Agency insights
Thoughts and lessons on client selection, burnout, pricing, and modernising legacy accounts, from someone who's run a Google Ads for years.
Improve conversion rates with visitor-focussed headlines
Published July 2021. Last updated November 2023.
Writing headlines is hard!
It wouldn’t be so bad if they weren’t so darn important. But a first-class headline will get you more leads for your ad budget. And a blah headline will mean you’re paying for hundreds of clicks that don’t convert.
I’m working on a book about building high-converting lead generation landing pages.
One of the problems I'm wrestling with is how to quickly teach your average business owner or PPC consultant to write a decent headline. I can't expect them to invest years studying copywriting so I've been reverse-engineering effective headlines to come up with a formula for writing them.
Most high-converting headlines have something in common: They're about what the visitor cares for, not about the characteristics of the business.
This is a vague concept. I didn't have a solid way to explain it, until @matthlerner shared a tip on Twitter:-
Put the words "Now you can" in front of the headline. If it still makes sense then your headline is about what your visitor cares for.
Here's a landing page headline from a local tyre company. "The Island's premier independent tyre specialist."
"Now you can the Islands premier independent tyre specialist" is gibberish. The headline is about the business. It doesn't pass the 'now-you-can' test.
This headline from a maintenance training college also fails:-
"Inspiring the next generation of maintenance engineers." -> "Now you can inspiring the next generation of maintenance engineers."
It wouldn't be hard to rewrite the headlines to focus on what the visitor cares for. How about...
"Now you can get tyre repairs at your home or office" or "Now you can study to become a highly-paid maintenance engineer."
Then whip off the now-you-can and you're left with a headline that addresses what the visitor cares for. "Tyre repairs at your home or office." "Study to become a highly-paid maintenance engineer."
Most Google Ads Problems Aren't Google Ads Problems
If my writing resonates with you, I'd like to give you a copy of my book, Profitable Google Ads. The book was written for business owners, but many PPC professionals have found it valuable too.
Before you download it, what describes you best?
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