
But not all of them are good ones.
Through our years of experience both working with clients and researching paid search campaigns, we gathered some of the best examples to show what it takes to create effective Google Ads.
Google search ad examples
Google search ads appear in the results of relevant search queries, blending in with other organic listings. Sounds counterintuitive, but it’s a good thing.
People trust Google to provide high-quality, authoritative content, so whatever’s at the top of the search engine results page (SERP) is the most likely to get clicked.
Here are two click-worthy Google Search ad examples.
1. Bright + Early
Here’s a responsive search ad for Bright + Early that appears in Google’s search engine results. It’s a simple ad with a headline that speaks to one of its audience’s pain points: turnover.
Let’s review what makes this text ad clickable for the right target audience:
- Clear value proposition: “Say Goodbye to Turnover – HR That’s True To Your Culture.”
- Relevance to the target audience: Customizing HR programs to unique company culture
- Appeals to modern HR thinking: Building creative, inclusive programs
- Benefit-oriented language: Focuses on positive outcomes and solutions
- Concise and engaging: Captures attention with short, impactful sentences
- Implicit call-to-action: Encourages the audience to learn more by clicking the ad
- Proper extensions: Including image extension and site links
2. ClickUp
It’s challenging to work in a small business with teams and not know of ClickUp. For some, it’s the productivity tool, and the brand knows it. That’s why it proudly labels itself as “The Ultimate Productivity Tool.”
Here’s why this Google search ad works:
- Branding: Effectively showcases the brand name “ClickUp” multiple times, ensuring brand recognition and recall
- Clear value proposition: Emphasizes ClickUp as the “Simple and Powerful – The Ultimate Productivity Tool.” — this clearly communicates the primary benefit of using the product
- Social proof: Includes the impressive number “800,000+ Teams” to highlight popularity and trustworthiness
- Free plan: Mentioning the “Free Forever Plan” in the ad is a great way to attract users who want to try the product before committing
- Feature highlights: Touches on the versatility of ClickUp by mentioning its ability to “Manage Tasks, Docs, Goals, And Projects” and having “Features For Everything”
- Personal AI-powered assistant: “Your Personal AI-Powered Assistant” appeals to users who seek tools that can enhance their productivity and efficiency
- Enterprise solution: The ad positions the product as suitable for both individual users and large organizations
- Call-to-action: The ad includes a clear CTA by encouraging users to “See All The Features”
Display ads examples
Display ads appear on websites within the Google Display Network (GDN). They’re less noticeable, especially if you’re tuned into the content you’re reading.
However, they’re dynamic and, if designed correctly, can capture the attention of target audiences.
Take examples like this MongoDB Atlas’s ad, which has a bright green box that features its promise: “Get your ideas to market faster.”
3. MongoDB Atlas
Why this ad works:
- Clear and aspirational message: Starts with a simple and aspirational message, “Dream it. Build it. Deploy it. Let’s build the next big thing”
- Benefit-oriented language: Focuses on the benefits of using MongoDB Atlas, such as getting ideas to market faster and building with the industry’s first developer data platform
- Call-to-action: Includes a clear call-to-action by inviting users to “Try MongoDB Atlas for free” and “Visit Site”
- Concise and impactful: Conveys its message using concise phrases, making it easy for viewers to grasp the key points quickly
- Focus on developers: Mention of the “DEVELOPER DATA PLATFORM” suggests that MongoDB Atlas is specifically geared towards developers, indicating a targeted approach to a particular audience
4. GoDaddy
GoDaddy has been around for decades (GoGrandDaddy?) and continues to be a leading domain name registrar and web hosting company.
When your brand is this big, you don’t have to go all out with your ad design and copy. So its focus is straight to the point and uses visuals to deliver the message.
Here’s an overview of what makes this ad work:
- Clear and direct message: Delivers a clear and direct message, encouraging users to “Share your idea with the world” and “Get yourself a website”
- Personalized domain: Features a specific domain name, “mylens.in,” which adds a personalized touch
- Benefit-oriented offer: Highlights the benefits of choosing GoDaddy’s web hosting service, including a “Free SSL,” “Free Domain & Email,” “24/7 Dedicated Support,” and “Unlimited Bandwidth”
- Urgency: Includes the phrase “SHOP NOW,” which adds a sense of urgency and encourages users to act promptly — urgency can be an effective motivator for increasing click-through rates
- Eye-catching design: While the ad’s design was not described in detail, a visually appealing design with eye-catching colors and layout can significantly impact its effectiveness
YouTube video ad examples
YouTube ads appear before, during, or after organic videos. Some allow you to skip after a few seconds, while others require you to watch the whole ad before you can return to your scheduled programming.
Annoying to some? Yes. Effective? Also yes. If you’re like many, you found some video ads irresistible and timely.
