When business slows down and you’re looking for a quick way to bring in more customers, you’ve likely been urged by your peers, Google, or your digital marketing partner to run some ads for your local business. Maybe even search ads in particular.
Key Takeaways
- Search ads quickly reach high-intent customers, but success depends on standing out from competitors.
- The headline is key—it must match search intent and grab attention fast.
- The display URL builds trust by showing users where they’ll land.
- The description explains your offer and drives action with clear benefits and a CTA.
- Extra features (sitelinks, callouts, extensions) boost visibility and clicks.
- Search ads increase awareness, traffic, and leads—fast.
There’s no doubt that paid search advertising can help get your business in front of the right kinds of customers quickly, but you also need to create an ad that helps get you chosen over your competitors that are also running ads.
Knowing all the different parts that make up a search ad can help you understand them better and help you create the most effective advertisement that customers want to click on.
[Related: The Complete Guide to Where You Should Advertise Online [Free Guide]]
What is a search ad?
Before we go over each individual part of a search ad, let’s cover what search advertising is as whole first.
Here’s what you should know about search advertising—or search engine advertising:
- A form of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, meaning you only pay once a user actually clicks on your ad
- Displayed in search results page when a user searches for a product or service
- Will always be labeled as “Ad” or “Sponsored” so users are aware that those top spots were paid for
- Typically displayed in the top few results
Most search engines offer ads, with the most popular being Google, followed by Bing and Yahoo.
[Related: How Search and Display Ads Work]
The parts of a search ad
According to research, 81% of consumers say they research a product online before purchasing. Which means that search ads will get seen by prospective customers and can be quite valuable…when done correctly.
Search ads can be as simple or as complex as you choose to make them, but every ad, no matter the strategy, always includes three main parts:
1. The headline
Your headline is the first (and usually more important) thing a potential customer sees when they come across your ad. It’s your first chance to make a strong first impression and persuade someone that your local business is exactly what they’re looking for.
Think of it as you hook. If your headline doesn’t capture their attention or clearly match what the user searched for, they’ll scroll right on past and potentially click on a competitor’s ad instead.
An effective search ad headline should:
- Match the user’s intent: Be sure to use keywords they’re actively searching for
- Highlight what makes you different: Think things like fast service, local expertise, or special offers
- Be clear and concise: Avoid vague or overly clever wording
For example, if someone searches for “emergency plumber near me,” a headline like, “Same Day Plumbing Repairs” immediately tells them you can solve their problem and solve it right now—if that is support you offer, of course.
Most ad platforms allow for multiple headlines, which you can alternate and adjust based on performance. This means you have the opportunity to test different messages and see what resonates the best with your target audience.
To put it simply, your headline should always answer one simple question for the searcher: “Is this the right business for me?”
2. Display URL
Right below the headline, you’ll see the display URL. It may seem obvious that you’ll want the ad to drive to your website, but it actually plays a pretty big role in building trust and encouraging clicks.
The display URL shows potential customers exactly where they’ll land after clicking on your ad. It needs to reflect your business and what the page is about at a glance.
A strong search ad display URL should:
- Reinforce your brand name: Important for users to be able to recognize your business
- Give context about the page: Like the service or offer they’ll find
- Look clean and easy to read: Keep breadcrumbs to a minimum
If we’re still using the “emergency plumbing” example, your URL might look like, “www.YourBusinessName.com/emergency-plumbing-services.”
Users know exactly what to expect from the page before they click, and that helps build their confidence that your business is what they need.
You’ll also usually have the ability to customize the “path” portion of the URL, giving you another opportunity to include relevant keywords and make your ad more appealing (we’ll touch more on that later.)
It’s definitely not as attention-grabbing as your headline, but the display URL works behind the scenes to build trust, improve relevance, and support your overall message. Which are all important for more clicks and better ad results.
3. The ad description
So, if your headline grabs attention and the display URL helps build trust, then it becomes the ad description’s job to seal the deal.
The description is the real meat of your search ad. It’s where you give potential customers a little more detail about your business, your services, and why they should choose you over a competitor. Treat this as your opportunity to expand on your headline and turn interest into action.
Your search ad description should:
- Clearly explain what you offer: Lets users instantly understand your product or service
- Highlight key benefits or selling points: Like pricing, experience, or guarantees
- Include a call-to-action: This tells users what you want them to do next
For example: “Specialists in emergency repairs. Get it done right. 24/7. Call for immediate service!”
Not only does this reinforce what your local business does, but it adds a bit of trust and urgency too. And those things can make a big difference when it comes to a customer deciding to click.
You’ll have limited characters to work with (about 90), so use this space wisely! Focus on what matters most to your customers and keep the messaging simple and direct.
Remember that your ad description should answer the next question a searcher has after reading your headline: “Why this business?”
Additional search ad elements
Beyond those three main components, search ads also offer additional features that can make your ad larger, more informative, and potentially more clickable.
