Google Ads Copy That Converts: The Ultimate Guide

I see this all the time. People get completely hung up on targeting a specific city or region, thinking that's the magic bullet for their Google Ads. They believe if they can just nail the copy for "in London" or "near Manchester," the leads will pour in. When they don't have a location, they feel lost, like they're shouting into a void. Tbh, that's completely backwards.

The truth is, for most businesses, your customer's physical location is one of the least interesting things about them. The most important 'location' you need to target is the one between their ears: their problem state. Their nightmare. You're not selling to a person in Birmingham; you're selling a solution to a Head of Engineering who's terrified of her best developers quitting out of frustration. Get that right, and it doesn't matter if she's in Brighton or Aberdeen. This is the absolute foundation. If you get this wrong, you have no business spending a single pound on ads.

So, you're targeting the whole UK. Is that really the issue?

Let's be brutally honest. A national audience isn't "undefined," it's just bigger. The problem isn't the size of the audience; it's a lack of clarity about who you're actually talking to. You're falling into the trap of demographics. "Companies in the finance sector with 50-200 employees" is a useless starting point for copy. It tells you nothing about their day-to-day struggles, the things that keep them up at night, the expensive problems that are threatening their career.

You need to define your customer by their pain. Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) isn't a demographic; it's a nightmare. For a legal tech SaaS I've seen, the nightmare isn't 'needing document management'; it's 'a partner missing a critical filing deadline and exposing the firm to a malpractice suit.' For an eComerce store selling unique handcrafted jewelry, the pain isn't 'wanting a necklace'; it's 'the desperate search for a meaningful anniversary gift that isn't generic rubbish from the high street.'

Once you've identified that specific, urgent, and expensive problem, your ad copy writes itself. You're no longer selling a product; you're selling relief from that nightmare. That resonates far more deeply than "Best Prices in the UK." This shift in perspective is the difference between burning cash and printing money. It's why some campaigns we've managed have seen a dramatic reduction in wasted ad spend by simply ignoring broad strokes and focusing on the sharp point of customer pain.

How do I write copy that actually gets clicks?

Forget about trying to be clever or witty. Your goal is to be clear and compelling. Over the years, running hundreds of campaigns for everyone from B2B SaaS to eCommerce brands, I've found that you only really need two core frameworks. Master these, and your copy will be more effective than most of the agencies out there.

This is your go-to for high-touch services or any situation where the prospect is feeling a very acute pain. You don't sell the service; you sell the solution to their frustration. It works in three simple steps:

• Problem: State their problem back to them in their own words. Enter the conversation already happening in their head.
• Agitate: Pour salt on the wound. Remind them of the consequences of not solving this problem. What happens if they do nothing?
• Solve: Introduce your product or service as the clear, simple, and direct solution to that specific, agitated pain.

For a high-touch service business, like a fractional CFO, you don't sell "financial planning." You sell a good night's sleep. The ad copy, using PAS, would look something like this:

Headline: Payroll Crisis Looming? Get a CFO.
Description: Are your cash flow projections just a shot in the dark? (Problem) Worried you're one bad month away from a payroll crisis while your competitors are confidently raising their next round? (Agitate) Get expert financial strategy for a fraction of a full-time hire. We turn uncertainty into predictable growth. (Solve)

This framework is perfect for SaaS products, courses, or anything that promises a transformation. You're selling a destination, a better version of their future.

• Before: Paint a vivid picture of their current, frustrating world. What does it look, sound, and feel like?
• After: Show them the promised land. A world where their problem no longer exists. What does this new reality feel like?
• Bridge: Position your product as the simple, elegant bridge that gets them from the 'Before' state to the 'After' state.

For a B2B SaaS product, say a FinOps platform, you don't sell a "dashboard." You sell the feeling of relief and control. Using BAB, the copy would be:

Headline: Finally Understand Your AWS Bill.
Description: Your AWS bill just arrived. It’s 30% higher than last month, and your engineers have no idea why. Another fire to put out. (Before) Imagine opening your cloud bill and smiling, seeing exactly where every dollar went and knowing waste is eliminated. (After) Our platform is the bridge that gets you there in 10 minutes. (Bridge)

Deciding which one to use is fairly simple. Is the problem an ongoing, nagging pain they want to escape? Use PAS. Is the goal a desirable future state they want to achieve? Use BAB. Here's a quick way to think about it.

What makes a Google Ads headline actually work?

People on Google are on a mission. They have a problem *right now* and they're actively looking for a solution. Your headline has less than a second to convince them that your link is the answer. There's no room for fluff.

The single biggest mistake I see is companies talking about themselves and their product's features. Nobody cares that your new mass spectrometer has a 0.001% margin of error. What they care about is what that *means* for them. "So what?" So your lab can publish results with unshakeable confidence, securing more funding and attracting top talent that other labs can only dream of. That's the benefit. You sell the benefit in the headline, and you explain the feature on the landing page.

Here’s how this plays out in the real world:

Notice the patterns? The good headlines are specific, they use numbers, they speak directly to an outcome, and they often mirror the exact language someone would type into Google. Getting this right is half the battle, and tbh there's a real craft to writing effective UK Google Ads copy that converts. It's about psychology more than it is about grammar.

Okay, they've read the headline. Now what?

If the headline is the hook, the description is where you reel them in. Its job is to build on the promise you made in the headline, handle any immediate objections, and drive them towards the click. You have a little more space here, so use it wisely.

