How to build a landing page for Google Ads, step by step

Landing page for Google Ads: what the page has to do

A landing page for Google Ads is the page your ad's final URL opens. It has one job: finish what the ad started. If the ad promises a same-day quote, the page should say so on its first screen and offer a way to ask for one.

Google measures part of this. Its Quality Score has three parts: expected click-through rate, ad relevance and landing page experience. Landing page experience means how relevant and useful the page is to people who click your ad, compared with other advertisers whose ads showed for the same search. Google calls Quality Score a diagnostic tool and says it is not an input to the ad auction. Use it as a prompt to look at the page, not as a number to chase.

Before you build: what Google's destination rules require

Google's destination requirements policy lists the reasons an ad can be disapproved. Read it before you design anything.

• The page must work on common browsers and devices, and must not return an error to Google's ad crawler.
• The domain in the displayed URL must match the final URL. Redirects that send people to a different domain can cause a mismatch.
• Google's ad crawler must be able to read the page, and the page must be reachable in the places you target.
• The page must not be unnecessarily hard to navigate, and an ad cannot link straight to a file download or an email address.
• The page must offer unique value to the people who click.

Steps: build the page in six moves

The steps are the same whether you use a paid builder, a WordPress page or hand-written code. A small account can start with a single ad group.

• 1. Pick one ad group. Write down its keyword theme and the promise in the ad.
• 2. Repeat that promise in the page headline, in plain words.
• 3. Choose one action: a short form, a call button or a booking link. Remove menu links that lead away.
• 4. Add only proof you can back up, such as a real service area or a written policy. Do not invent reviews or numbers.
• 5. Check the page on a phone first, then on a desktop.
• 6. Connect conversion tracking in Google Ads so a form submission counts as a conversion.

Setup choices: paid builder, WordPress page or your own site

A paid builder gives you templates, forms, testing and, on some plans, text that follows the keyword. Instapage, Unbounce, Leadpages and Landingi each publish a free trial, so you can build the page before paying; see the four builders compared by plan. Instapage's search-ads page recommends a separate message-matched page for each search ad, and its AdMap tool is built around that idea, though the tool is described as custom-plan only. The Instapage review lists the limits.

A page on your own site costs no extra monthly tool fee and can meet Google's rules. It usually has no testing tools, so you swap headlines by hand. For a small account that is often enough to start.

Test and verify before and after launch

Before launch, open the page on a phone, submit the form yourself, and confirm the lead arrives where it should. Check that the page loads without an error for Google's crawler.

After launch, add the Quality Score columns in Google Ads: open Keywords under Campaigns, choose the columns icon, and add the Quality Score section. The landing page experience status reads Above average, Average or Below average. If it reads Average or Below average, Google says that may point to an opportunity to improve.

A small budget gives you few clicks, so a test takes longer to show a difference. Change one thing at a time, such as the headline, and give it time before you judge it. Free tools are enough to start. A paid tool pays off when you have enough traffic to test, and the arithmetic is in the Instapage pricing guide.