Should I pin my google ads headline?
This is a question I get ALL the time. Lucky for you’ve I’ve done my research and came up with a few variables and reasonings to pin or not to pin the headline. You really thought I the answer was going to be easy? Cmon its Google we’re talking about.
Ad Score
Let’s start on your ad score impact. Pinning a headline will reduce your ad score and stop Google ads from doing what they love doing best, putting what they think will convert to a click and prioritizing that messaging. This alone may deter you depending on your spend and overall conversion rate. If you are getting the right clicks on the right keywords even with a pinned headline I would recommend leaving it to keep cost low.
For those who spend a ton on google ads and are seeing a low conversion rate this is your opportunity to improve the experience for those who may be getting confused or not seeing the connection between your ads and landing page. Clicks are great but we are all here for qualified leads and this could be your easy win.
Most of the time I pin the top headline to assure my ultimate goal is conveyed to the user and I’m receiving qualified clicks, and avoided those who simply are not interested in what I’m trying to convey.
Cost Per Click Impact
As I touched on above let’s talk about your cost per click. Google loves increasing this with every excuse they have, and yes by pinning a headline they will decrease your ad score in every scenario I’ve personally seen. If you’re not just trying to shove as many leads qualified or not down your funnel you shouldn’t mind a slight increase in CPC but only if you’re sure that the headline you’re pinning is truly so important and your ad wont really make as much sense without it there.
Showing Your Ad Vs Not
If your ad score is really bad this could happen. Most of the time this is only an issue for a specific keyword or two in your campaign and it might be less to do with the pinning on the keyword than the overall approach of all your assets. This can usually be solved by implementing ad groups and having your ads and landing pages focus on specific groupings that speak to a group of like keywords.
Landing Page Content
One of my main reasons for pinning a headline is conversion in every fashion, so lets talk landing pages. For me I want my pinned headline to not only convey my best message, but match the designated landing page to make the visitor feel heard, and not have a “what exactly is it these people do?” moment. This is why I suggest your headline to always match your main H1 messaging. Hint this will also help your ad score.
Final Thoughts
In my opinion, I love pinning headlines, but that doesn’t mean to need to! If you are going for a spray and pray or your ads are converting better than you’ve ever imagined at a low CPL/CPC than don’t touch it! Let it rip and keep the leads flowing. If you’re struggling to convert, or get the right people to your pages and into your funnel, the simple pinning of your best most effective headline could make the difference you’ve been looking for!