Here’s one you might’ve seen while enjoying YouTube videos.
5. Grammarly Business
In this video ad, you have Grammarly doing what it does best: showing off its product. This product-led approach helps to educate and entice viewers to check out its platform.
This particular ad promotes Grammarly’s new feature called Knowledge Share, which allows business account users to use external systems like Google Drive to share documents.
Here’s what makes this video ad stand out:
- The pain point is on point: Not your typical Grammarly spell-checking advertisement — it has a unique pain point as the focus of this ad: ridding organizations of data silos with its Knowledge Share feature.
- It adds the human touch: Rather than relying on text on the screen or a voiceover, it features a woman throughout the ad, guiding viewers through the new feature and its benefits (another product-led approach)
- There’s a real-life example: Showcasing a real-life example of how the feature will function and add value, so viewers can envision themselves using (and benefiting from) it.
- It has engaging graphics: Throughout the ad, you see visuals of the platform and a person speaking, which also includes graphics to keep the ad eye-catching.
6. Adobe
Adobe takes a similar approach to Grammarly, but rather than having a human speaking to the camera, it features a person obliviously using its tool and loving it.
This example works because it feels less sales-y and allows users to envision themselves also using the platform. Here’s what makes this ad work:
- Solves specific problem: Homes in on helping users make a big impression, which signals that its aim is to help you wow those viewing your presentations.
- Shares feature and benefits: In the ad, you can see that Adobe Acrobat Pro allows you to convert documents into a PDF.
- Mini how-to: This ad not only tells you what it can do but walks you through the steps of how to convert your documents into a PDF seamlessly with its software.
- Short and sweet: Adobe’s ad does a lot in a short amount of time — 15 seconds, which is perfect for those with short attention spans and patience.
- Makes an irresistible offer: Who doesn’t like free? Adobe knows this, which is why its offer in the end is to give its platform a test run…for free.
App ads examples
7. Toshl
Let’s not overlook the ads displayed prominently on the Google Play store. If you own a smartphone or tablet, then you may spend considerable time looking for apps to help you in your business (or personal life).
The ads here are unique since they must win over your trust in a sea of millions of apps. Here’s how they do it:
- Concise and informative: The ad clearly states the app’s name and what it does: “Toshl Finance – budget manager,” which is to help users set and stick to their budgets
- Strong value proposition: Highlights a compelling value proposition by mentioning “Your banks in one place,” suggesting that users can manage multiple bank accounts within the app, streamlining their financial management
- Positive ratings and reviews: The inclusion of the app’s rating, 4.3-star rating, and the number of reviews, “30T reviews,” provides social proof of the app’s quality and popularity
- High number of downloads: Mentioning “17L+ Downloads” showcases the app’s popularity and success, further reinforcing its credibility
- App size information: Providing the app size (“54 MB”) can be helpful for users who are concerned about their device’s storage capacity
- Clear call-to-action: The ad includes a direct and actionable call-to-action: “Install app.” This guides users to take the desired action of installing the app
- Relevant app category: The ad is likely displayed to users interested in personal finance, budgeting, and financial management apps, making it relevant to the target audience
8. DoorDash
DoorDash has a lot of competition from a few major competitors, like Instacart and Uber Eats.
On the other hand, they’ve got plenty of brand recognition — it’s likely you or someone you know has used “DoorDash” as a verb in the past.
Because of these factors, they don’t mess around. The company’s ads assume you’re hungry and searching for food delivery, so they get right to the point. Here’s how:
- Clear and direct message: “Get Groceries Delivered to your Door” and “DoorDash – Food Delivery” — these messages communicate the primary service offered, which is delivering groceries and food to users’ doors
- Strong social proof: The ad prominently displays the app’s impressive rating, “4.6 stars,” along with a high number of reviews
- Mobile app category: Targets users interested in food delivery and convenience, making it relevant to the app’s target audience
- Mobile-friendly: The content is concise and easy to read on mobile devices, which is crucial for a successful display ad on platforms like Google Play
- Trustworthy service: By offering grocery delivery along with food delivery, the ad expands DoorDash’s appeal and portrays it as a convenient and reliable option for users’ daily needs
Expert tips to implement winning strategies
Now you know what great Google Ads look like and why they work. Next, let’s look at how to put these strategies to work.
Responsive search ad strategy tips
Planning to launch responsive search ads at scale? “Use Google Ads Editor when building search ads to save time and make edits much more quickly,” suggests Corak.
Also, avoid wasting money on the wrong ad network. “When launching search campaigns, be sure to look for the setting to disable serving ads on the display network,” Corak recommends.
“This will ensure your ads are serving on the right placement and improve ROI.”
Display ad strategy tips
“Display ads can drive a notoriously low ROI,” cautions Corak. But that doesn’t mean you should avoid this campaign type altogether. Instead, take a strategic approach to campaign setup.
