Google Ads Search Platform Knowledge Pack Files

Ad Strength Checklist — Responsive Search Ads

Step-by-step checklist to reach "Excellent" ad strength for Google Ads Responsive Search Ads.

Pre-flight

• Final URL set and page loads correctly
• Display path set (path1 = keyword theme, path2 = optional qualifier)
• Business name set (max 25 chars)

Headlines (13-15 for Excellent)

#	Type	Example Pattern	Check
1	Primary keyword	"{Keyword} for Teams"	[ ]
2	Secondary keyword	"{Keyword 2}"	[ ]
3	Tertiary keyword	"{Keyword 3}"	[ ]
4	Speed benefit	"Ship Code {N}x Faster"	[ ]
5	Time benefit	"First {Result} in {Time}"	[ ]
6	Enterprise angle	"Enterprise {Category}"	[ ]
7	Autonomous angle	"Autonomous {Feature}"	[ ]
8	Feature 1	"{Feature} & {Feature}"	[ ]
9	Pricing	"From {Currency} {Amount}/{Unit}"	[ ]
10	Integration	"{Tool} Integration"	[ ]
11	Platform angle	"Open Source {Category}"	[ ]
12	CTA	"Deploy {Product} Today"	[ ]
13	Automation	"Automate Your {Process}"	[ ]
14	Trust	"No Vendor Lock-In"	[ ]
15	Unique selling point	"{Differentiator}"	[ ]

Validation:

• Each headline max 30 chars
• No two headlines too similar (>50% word overlap = penalized)
• At least 3 contain exact-match target keywords
• Mix of emotional (benefit) and rational (feature) headlines

Descriptions (4/4 for Excellent)

#	Purpose	Pattern	Max
1	Value prop	"Deploy {product} as your {benefit}. {Feature}, {feature}, {feature} — done."	90
2	Features + proof	"{Product} {action}, {action}, {action}. From {price}."	90
3	Scale + urgency	"{N} {product} on your {context} 24/7. {Metric}. Try now."	90
4	Trust + differentiation	"Open source. Works with {models}. {Trust statement}."	90

Validation:

• Each description max 90 chars (count carefully — over-limit causes save failure)
• All 4 meaningfully different
• At least 1 contains a CTA

Sitelinks (6 for high score)

#	Text (25 max)	Desc 1 (35 max)	Desc 2 (35 max)	URL
1	Pricing Plans	"{Plan} from {price}."	"{Trust statement}."	/#pricing
2	How It Works	"{Step}, {Step}, {Step}."	"{Time-to-value}."	/#process
3	FAQ	"Answers about {topic}."	"{Trust/security}."	/#faq
4	Get Started	"{CTA action}."	"{Speed promise}."	/start
5	{Feature}	"{Feature details}."	"{Compatibility}."	/#features
6	{Trust angle}	"{Model/tech compatibility}."	"{Open source/trust}."	/#technology

Validation:

• All 6 sitelinks needed for "high" sitelinks score
• Character limits are strict — 25/35/35
• Hash URLs work as Final URLs

Ad Strength Score Map

Score	Headlines	Descriptions	Sitelinks	All Categories
Incomplete	<3	<2	—	—
Poor	3-5	2	0	Most low
Average	6-9	3	0-2	Mix of low/medium
Good	10-12	4	4-5	Most high
Excellent	13-15	4	6	All high

Post-save Verification

• Ad strength shows "Good" or "Excellent"
• All 5 categories show green check (high)
• Preview shows correct headlines, descriptions, sitelinks
• Display path shows updated value
• No validation errors (red borders)