# First-ad screen: channels, website, and build problems Source: https://www.ppcadeditor.com/knowledge-base/studio/first-ad/ Last verified: 2026-10-31 The first-ad screen opens after you sign up and says Welcome. Let's build your first ad. You give a client or business name, an optional website, an optional business type, an ad language, and where the ad runs first. Then the Build button, which names your format, such as Build Google Search ad, creates it in the editor. A live preview of the ad sits under the form and fills in as you type, for every channel and format. Build and Look around first stay in a bar at the bottom of the screen while you scroll. This page explains each choice and what to do when the site cannot be read. ## What do I fill in on the first-ad screen? - Client or business name. Working for yourself? Use your own business, since it is just the brand in the ad. You can leave it empty. With a website, the name is taken from the site's address. Without one, the name from your signup is used. - Their website. Any public page works, such as a landing page, a Shopify store, or a Facebook page. A website on its own is enough to build. - Business type (optional). Pick one from the list, such as Food & drink, Online store, Home services, Software & apps, or Nonprofit, or type your own, up to 60 characters. Leave it blank and the ad builds exactly as it would have. It is saved with your first ad, and it does not change the copy that is written. - Ad language: Auto-detect, English, or Danish. It is a small menu on the same line as the heading Who it's for. - Where does it run first? The channel tile. Build needs a business name, either the one you type or the one read from the website you entered. If both are empty, Build does not make an ad. It keeps you on the setup screen, says Add a business name to continue, and puts the cursor in the name field. It never makes a placeholder My business preview. If the website you typed is one of our sample sites, the screen says That website is a sample. Type your business name first. If the website is not a public address, the field says Fix the website, or clear it, to continue, and Build takes you to the website field without making an ad. Clicking the preview under the form also selects the name or website field and rings it. With a name or a website, the screen says Ready. Build creates the ad, and adds from your site when it is working from the website alone. ## Can I import my existing campaigns at the start? Yes, on Free and on Studio. Two cards sit above the form. One builds a new ad, such as Build a new Google Search ad, or Build your Google Display ad with Picked from the page you came from when you arrived from a website tool. The other is Import from Google Ads, with Bring in the campaigns you already run. Pick the import card and the account picker opens right away, with no second click. If you are not signed in to Google Ads yet, Continue with Google takes you to Google and back to this same window, so you can pick an account without starting over. Its steps are in Download a Google Ads account into a preview. When the import finishes, setup counts as done and you land on the imported preview. Connect sets up an empty client called Google Ads import, and a second Connect & import or Build reuses it. Free links one account, so a second Google login asks you to unlink the first. Click Build a new ad instead to go back to the form. The two cards do not show during a trial, as a guest, or with a view-only login. ## Can I use the ad text I typed in a free tool? Yes. If you filled in a free tool on ppcadeditor.com with your own business name and website, or your own headlines or descriptions, and then signed up, you skip this screen. It says Building your ad from your draft… for a few seconds and opens your ad in the editor. If the tool had your copy but no business name, it asks for the Business name shown on your ad, with Build ad. If building takes too long, it says We couldn't finish building your ad. Your draft is filled in below, and the form below holds your draft. See Free tools on our website. When you do see the form after a free tool, such as when you only typed a business name, the first-ad screen carries your text into your first ad. When the business name you type matches the tool, they come along on their own. When it is a different business, the screen asks Use the ad text from the free tool? Click Apply and it says We'll use the ad text from the free tool when you build. Click Dismiss and the editor writes fresh copy for the business you typed. See Free tools on our website. The lines you typed in the tool stay in the ad as you wrote them, and the editor writes the rest around them, so the ad does not open with blank required headlines or descriptions. A sample line from the tool that you never edited, such as Shop Today on the Performance Max generator, is left behind. If you added a picture in the tool that could not come across, the first-ad screen says Your images from the free tool didn't come across, followed by a prompt to add them here. The same line shows in the image section of a Responsive Display or Performance Max ad in the editor. ## Which channels can I pick for my first ad? The step Where does it run first? is one card with a row of channel tabs: Google, Meta, LinkedIn, YouTube, Programmatic, ChatGPT, X, Reddit, and Microsoft. Use the arrow keys to move between tabs, and Space or Enter to pick one. Google, Meta, and LinkedIn have a second row to choose the exact format: - Google: Search, Display, Performance Max, or Demand Gen. - Meta: Single image / video, Carousel, or Story / Reels. - LinkedIn: Single image or Carousel. A line under the tabs tells you where that format previews, for example Search previews on Google Search results. The main button names your pick, such as Build Google Search ad or Build Meta carousel ad, and it stays on screen while you scroll on a phone. Build keeps the format you picked. It does not swap it for a nearby one. On the current Free plan and on a Studio plan, every tab and format is open. During a trial, and on an earlier Free plan, Google Search, Google Display, Meta single image or video, and YouTube are open. The other formats show a lock. You can leave and come back to this setup. What you typed is kept for your own account in this browser, so reloading brings your business name and website back. Signing out, or signing in