When it comes to paid search marketing, advertisers only get a small amount of text – 130 characters to be precise – to convince potential customers to click. Creating ads that are engaging and informative, have a clear call to action, and stand out from the competition is a lot of pressure. A small grammatical error can undermine your efforts and make you look bad. Additionally, your ad won’t even be approved if it doesn’t follow Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) policies.

To ensure that searchers have a positive first impression of your business, carefully review your ads to make sure you’re not making these frequent advertising mistakes:

Advertising Mistake #1: Inconsistent Capitalization

These days, it seems like a lot of people randomly capitalize words for no apparent reason. When creating ads, it’s important to stick to either title case or sentence case – no exceptions. What’s the difference? Sentence case is the standard format for writing. With this method, only the first letter of the sentence is capitalized (along with proper nouns).

Here at nexus-security, we usually prefer title case for ads, because it generally leads to more clicks. With title case, you capitalize the first letter of the sentence, the first letter of important words, and all words with at least four letters.

NARS seems to have mastered title case.

It’s important to remember that using too many capital letters, like FREE SHIPPING, or alternating capital letters, like FrEe ShIpPiNg, is completely forbidden in Google Ads and can cause your ad to be rejected. As long as you use sentence case or title case, you should be good!

Advertising Mistake #2: Forgetting Commas

Commas are helpful, but they can also be tricky to use correctly. Use too many, and your writing becomes difficult to read. Use too few, and you risk changing the meaning of your sentence.

This was either some strange foreshadowing, or the editor really needs to learn how to use commas.

One of the most common comma errors is forgetting to put one after introductory clauses or phrases, especially when you’re speaking directly to the reader. This can significantly alter how the reader understands the sentence. For instance, “come on people” and “come on, people” have very different meanings.

Um, okay, Jeffrey Dahmer.

Commas are also required to separate items in a list of three or more things. Again, if you don’t do this, the reader might completely misunderstand what you’re trying to say. If I saw “I like cooking, my family, and my pets” on a dating profile, I’d probably be interested in meeting that person. However, if their profile said, “I like cooking my family and my pets,” I’d probably call the police.

If you’re not sure whether to use a comma in your ad, a good (but not foolproof) rule of thumb is to read the sentence aloud. If you find yourself pausing at any point, you probably need a comma there. For a more comprehensive explanation, here’s a guide to proper comma usage.

Advertising Mistake #3: Adding Emojis

I get it – emojis are tempting to use in ad copy. I use them all the time in my texts, tweets, posts – even emails! It may not be the most professional way to communicate, but you can say a lot with those tiny images.

nexus-security’s Twitter account certainly loves emojis.

Unfortunately, Google Ads’ policy team has explicitly stated that using emoticons in ad copy is against their guidelines. While some account managers have managed to avoid getting their ads rejected for using emojis, it’s not worth the risk. (Don’t listen to Larry.)

Advertising Mistake #4: Using Numbers/Characters in Unusual Ways

Avoid trying to be clever by using symbols and special characters in your ad copy. Google thinks this is a cheap tactic and will probably reject your ad if you try it. Focus on writing attention-grabbing headlines instead of using visual tricks.

However, there are a few exceptions. For example, you can use symbols if they’re part of your brand or product names (like Arm & Hammer) or if you’re legally required to include asterisks to show that conditions apply (like with pricing or promotions). Just make sure to get Google Ads’ approval first.

Advertising Mistake #5: Incorrect Punctuation

If your sentences aren’t punctuated correctly, it can cause several problems. First and foremost, your writing will look rushed and unprofessional. Additionally, it can lead to confusion. For example, in the post above, is the writer saying “We have 2 hours to kill. Someone come see us” or “We have 2 hours to kill someone. Come see us”? The tone of these two versions is very different.

You should try to use correct punctuation in your copy, and you should also try to write sentences that fit within each description line of your ad. You can get a mega-headline if you end the first description line with punctuation. A mega-headline combines your headline and description line to create a longer header. Because ads with mega-headlines tend to get higher click-through rates, you should definitely design your ads to try to get them!

