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Check your ad

Check your ad is the third step of the campaign wizard. It shows the responsive search ad that Hero Marketer wrote for your campaign. Hero Marketer writes the headlines and descriptions from your product context, your proof and offers, and the keywords in the cluster you picked. When the search term or the landing page is about one angle of your product, for example WordPress sites, Hero Marketer first reads the landing page and writes the ad for that angle. Read the ad and edit the weak lines. Check the campaign card next to the ad. Then click Launch in the launch bar at the bottom of the step.

Search, Performance Max, or Demand Gen​

The Campaign type that you select on the Choose what to target step sets the tabs of this step. A Search campaign, and a Search retargeting campaign, has three tabs: Headlines, Descriptions, and Extras. A Performance Max campaign also has a Long headlines tab and an Images tab. Its Preview card shows the ad on Search, YouTube, Discover, or Gmail. A Demand Gen campaign, and a Demand Gen retargeting campaign, has a Preview card in place of the search results preview. It has 5 headlines and the tabs Headlines, Descriptions, Images, and Extras. On every type, the Extras tab is one card. From top to bottom, it holds the audience (Audience signal on Performance Max, Your lists · optional on Demand Gen, Your lists on Search retargeting and Demand Gen retargeting), then sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, and prices on every type except Demand Gen and Demand Gen retargeting, then the Logo and Business name row on Performance Max, Demand Gen, and Demand Gen retargeting. So the Extras tab of Demand Gen retargeting holds only Your lists, the logo, and the business name. The rest of this article is about the Search ad. For the other types, see Create a Performance Max campaign, Create a Demand Gen campaign, and Create a retargeting campaign.

What the step shows​

The step has these parts, from top to bottom:

  • The ad preview. The ad as Google shows it on a results page. It has your product name, the display URL, one headline from each group, two descriptions, and up to 4 sitelinks.
  • The campaign card. It is next to the ad preview. On a phone, it is under the preview. It shows the monthly budget, the expected clicks, the keywords, the bidding strategy, and the campaign name.
  • Three tabs. Headlines, Descriptions, and Extras. Each tab shows a status icon before its name.
  • The launch bar. It is at the bottom of the step, and it stays in view when you scroll. It lists what stops the launch. It also has the Back button and the Launch button.

What Hero Marketer writes​

The ad has:

  • 15 headlines on the Headlines tab. They are in three groups of 5: Shown first, Shown second, and Shown third. Each headline has a maximum of 30 characters. When a keyword asks for a price, an offer, reviews, or security, a headline answers it with a fact from your proof or offers, for example "Rated 4.8/5 on G2". See How AI generates ad copy.
  • 4 descriptions on the Descriptions tab. Each description has a maximum of 90 characters. One description says how the product does the job.
  • Up to 6 callouts on the Extras tab, written only from your proof and offers. See Add other extensions.
  • A final URL. The landing page that you set on the Choose what to target step.
  • A display path. Two short URL parts that show next to your domain in the ad. Hero Marketer makes the display path from your search term, in lowercase letters. Only letters, digits, and hyphens stay, so 24/7 support becomes 24-7-support. A Competitor search campaign has no display path, because its search term is the competitor's name and the display path is visible ad text. You cannot edit the display path in the wizard.

The lines are in sentence case. Before you see the copy, Hero Marketer removes each line with a number that none of its inputs states. So a group can have fewer than 5 lines. For the rules of each group, see How AI generates ad copy.

You can rewrite any line. You cannot add a line or delete a line.

See other versions of the ad​

Google mixes your headlines and descriptions, so the ad can show in many combinations. To see a different combination in the preview, click Show another version. This is the round arrow button at the top right of the preview. Each click shows the next headline of each group.

On Performance Max and Demand Gen, Show another version is at the top right of the Preview card. In YouTube, Discover, and Gmail, each click shows the next headline, the next description, and the next selected image. See The Preview card of a Performance Max ad and The Preview card of a Demand Gen ad.

Pinned headline positions​

When you publish, Hero Marketer pins each group of headlines to one position in the ad:

  • Shown first (keyword headlines) go to position 1.
  • Shown second (benefit headlines) go to position 2.
  • Shown third (call to action headlines) go to position 3.

Google picks one headline from each group for its position. So each headline must work in its position, next to any headline from the other two groups. You cannot change the pins or the order of the headlines in the wizard.

Read the variations​

For each headline and description, check:

  • Does it name a real job your customer cares about? If it reads like marketing copy with no substance, rewrite it.
  • Does it match what someone who searches these keywords actually wants? A query for "alternative to Jira" needs copy that addresses why your product is the alternative, not generic positioning.
  • Are the claims defensible? Anything specific, "trusted by 5,000 teams", "free for 14 days", has to be true. Google rejects ads with unverifiable claims. A rating, an award, a certification, a customer count, or a result comes only from your proof list, word for word. If a proof is out of date, edit the line here, and remove it from the product.
  • Is the call to action clear, and is the offer real? The CTA headlines promise only the offers in your offers list (What offers can visitors get?), for example "Start your free trial" when the list has a free trial. To add or remove an offer, open Settings > Products, click the product, click Edit, and change the list. To see the same advice in the wizard, click or tap the info icon next to Shown third. To use a different CTA in this campaign only, edit the headline here.