“It’s important to focus on audience targeting,” Corak advises. “Retargeting audiences, for example, will drive significantly higher returns than cold audiences.”
YouTube ad strategy tips
To succeed with YouTube ads, pay close attention to your Google Ads conversion settings.
“If you are using GA4 conversion actions instead of native gtags, you may not see engaged conversions, view-through conversions, or other conversions reported to video views,” says Corak.
What makes a Google ad stand out (and get clicks)?
It’s not enough to create ads, upload them to campaigns, and wait for clicks. It takes careful analysis, campaign optimization, and testing to make ads work.
Here’s what every Google ad should have (across all ad networks) based on Corak’s insights:
- Add compelling search ad headlines and calls to action (CTAs)
- Use search ad extensions like site link extensions and call extensions (with phone numbers) to drive clicks. Include callout extensions to provide additional information and links, promo extensions to share deals, and image extensions to enhance the ad experience. Ad extensions take up more real estate, which can help your ads stand out.
- Create shopping ads using Google Merchant Center (GMC) promotions to entice purchases, add product reviews, and optimize product feed attributes (e.g., titles, descriptions, images)
- Include compelling images, text overlays, and strong CTAs for Display ads
- Develop engaging video content with strong CTAs for YouTube ads
This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it points you in the right direction to make a killer ad.
Pro tip: Use Performance Max campaigns’ machine learning and automation to improve your ad spend and performance. Leverage its insights to make data-driven decisions to refine your ad creatives and keyword selection.
Common mistakes businesses make with Google Ads
Some brand owners choose to build and maintain their own PPC ad campaigns, only to find the results are mediocre or non-existent. Many times, it’s due to common mishaps made by amateurs new to Google Ads campaigns.
Here’s a look at the top mistakes businesses make with their PPC campaigns, according to Corak:
- Not designing compelling ad creatives, CTAs, and copy to entice clicks and sales
- Targeting the wrong audiences in your campaigns
- Implementing the wrong bidding strategies (e.g., “Maximize Clicks” strategy that focuses on getting as many clicks as possible, regardless of their quality)
- Not setting up conversion tracking properly to monitor the well-being of campaigns
- Overlooking the importance of A/B testing ads to see which ad creatives and copy convert the best
- Not testing new strategies long enough to gather enough data to inform whether to continue or try something else
- Opting into too many auto-apply recommendations from Google, which can hurt campaign targeting, customization, and overall outcomes
- Not using a variety of keyword match types to capture searchers’ queries and intent
- Not segmenting campaigns thoroughly to capture highly targeted, qualified audiences
- Neglecting to add negative keywords to ad groups to prevent irrelevant clicks (especially for Google Shopping Ads)
- Having Display Network opted into search campaigns, which has different (broader) user intents
- Not using placement exclusions to prevent ads from being served on irrelevant websites
- Not creating a relevant, compelling landing page designed and written with conversions in mind (unique selling point and copywriting that speaks to a specific target audience)
Avoid these and you could see better results, higher conversion rates (CTRs), and improved ROI for your Google Ad campaigns. But you’ll need a solid strategy to make that happen.
Pro tip: A/B test your campaigns to find relevant keywords and ad copy that convert best. If one iteration doesn’t work, then test a different ad until you find what does.
What are the benefits of Google Ads?
This answer depends on who you ask. The goals behind a Google Ads campaign differ from business to business. However, many Google Ads experts agree that the following four advantages are what make Google Ads a worthwhile investment:
- Increased reach: Google’s massive audience of searchers means you’ll have a much larger pool of potential customers. It’s the most prominent search engine on the web, so it’s where you want your ecommerce or services brand to be for high visibility.
- Enhanced targeting options: Google Ads gives you full control over who sees your ads. If you know exactly who your target audience is, then you can use its targeting capabilities to reach them with your ads. For example, you can target users based on location, demographics, and whether they’re in the market for your particular product/service (based on their search behaviors).
- Measurable results and valuable insights: There’s no shooting arrows in the dark with Google Ads. You get access to a range of data points about your audience and campaigns to guide future decisions, like which search terms to continue or remove or which areas to run ads in.
- Control ad costs: You decide how much you want to spend on each campaign. For instance, you set your daily spending limits to prevent Google Ads overspending.
The takeaway
Building your brand’s visibility and sales shouldn’t cost you negative ROI in advertising. All you need is the right strategy and execution to get the results you seek.
Let the above Google Ads examples inspire you to create dynamic, targeted paid search campaigns that’ll get impressions and clicks, and lead to more business.
Curious how our digital marketing experts can improve your Google Ads results? Contact HawkSEM today for a free PPC consultation.
This article has been updated and was originally published in September 2023.