Advertising Mistake #6: Using Slang Instead of Real Words

AOL’s instant messenger program was a huge hit in the ‘90s and early 2000s. When I was in middle school, I spent hours chatting with friends and flirting with crushes on AIM. And if you were cool, you typed everything in shorthand. In those days, you was always spelled u, too/to/two was 2, thanks was thx, and so on. Eventually, we got even lazier and started using acronyms like LOL, TGIF, and BRB.

This type of slang has become common in everyday conversations nowadays. However, it’s definitely not appropriate for PPC ads. Not only is this slang unprofessional, but it’s also not understood by everyone. Some slang is regional, some is generational, and it all seems to be constantly changing. Also, Google will automatically reject your ads if it detects this kind of language. Stick to real words – they’re worth the extra characters!

Advertising Mistake #7: Overusing Exclamation Points

While it’s important to convey urgency in your ad copy, showering it with exclamation points is not the way to go about it. Google considers the excessive use of exclamation points – whether it’s multiple in a row (!!!) or scattered throughout the copy (Bright pink lipstick! Luscious color! Buy yours today!) – to be “scammy” and will disapprove ads that use them. Instead, use more sophisticated techniques to persuade searchers to take action, such as ad customizers and compelling ad copy.

Advertising Mistake #8: Not Using Spell Check

Just use it.

Advertising Mistake #9: Misplacing Apostrophes

Few things bother me more than a misplaced apostrophe. Keep in mind that the primary function of an apostrophe is to show possession, except when you’re using it for contractions. Many people mistakenly use them to make a word plural, which is a major error.

The rules for using apostrophes are pretty simple. To show possession, simply add an apostrophe and an s after the noun. For example, the dog’s bone. However, things get a little trickier when the noun already ends in an s (either because it’s plural or a singular word that ends in s). When this happens, you have two options. The AP Style Guide says to put the apostrophe after the s without adding another s. For example, the kids’ parents. The Chicago Manual of Style, on the other hand, says to add an ‘s to singular nouns that end in s. For example, the Lexus’s bumper. For words that don’t end in an s in their plural form, such as children, the apostrophe goes after the word, and you add an s. For example, the children’s toys.

There are two common exceptions to this rule that can be confusing. The most common mistake is confusing its and it’s. Here’s the deal. It’s is a contraction for it is, whereas its is the possessive form of it. Another tricky pair is whose and who’s. Who’s is a contraction of who is, while whose is the possessive form of who.

Advertising Mistake #10: Confusing Homophones

Homophones are words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. This is an easy mistake to make, especially for those of us who think phonetically, but it can be embarrassing if you get them mixed up. Here are some of the most commonly misused homophones to be careful of (definitions from Dictionary.com):

Affect/Effect:

• Affect (verb): to influence or change something
• Effect (noun): a change that is caused by something else

*Note: Affect can sometimes be a noun, and effect can sometimes be a verb, but the definitions above are generally accurate.

Two/Too/To:

• Two: the number 2
• Too: also, in addition, or excessively
• To: a preposition that indicates direction or purpose

They’re/Their/There:

• They’re: a contraction of “they are”
• Their: a possessive pronoun that shows ownership
• There: a location

Whether/Weather:

• Whether: a conjunction that introduces options
• Weather: the state of the atmosphere, including temperature, rain, and wind

Your/You’re

• Your: a possessive pronoun
• You’re: a contraction of “you are”

Then/Than

• Then: at a certain time
• Than: used to compare things

Complement/Compliment

• Complement: something that completes or enhances something else
• Compliment: a positive remark or expression of admiration

Complementary/Complimentary

• Complementary: completing or enhancing something else
• Complimentary: free or given as a gift

In Closing

We’re all human, and we all make mistakes. In fact, this post probably has its fair share of grammatical errors. However, the more aware you are of these common errors, the less likely you are to make them. Have you noticed any other grammar mistakes in ads?

Want more? Check out 7 Budget-Wasting Facebook Ads Mistakes (+How to Avoid Them)