Edit headlines and descriptions in place​

Each headline and description is a text field. Click a field and type to change it. The preview changes as you type. The number at the end of each field shows the length of the line and its limit, for example 26/30. A screen reader reads it as, for example, 26 of 30 characters.

If a line is longer than the limit, empty, or the same as a different line, its field and its number turn red. The tab of the line then shows an amber alert icon. The launch bar shows a line such as Fix the headlines that are too long, empty, or repeated. The Launch button stays unavailable until you fix the line.

A few editing tips:

  • Keep at least one of every key idea. If you remove every mention of pricing, no ad will ever show pricing.
  • Avoid all caps and exclamation marks. Google rejects ads that use them excessively.
  • Do not write three nearly identical headlines. Google will not show them together, so they fill space and add no lift.

Read the headlines and descriptions​

Read each headline and each description, and edit the weak lines. The ad copy needs no approval. Edits and new ad copy go into the ad when you click Launch. Click Launch only after you read the ad.

A Performance Max campaign also has a Long headlines tab. See Create a Performance Max campaign.

Get new ad copy​

The Check your ad step does not have a Regenerate button. On a Search campaign, Hero Marketer writes new copy when the keywords of the selected cluster change, or when you pick a cluster that has no ad copy. A change to the monthly budget does not write new copy, also when keywords move to Over budget.

A change of campaign type can also write new copy, which uses credits. A change from Search to Performance Max adds to the ad, because Search copy has no long headlines. If the keywords of the cluster did not change, Hero Marketer keeps the saved Search ad and your edits. Then Hero Marketer writes only the 5 long headlines. If no call to action headline has 15 characters or fewer, Hero Marketer makes the shortest one shorter. If no description has 60 characters or fewer, Hero Marketer makes the shortest one shorter. This uses fewer credits than new ad copy. It is true only for a Search ad with Category search, because Performance Max uses Category search only. Otherwise, Hero Marketer writes the ad again. A change to or from Demand Gen writes the ad again, because Demand Gen has its own ad. A change from Performance Max back to Search keeps the copy. See Create a Performance Max campaign and Create a Demand Gen campaign.

To get new copy:

  1. Go back to the Choose keywords and budget step.
  2. Archive keywords of the cluster, or add keywords from the Archive. You can also select a different cluster.
  3. Click Write ad copy. If your draft still holds the ad copy of the selected cluster, the button says Continue.

Archiving a keyword, or adding a keyword from the Archive, drops the ad copy of the cluster and your edits. Undo puts the keyword back, but not the ad copy. Hero Marketer then writes new copy. This uses credits. Your balance must be at least 0.5 credits, and a typical run costs about 0.2 credits. If the keywords of the cluster did not change since Hero Marketer wrote its copy, Hero Marketer loads that copy instead, with your edits. You then see the message Loaded your saved ad copy at no credit cost. This uses no credits.

Your draft holds the ad copy of one cluster at a time. When you write ad copy for another cluster, it replaces the copy of the first cluster. When you select the first cluster again, the button says Write ad copy. On Search and Performance Max, Write ad copy loads the saved copy of that cluster, with your edits, at no credit cost. On Demand Gen, the earlier copy and its edits are gone, so Write ad copy writes new copy, which uses credits.

If the product context is thin, the copy is thin too. Update the product context before your next campaign. See Update a product.

If the ad for one platform or one audience repeats the pitch of your homepage, set the landing page to your page about that platform or audience. Hero Marketer reads that page and writes the ad for that angle. See Ads for one angle of your product.

Open this step from the step tabs​

When the selected cluster has ad copy, the Check your ad tab at the top of the wizard opens from the Choose what to target step and from the Choose keywords and budget step. The step then shows the ad as you left it, with your edits.

The Check your ad tab does not write new ad copy. When the selected cluster has no ad copy, the tab stays closed: before the first ad copy, and after you archive or add a keyword, which drops the ad copy. Click Write ad copy on the Choose keywords and budget step.

On a Search campaign, the Extras tab holds only the sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, and prices of the campaign. The launch needs 4 sitelinks. Callouts, structured snippets, and prices are optional. The callouts include the ones that Hero Marketer wrote with the ad copy, from your proof and offers. The ad preview shows the sitelinks. It does not show callouts, structured snippets, or prices. Hero Marketer attaches them to the campaign when you publish. See Add sitelinks and Add other extensions.

What the icons on the tabs mean​

Each tab shows a status icon before its name:

  • A green check. The part is done. On the Headlines and Descriptions tabs, the check shows that every line is in Google's limits, is not empty, and is different from the other lines of the tab.
  • An empty circle. Only on the Extras tab, while Hero Marketer loads the sitelinks of your account or writes sitelinks with AI. On a retargeting campaign, the Extras tab shows the amber alert icon until you select at least one list in the Your lists box.
  • An amber alert icon. You must fix the part before you can launch, for example a line that is too long or empty, or fewer than 4 sitelinks.

