Draft: hidden from Google until Dan signs it off.
PlaybookGet chosen · 4 min read · 27 October 2026
Your longest searches are
your best ad copy.
Your Google Ads search terms report shows the actual words people typed before clicking your ad. The long ones (five words or more) usually carry a detail the short ones don't: a place, a time, a worry, a type of customer. Put that detail in a headline and the ad reads like an answer to the question, not a sign on a building.
Written by Dan Picken, a marketer who checks the sources. Last checked 27 October 2026.Why the long searches
are the good ones.
A short search like 'physio' tells you almost nothing. A long one like 'physio for runners knee open saturday terrigal' tells you the problem, the type of person, the time they need and where they are. That's four headlines' worth of information, from the buyer, for free.
Searches are getting longer, too. Google says searches in AI Mode are about three times as long as traditional searches. People are learning to describe what they want. Ad copy that matches the description has an easier job.
The five details
to look for.
Sort each long term by the one detail that matters most in it. You'll find most terms fit one of five buckets, and the bucket tells you what kind of headline to write.
| Detail | Search term (example) | Headline (under 30 characters) |
|---|---|---|
| Time | plumber open sunday gosford | Open Sunday in Gosford |
| Worry | is a heat pump worth it for a family of 4 | Will a Heat Pump Pay Off? |
| Problem | physio for runners knee terrigal | Runner's Knee Physio Terrigal |
| Customer type | accountant who understands tradies | Accountants for Tradies |
| Comparison | xero vs myob for small business | Xero or MYOB? We Set Up Both |
BeforeWritten in a meeting
Sponsored
example.com.au/plumbing
Quality Plumbing Services | Trusted Local Experts
Professional plumbing with years of experience. Call today for a free quote.
AfterWritten from the search terms
Sponsored
example.com.au/plumbing
Open Sunday in Gosford | Plumber On Call Today
Burst pipe on a weekend? Call-outs across Gosford and the Coast. Call-out fee quoted upfront.
Write inside
the limits.
Responsive search ads take up to 15 headlines of 30 characters and 4 descriptions of 90. Thirty characters is short. That's a good thing: it forces you to pick the one detail that matters.
Use the description for the reason to believe. If the headline is 'Open Sunday in Gosford', the description says how fast you can get there and what a call-out costs to quote. Answer the follow-up question before they ask it.
One caution: don't pin every new headline. Google mixes headlines to find the best combinations, and pinning everything takes that away.
Thirty characters is short. That's a good thing.
Test it,
don't guess.
Change one thing at a time. Add the new headlines to a single ad in one ad group and compare it with the old ad over the same weeks. If you want a cleaner test across a whole campaign, Google offers ad variations, which split traffic between the original and the changed ads.
Judge it on conversion rate and cost per lead, not click-through rate alone. A headline that pulls more clicks from the wrong people is a more expensive ad, not a better one.
A headline that pulls more clicks from the wrong people is a more expensive ad, not a better one.
Your turn
Which search term gives you the most to work with for a headline?
It carries a time, a place and a problem. Three headline ideas, written by the buyer.
The
checklist.
Tick them off as you go. Your ticks stay on this device only.
0 of 8 done
In my experience
In most accounts I audit, the ad copy was written in a meeting before the campaign launched, and the search terms report has been telling a different story ever since. The buyers are asking about weekends, prices, suburbs and 'is it worth it', and the ads are still saying 'Quality Service You Can Trust'. Reading the long terms for an hour usually gives me better headlines than any brainstorm, because the buyer wrote them.
Questions
people ask.
Where do I find the search terms report?
In Google Ads, go to Insights and reports, then Search terms. It shows the searches that triggered your ads. Some low-volume terms aren't shown for privacy reasons.
How many headlines can a responsive search ad have?
Up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions. Headlines are up to 30 characters, descriptions up to 90.
Should I put the search term word for word in the headline?
Not always. Use the detail, not the whole phrase. 'Open Sunday in Gosford' works better than 'Plumber Open Sunday Gosford NSW', because it reads like a sentence and leaves room for a second idea.
How long should I test new ad copy?
Long enough to get a fair number of conversions on both ads, usually 4 to 6 weeks for a small account. Compare the same weeks, so a public holiday doesn't skew one side.
Can I use the same approach for SEO?
Yes. The same long terms make good page titles and H2s. Search Console shows a sample of the searches your pages appear for, though it leaves out rare ones.
What changed
- First published. Every source checked on the day.
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