> Quick answer: Google Ads limits text overlay on image assets to 20% of total image area. Best practice is zero overlay. Use Headline and Description fields for your messaging. If you do need to edit text on an image, Coinis Revise handles it without a design tool.
Google Ads Text Placement Best Practices
Google's own documentation makes the recommendation clear: keep text off your image assets.
Google's 20% text coverage limit
Per Google's Ads Help Center, text may cover no more than 20% of an image asset. That rule applies to responsive display ads, image ads, and dynamic remarketing ads.
Images can also be cropped up to 5% on each side to fit different ad spaces across the Display Network. Any text placed near the edges risks being cut off entirely.
Why overlay text is discouraged
Overlaid text becomes hard to read at smaller ad sizes. Google's documentation specifically calls this out as a problem for responsive display ads.
When Google combines your image with its own headline rendering, pre-baked text and rendered headlines appear together. The result looks cluttered. It often reads as repetitive, too.
Preferred workflow: Headlines and Descriptions
Responsive search ads give you 15 headline slots and 4 description slots. Use them. Your messaging belongs there, not locked into the image file.
If you need legally required text, such as a disclaimer or pricing notice, pin it. Per Google's image asset format requirements, legally required text must be pinned to Headline Position 1, Headline Position 2, or Description Position 1. It must not be overlaid on the image.
---
Where to Place Text in Your Google Ads
The right placement depends on ad type. The principle stays the same across all of them.
Use Headline and Description fields (recommended)
This is the right first move for every campaign. Google combines headlines and descriptions dynamically to match each placement. Putting copy there maximizes reach and performance signal.
Text on image assets (only if needed)
Text that is naturally part of the original image, like product packaging copy or vehicle branding, is acceptable. It still counts toward the 20% limit but does not need special treatment.
Avoid adding text in post-production unless you have a specific reason.
Text customization for auto-generated assets
Google's Text Customization feature generates headlines and descriptions from your landing page. It is available for both Search and Performance Max campaigns.
This feature is separate from your manually entered assets. Per Google Ads documentation, it does not count toward the standard 15 headline and 4 description limits for responsive search ads.
---
How to Add or Edit Text on Ad Images (Step-by-Step)
Follow this process to stay within policy and keep your creatives sharp.
Prepare your image asset
Start clean. No pre-baked headlines. No logo overlays. Google performs better when it renders text in its own UI rather than reading around yours.
If an existing image already has text, measure coverage before uploading. Stay well under 20%.
Use Revise to edit text placement
Open Coinis Revise and upload your image. Use Edit text on image to move, resize, or update any existing text elements. Use AI Erase to remove text you no longer need.
Both capabilities work directly on the image. No external editor required. Keep any remaining text minimal and away from the edges Google may crop.
Test different layouts before launching
Use Variate in Revise to generate multiple versions of the same image with different text positions or no text at all. Clean-image versions often outperform text-heavy ones in display placements.
More creative variants also give Google's system more combinations to test.
Verify compliance with the 20% rule
Before uploading, confirm text covers less than 20% of total image area. A clean image with zero overlay is the safest and most flexible choice.
---
Common Text Placement Mistakes to Avoid
These errors reduce delivery and hurt ad quality scores.
Overlaying logos on images
Per Google's best practices guide, do not overlay a logo on top of an image. It becomes repetitive when Google's UI also renders your logo asset. Upload logos as a separate logo asset instead.
Exceeding 20% text coverage
Google may reject assets or limit delivery when coverage is too high. Do not push close to the limit. Leave room for cropping.
Hard-to-read text at small sizes
Display ads run across thousands of placements. Text that reads clearly at 1200x628 can become illegible at 300x250. If the text is not part of the core image concept, remove it entirely.
Redundant text that repeats headlines
If your image reads "50% Off" and your headline also reads "50% Off," both appear together in the rendered ad. Put the offer in headlines. Keep the image visual.
---
Faster Way: AI-Generated Ads with Optimized Text
Generate images with Image Ads
Coinis Image Ads generates display-ready creatives from a product URL. Assets come out clean by default. No post-production overlays. Ready for Google Ads upload.
Fine-tune with Revise
After generation, use Revise to adjust. Erase elements you do not need. Use Smart Resize to produce the correct dimensions for each placement without re-cropping manually.
Coinis does not publish directly to Google Ads today. It produces the clean, policy-ready assets you upload yourself into Google Ads Manager.
Move faster on every iteration
Generate, review, resize, and export in one workspace. No back-and-forth between tools. Upload the finished assets directly into your campaign.
---
Or let Coinis do it.
From a product URL to a live Meta campaign. AI-generated creatives. On-brand copy. Direct publish to Facebook and Instagram. Real performance reporting. All in one platform.
Start free. Upgrade when you're ready.
15 AI tokens a month. No credit card.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Google Ads allow any text on image assets?
Yes, but with strict limits. Text may cover no more than 20% of the total image area. Google's best practice is to avoid overlay text entirely and use Headline and Description fields for all messaging instead.
Where should legally required text go in a Google Ad?
Per Google's image asset format requirements, legally required text such as disclaimers or pricing must be pinned to Headline Position 1, Headline Position 2, or Description Position 1. It must not be overlaid on the image asset.
Can I use an AI tool to edit text on my Google Ads images?
Yes. Coinis Revise lets you add, move, resize, or remove text on any image without a separate design tool. Use the Edit text on image capability to adjust placement, or AI Erase to remove unwanted text before uploading to Google Ads.