This is where you can add credibility and reduce their perceived risk:

• Social Proof: "Trusted by 10,000+ UK businesses," "As Seen In The Times," "5-Star Rated on Trustpilot."
• De-risk the Offer: "Free 14-Day Trial," "No Credit Card Needed," "Money-Back Guarantee."
• Quantify the Value: "Save an average of £2,000/year," "Cut admin time by 10 hours/week."
• Urgency/Scarcity: "Offer Ends Friday," "Only 3 Spots Left This Month."

Your description shouldn't be a dense block of text. Use short sentences. Call out key benefits. The goal is to make it scannable and persuasive. A searcher should be able to glance at it and immediately understand the value and what you want them to do next. Let's test how strong your current ad copy is.

What should my Call to Action actually say?

Your Call to Action (CTA) is arguably the most important part of your description. It’s the instruction that tells the user exactly what to do next. And yet, so many advertisers get it wrong with vague, passive phrases like "Learn More" or "Click Here."

The "Request a Demo" button is probably the most arrogant CTA ever invented. It assumes your prospect, often a busy decision-maker, has nothing better to do than book a meeting to be sold to. It's high-friction and low-value. You need to delete it. Your offer's only job is to deliver an "aha!" moment of undeniable value that makes the prospect sell themselves on your solution.

Your CTA needs to be specific, action-oriented, and clearly communicate the value of the click. It must align perfectly with your offer and the landing page they are about to see. A strong CTA reduces friction and increases intent.

Here are some examples of weak CTAs replaced with strong alternatives for different business types:

• SaaS: Instead of "Request a Demo," try "Start Your Free 14-Day Trial" or "Get Your Free SEO Audit Now."
• eCommerce: Instead of "View Products," try "Shop The New Collection" or "Get 20% Off Your First Order."
• Services: Instead of "Contact Us," try "Get a Free, No-Obligation Quote" or "Book Your Free Consultation Call."

The CTA is the final instruction before the click. Make it count.

Can you show me a full example for a UK business?

Of course. Theory is one thing, but seeing it in practice makes all the difference. Let's imagine a UK-based B2B SaaS company that has a job matching platform, similar to a medical recruitment client we worked with where we reduced their Cost Per Acquisition from £100 down to just £7. Their ICP nightmare is "spending weeks sifting through hundreds of irrelevant CVs from recruiters to find one decent developer."

They are targeting keywords like "hire developer uk", "find software engineer", and "uk tech recruitment platform". Here's how we'd structure their ad copy, focusing on the pain point.

• Headline 1: Hire Vetted UK Developers Fast
• Headline 2: Stop Wasting Time on Bad CVs
• Headline 3: Get Candidate Matches in 48 Hrs

• Description 1: Tired of endless interviews and recruiter fees? (Problem) Your project is falling behind while you review unqualified candidates. (Agitate)
• Description 2: Our platform matches you with pre-vetted UK tech talent ready to interview. Get your first 5 matches free. Book a platform demo today. (Solve)

This ad works because it speaks directly to the searcher's frustration. It uses numbers ("48 Hrs", "5 matches") to make the promise concrete. It de-risks the offer ("first 5 matches free"). And the CTA is specific ("Book a platform demo"). It's a common challenge for B2B companies to get this right, and there is lots more detail you can go into, as we've outlined in our guide on generating high-quality leads with B2B Google Ads.

My copy is great, but I'm still not getting conversions. Why?

This is the final, and most critical, piece of the puzzle. You can have the best ad copy in the world, but if it sends people to a landing page that doesn't deliver on its promise, you've completely wasted your money. This is called 'message match'.

The promise you make in your ad must be immediately and obviously fulfilled on the landing page. The scent must continue from the click to the conversion.

• If your ad headline says "Get 50% Off All Winter Coats", the landing page headline must say something like "50% Off All Winter Coats". Not "Welcome to Our Store."
• If your ad copy promotes a "Free SEO Audit Tool", the landing page must have that tool front and centre. Not a long blog post about SEO.
• If your ad uses an image of a specific red dress, that exact red dress should be the hero image on the landing page.

Any disconnect, however small, creates friction and doubt in the user's mind. They'll think they've clicked the wrong link, or that your offer isn't genuine. They'll hit the back button in a heartbeat, and you'll have paid for a click with zero chance of conversion. This is the single fastest way to burn through your budget, and a classic reason many businesses end up wasting a lot of money on their Google Ads campaigns without realising why.

What's the main advice I have for you?

Alright, we've covered a lot. It can feel like a lot to remember, so I've put together a final sanity check list. Before you set any ad live, run it through this quick audit. It can save you a lot of time and money.

When to call in an expert

Writing good ad copy is a massive step forward. But it's only one piece of a much larger machine. There's also keyword strategy, bidding, audience management, conversion tracking, split testing, and scaling. It can quickly become a full-time job, and small mistakes can be incredibly costly.

This is where getting some expert help can make a huge difference. An experienced paid ads specialist can look at your entire account and spot opportunities you might have missed. They can structure campaigns correctly from the start, implement sophisticated testing methodologies, and know when and how to scale your budget without your costs spiralling out of control. We've worked on campaigns where we've generated over 45,000 signups or achieved a 1000% return on ad spend for clients, and that comes from optimising the entire system, not just the ad copy.

If you've implemented the advice here and are still struggling to get the results you want, or if you simply want to accelerate your growth and get it right the first time, it might be time for a chat. We offer a completely free, no-obligation strategy session where we can take a look at your account and give you some actionable advice on the spot.