The Headlines and Descriptions tabs never show the empty circle. The Extras tab shows the amber alert icon while the campaign has fewer than 4 sitelinks, and a green check when it has 4.

Use the campaign card​

The campaign card shows what you publish. It is next to the ad preview. On a phone, it is under the preview. Each row that you can change is a button, with an arrow at its end. Click the row to change the setting.

  • Monthly budget. The amount that the campaign can spend in one month, for example $500 a month, and the expected clicks, for example About 93 clicks a month. An estimate that rounds to one reads About 1 click a month, and an estimate under one reads Fewer than 1 click a month. To change the budget, click the Monthly budget row. The wizard opens the Choose keywords and budget step. See Set your monthly budget.
  • Keywords. The number of keywords that run at your monthly budget, and the name of the selected cluster, for example 10 from Product analytics software. Below the recommended budget, the number counts only the keywords that the budget covers, for example 8 from Product analytics software. This row is not a button. To change the keywords, go back to the Choose keywords and budget step.
  • Bidding. The default is Maximize clicks. To change it, click the Bidding row, then pick Maximize conversions. Both strategies set the bids for you, so the wizard does not ask for a bid. The wizard does not offer Target CPA, Target ROAS, Manual CPC, or Enhanced CPC. To use Target CPA or Target ROAS, ask Hero AI to switch the bidding strategy after you publish. Hero AI recommends Target CPA or Target ROAS only when a campaign has 15 or more conversions in about 30 days.
  • Campaign name. Hero Marketer fills in the name for you: Search | category | keyword cluster | country code, for example Search | Non branded | Product analytics software | US. A custom name stays when you change the campaign type. To type a different name, click the Campaign name row. The name can have up to 255 characters. To go back to the automatic name, click Use the automatic name, then Save.

On a Search retargeting campaign, the Monthly budget row shows no expected clicks, because a retargeting campaign has no click estimate. The card also has a Your lists row. To change the lists, click the row. The wizard opens the Extras tab, where the lists are in the Your lists box. See Create a retargeting campaign.

What stops the launch​

The launch bar at the bottom of the step lists each problem that stops the launch. To fix a problem, click its line. The wizard opens the tab where you fix the problem. For a Search campaign, the launch bar can show these lines:

  • Fix the headlines that are too long, empty, or repeated.
  • Fix the descriptions that are too long, empty, or repeated.
  • Set a monthly budget. This line opens the Choose keywords and budget step.
  • This budget covers no keyword at 80% of its searches. Raise it to continue. This line opens the Choose keywords and budget step.
  • Wait for the new sitelinks. This line shows while Write with AI writes sitelinks. It opens the Extras tab. The line goes away when the sitelinks are ready.
  • Loading your sitelinks… This line shows while Hero Marketer loads the sitelinks of your account on the site of your landing page. The launch waits.
  • Launch needs 2 more sitelinks. The campaign has fewer than 4 sitelinks. The line counts the sitelinks that the campaign still needs. It opens the Extras tab.

Every headline must be different from the other headlines. Google mixes the keyword, benefit, and call to action headlines into one list, so the three groups count as one list. Every description must also be different. Google does not accept an ad that has the same line two times. Edit one of the two lines. If the ad copy that Hero Marketer writes repeats a line, Hero Marketer does not charge for it and shows We couldn't write complete ad copy. Try again.

On a Search retargeting campaign, the launch bar can also show these lines:

  • Loading your lists… while Hero Marketer loads your lists. The launch waits.
  • Couldn't load your lists. Try again. when Hero Marketer cannot load your lists and cannot check a list that you picked. Click the line to load the lists again.
  • Pick at least one list. This line opens the Extras tab.

When nothing stops the launch, the launch bar shows only the Back button and the Launch button. Back opens the Choose keywords and budget step. On a phone, Back shows as an arrow only.

Launch the campaign​

The Launch button is in the launch bar at the bottom of the step. The launch bar stays in view when you scroll. The button shows the monthly budget, for example Launch at $500 a month. Click it to publish. Publishing takes 30 to 60 seconds. Keep the tab open. Publishing uses no credits, because Hero Marketer charges credits only for the AI steps before it.

The Launch button stays unavailable in these cases:

  • A headline or a description is too long or empty.
  • The monthly budget is empty.
  • Write with AI still writes sitelinks.

When publishing is complete, Hero Marketer opens your dashboard and shows the message Campaign created. There is no separate confirmation page. The campaign is on. It starts to serve today, after Google approves the ad. In Google Ads, the campaign has a daily budget: your monthly budget divided by 30.4, rounded down to the cent (or to a whole unit in currencies that Google Ads takes without cents, such as yen and won).

The campaign has one ad group, the keywords that your monthly budget covers as Exact match, and one responsive search ad. It shows on Google Search only, to people in one country, in English. For the full list of settings, see What the campaign wizard creates. To change the campaign after you publish, use Hero AI or Google Ads.

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