Google Ads headlines that get calls: how to write them

In a responsive search ad you don't write one ad. You give Google a set of headlines and descriptions, and it assembles different combinations and shows each searcher what suits them best. So the quality of your ad is the quality and variety of those pieces. If your goal is for customers to call, every piece should help them decide to call. This article is about the writing itself. For setting up the campaign, choosing areas and a budget, see Google call ads.

Google's limits

A responsive ad has limits you can't pass:

• Up to 15 headlines, each at most 30 characters including spaces.
• Up to 4 descriptions, each at most 90 characters.
• Google shows at most three headlines and two descriptions in a single ad and rotates them, so each headline must work alone and alongside any other two.

Thirty characters is short, and that helps: it forces you to be direct. "Plumber near you, fast visits" beats a long sentence that gets cut off.

The mix: don't write fifteen similar headlines

The most common mistake is writing every headline in the same shape. Spread them across five types:

1. Service (3 to 4): what you sell, in the words people search with. "Water leak repair", "Split AC installation". Use your customers' words, not your jargon.
2. Area (2 to 3): where you work. Name the district or town you actually serve, so the searcher sees you are close.
3. Benefit (3 to 4): what the customer gains. "Same-day visits" if you really deliver them, "Clear invoice, uniformed technician".
4. Offer (1 to 2): what honestly sets you apart. "Free inspection" only if it is free. Don't list an offer you don't give every customer.
5. Call to action (2 to 3): tell them what to do. "Call now to book", "Call us today".

In the descriptions, write two or three sentences that combine service, area, benefit and the call: "We fix water leaks in your area. Trained technicians and a price agreed before we start. Call now."

What to avoid

• Claims you can't back: "Cheapest", "fastest", "best service", "lifetime guarantee". Google may reject the ad, and a customer who finds the gap leaves. Write what you could show a customer tomorrow.
• Repeats: three headlines saying "professional plumber" in different words add nothing, and Google may never show two of them together. Each headline should say something new.
• ALL CAPS and stacked punctuation: shouting reads badly and sometimes breaks Google's policies. Write normally.
• Superlatives everywhere: if every headline is "the best" and "number one", nobody believes any of them.
• Promises about results: don't promise what you don't control.

Test and improve

Good copy starts as a hypothesis and ends as a measurement:

1. Launch with variety, one or more of each type, not fifteen of the same type.
2. Wait for enough data before you judge. Two weeks of a handful of calls tells you very little.
3. Check Google's rating for each headline in your account, and replace the ones that rarely show or perform worse with a headline of a different type.
4. Change one thing at a time so you know what made the difference.
5. Measure calls, not clicks. Many clicks with no calls means the ad attracts people who don't want what you offer. Read conversion tracking in Google Ads.

Nobody knows in advance which headline will work in your field. Testing is the answer, not your opinion or ours.

Draft with a free tool

If you want a starting point, Tansik's free Google Ads text writer writes 15 headlines of up to 30 characters and 4 descriptions of up to 90 with AI, from a line about your business, offer and area, and shows the character count of each line. You get five free tries a day. It is a draft: review each line, delete any claim you can't prove and change whatever doesn't sound like you.

Then launch the ad from the Google Ads page of your Tansik site, where the campaign shows the headlines and descriptions for you to review and edit before launch, and the calls the ad brings are counted.

An example of the mix

Say an air conditioner repair shop. It doesn't need fifteen dazzling headlines, only that each one says something different:

• Service: "AC repair and servicing", "Split AC installation"
• Area: "We cover your whole area"
• Benefit: "Fault diagnosed before repair", "Technician with a clear invoice"
• Offer: "Free inspection", only if it really is
• Call: "Call now to book a visit"

Notice that each line can appear next to any two others without contradicting or repeating them. That is the practical test for every headline.

A quick checklist

• Every headline is under 30 characters and every description under 90.
• At least one headline of each of the five types.
• No two headlines with the same meaning.
• No claim you can't prove.
• Your phone number is attached and the call to action is clear.
• Natural writing, with no capitals or shouting.

Questions