These elements aren’t always required during the ad creation process, but when they’re used correctly, they can work to give your ad a competitive advantage by taking up more space on the search engine results page (SERP) and providing searchers with more reasons to choose your business.
Let’s take a look at a few of the most common additional elements you can include in your search ads:
4. Sitelinks
Sitelinks are additional links that appear below your main ad. They give potential customers more options to click based on what they’re specifically looking for.
Instead of sending every visitor to the same page, sitelinks allow you to guide them to different parts of your site—like specific services, promotions, or contact pages—depending on what they might be looking for.
A plumbing business, for example, might include sitelinks like:
- Drain Cleaning
- Water Heater Repair
- Emergency Services
- Contact Us
They make it a little easier for searchers to quickly find exactly what they need without having to search around on your website.
Adding sitelinks to your search ad can:
- Improve user experience: They offer more relevant options
- Increase click-through rates: Gives users multiple paths to engage
- Take up more space on the results page: More real estate helps your ad stand out and pushes competition further down
When you choose the right ones, sitelinks can make your search ad more user-friendly, more visible, and more likely to earn clicks.
5. Paths and call extensions
Both paths (which we briefly mentioned earlier) and call extensions are two simple additions to your search ad that can make a big difference…especially for local businesses that are looking to drive quick action.
Paths are the customizable parts of your display URL. They give users a better idea of what they’ll find on your page. While they don’t have to match your exact website URL, they should reflect the service or offer you’re promoting.
For example: “www.YourBusinessName.com/emergency-plumbing-services/burst pipes."
This helps to reinforce your message and makes users even more confident that they’re clicking on something relevant to their search.
Call extensions, on the other hand, make it easy for potential customers to contact you directly when they’re ready to book or buy. They add a clickable phone number to your ad, which is especially useful for mobile users who need immediate help.
Adding a call extension to your search ad can:
- Drive more phone calls: Especially from high-intent customers
- Make it easy to connect instantly: Even without visiting your website
- Help capture urgent leads: Like emergency service requests, for example
Together, paths and call extensions help remove friction in the customer journey. They make it easier for someone to choose your business and take action right away.
6. Callouts and snippets
Callouts and structured snippets give you even more space to highlight what makes your business different within the description of your search ad.
Callouts are short, punchy phrases that showcase some key benefits or features of your local business. They’re not clickable, but they can help reinforce your value and build trust at just a glance.
Some example callouts in search ads include:
- 24/7 Availability
- Free Estimates
- Locally Owned & Operated
- Licensed & Insured
Structured snippets let you group specific details about your services or offerings under a header. They’re great for showcasing the range of products or services your local business provides.
Keeping our plumbing business example, a snippet in a search ad might look like this: “Services: Drain Cleaning, Water Heater Repair, Leak Detection."
Callouts and snippets help to answer important questions before a searcher even clicks on your ad. Questions like, “What do they offer?” and “Why should I trust them?”
When used together, these additional elements can:
- Add more detail without cluttering your main message
- Strengthen credibility and trust
- Make your ad more informative and competitive
[Related: Why You Need to Give Paid Advertising a Chance]
Why your local business should run search ads
Now that you understand what goes into a search ad, your next question is probably, “Is all that work really worth it for my local business?”
And the answer is yes. Especially if you’re looking to connect with customers at the exact moment they’re searching for your services… and why wouldn’t you be?
Here’s why search ads should be part of your digital marketing strategy:
- Raise brand awareness: Even if searchers don’t click on your ad the first time they see it, your business still shows up at the top of search results. And that helps more people recognize and remember your brand over time. The data tells us that search ads can increase brand awareness by up to 80%.
- Boost sales: Search ads are designed to target people actively looking for your products or services, which means they’re higher-intent customers and you have a better chance of turning clicks into real customers. In fact, 65% of all high-intent searches result in an ad click.
- Drives more traffic to your website: When your local business shows up for relevant searches, you bring more qualified visitors to your website who are already interested in what you have to offer.
- Gets you leads quickly: Unlike longer-term strategies like SEO, search ads get you to the top of Google quickly. Which means they can start generating calls, form fills, and inquiries almost immediately after you launch.
[Related: 5 Quick Tips to Help You Get Started With Paid Advertising]
With Hibu One, our experts handle your ads for you
With this breakdown, you’re more than ready to start creating your own search ads…but you don’t have to. If you’d rather use your time to check off your other daily to-do tasks as a local business owner, Hibu is here for you.
Our Ad Campaigns solution is powered by Hibu One, which means our digital marketing experts will handle all the setup, creation, and optimization of your search ads for you. Then you can login into the Hibu One Performance Dashboard at any time to see how they’re performing. And if you want to make changes, we’re only a phone call away.
Not only can you run search ads through our integrated Hibu One platform, but we’ll create display ads and social media ads on Meta for you too.
Ready to learn more? Call us at 877-237-6120 for a free consultation or request a Hibu One demo today.
