Ad copywriting for Google and Meta ads: copy that filters leads

Ad copywriting is writing the words of a paid ad (the headlines, descriptions and primary text) so the right buyer clicks and the wrong one doesn't. On Google, a responsive search ad holds up to 15 headlines of 30 characters and 4 descriptions of 90 (Google Ads Help, October 2026), and Google decides which ones show together. On Meta, the copy sits above an image or video that does half the selling.

Less than most owners think, and not all of it shows. Google says only Headline 1 and Description 1 usually appear, while the second and third headlines and the second description "aren't guaranteed to appear" (Google Ads Help, October 2026). Meta's ads guide recommends 50 to 150 characters of primary text and a 27-character headline for a Facebook feed image ad (Meta Ads Guide, October 2026).

By saying, before the click, what a wrong-fit buyer needs to know to skip it. A price floor, a service area, who the service is for and what happens after the form each cost a few characters and remove a share of clicks that would never have bought. On Google you pay for every click; on Meta you pay for every lead form, so a filter line saves money on both.

Every line gets three questions: is it allowed, is it true, and who does it bring in. Below, Jonatã Ariel Silveira takes a red pen to a sample med spa ad in Los Angeles: one line breaks California's price-advertising law, one breaks a Meta rule, one is a keyword Google won't let you target without certification, and the most expensive line breaks no rule at all.

They can, depending on your settings. In Google's AI Max for Search, text customization uses your ads, your landing page and generative AI to write ad text for each search, and "Turning on AI Max will turn on text customization and Final URL expansions for the campaign" (Google Ads Help, October 2026). With Final URL expansion on, Google doesn't respect pinned headlines.

Not for the auction. Google says "Ad Strength doesn't determine whether your ad is eligible to serve" and "isn't used to calculate Ad Rank, Quality Score, or auction wins" (Google Ads Help, October 2026). It rates how varied your headlines are, from Poor to Excellent, so treat it as a hint about variety, not about sales.

Most rejections come from a handful of rules. Google's editorial policy bans a phone number in ad text, capitalization or symbols used for effect, and gimmicky repetition. Meta bans copy that asserts or implies a personal attribute, such as "Are you bankrupt? Check out our services." And since August 2024 the FTC's final rule bans fake reviews and testimonials, including AI-generated ones, with civil penalties for knowing violators.

We start from your sales calls and closed jobs, not from a blank page: the words buyers used, the objections that lost deals and the jobs you want more of. Then the copy is written to each platform's limits, checked against its rules, and tested one idea at a time against cost per qualified lead.

Freelance ad copy is often sold per ad or per word, with no tie to what the ad costs to run. Eloari writes and tests your ad copy as part of a flat monthly management fee from $900, with no setup fee, no percentage of ad spend and no markup on media. Typical U.S. agencies charge a $1,000 to $5,000 retainer or 10% to 20% of spend, plus $2,500 to $10,000 in setup (Eloari, main page).

The pages ranking for "ad copywriting services" on October 28, 2026 are marketplaces, content agencies and AI tools; none we read covered platform limits, ad rules or testing by cost per lead.