as a different account, starts the screen blank, and nothing you typed shows for the other account. If you came from a responsive display, Performance Max, or LinkedIn tool on the PPC Ad Editor website, the tab shows the page you came from, such as Google Display, and keeps that format. Pick something else and a Back to … link brings the original one back. An HTML5 banner page opens as Google Display. ## How do I vote for TikTok or request another channel on the first ad screen? Click Need another channel? Vote on what's next. You can vote for Google Shopping, Amazon Ads, or TikTok, and click + Request another channel to type a different one. These are votes only. Those channels are not in the editor, and we cannot give a date. The ad language list has a similar request link when yours is missing. ## What happens when I click a locked channel? This only applies if you see a lock on a tile. The first click selects the tile and says that channel is a Studio channel, and that Free ads run on the open channels. Picking a locked tile never builds an ad by accident. While it is selected, the main button changes to Unlock … with Studio, with the channel name in it, and it opens the Studio window. Start free on, followed by the format name, takes you back to the last open channel and format, so you can build your first ad on Free. ## What does "Finish your first ad" mean? If you leave the first-ad screen with Look around first before an ad exists, a note says Your first ad is still waiting, with a Finish your first ad button that takes you back to the first-ad screen. Once you have an ad open, or the setup is done, the note goes away and the button no longer sends you back to the setup screen. ## Can I build another ad from a website later? Yes. On your dashboard, click Create dashboard from wizard, next to Trash. The same screen opens with the title Build another ad and the line Same workspace. We'll write it from the name and website. The main button reads Build this ad. You see the link when you can add clients, and it is not in the demo. The new ad goes into a new client when your plan allows another one. On a Free plan with one client, it goes into that client, or into your one empty client first. If you have several clients and are at the limit, Build opens the upgrade window instead of picking a business for you. ## What does Build make for each channel? - Google Search, Google Display, Performance Max, and Demand Gen write starter copy from the name and site, then the real draft while you look around the editor. - Microsoft Ads writes Search copy the same way. - Meta feed, Carousel, and Story / Reels generate their images first, then draft the copy around them. - YouTube generates a short video preview first, then the title and description. If no video of your own is found, a short sample clip plays in the preview, and Add video lets you swap in yours. - LinkedIn, single image or carousel, writes copy from the name and site, the same way. - X, Reddit, ChatGPT, and Programmatic write the copy from the name and site and add an image from the website, so the ad opens with lines already in it. When you build from a website, the main image is a photo from that page, not the logo or a site graphic. The logo stays in the logo slot. A mostly blank picture is left out so it cannot fill an image slot. ## Does my first Google Search ad include my logo? Yes, when you build it from a website. A Google Search first ad picks up your site's logo and one large hero image from your homepage and adds them to the ad as image assets. They show in the preview, on the share link, and in the export. To remove or replace either one, click Assets, the library icon in the editor header beside Find and Replace. Both files have to meet Google's minimum sizes, and nothing is stretched to fit: - Logo: square at 128 by 128 pixels or larger, or wide 4:1 at 512 by 128 pixels or larger. A logo is never cropped. - Image: wide 1.91:1 at 600 by 314 pixels or larger, square at 300 by 300 or larger, or portrait 4:5 at 480 by 600 or larger. A large hero in another shape is trimmed from the center to the nearest of these, but only when the trim keeps at least half of the picture. A file that is too small, an SVG or icon file, or an animated image is left out. A logo is never used as the hero image, and a flat graphic or mostly blank picture, such as a logo card, is not used as the image either. If you start without a website, or your homepage cannot be read in time, the Search ad still opens, with no logo or image, and you can add them from Assets. ## Are headlines in my first ad cut off mid sentence? No. Every headline, description, and primary text in the new ad is a whole phrase that fits its field. A line that would have to be cut is left out, and the next real line takes its place. Names such as Mr. Rooter stay in one piece. You will not see ALL-CAPS headings, repeated lines, or empty text fields in the opening ad. On Performance Max, Demand Gen, and Meta, a long headline or link description does not repeat a headline unless nothing else fits. When you build from a website or a business name, every channel opens with copy. Start from scratch, with no website, still opens a blank ad for you to write. While copy is being written, a note at the bottom of the editor says a closer draft for the business is still writing and can take a few minutes. The ad is usable in the meantime, because the lines already in it are real sentences you can edit. If you built the ad with a business name and no website, the editor stops saying it is still writing after about 90 seconds and keeps the starter lines. A box then says "Add your website for copy written from your site." Type the site in the box and click Write from site, and the editor starts writing copy from that site. A message says Writing copy from your site. If it cannot start, you see Couldn't start copy from that site, and you can try again. When the written copy is ready, it replaces those opening lines on its own, with no reload needed. This includes Programmatic ads. If the drafted copy cannot be used, the editor shows Using starter copy for now and offers Retry. ## My new ad is still loading, or says Taking longer than usual or Couldn't check the draft The closer draft has taken more than about three minutes. The note at the bottom of the editor changes to Taking longer than usual for the business, and says Your starter lines are ready to edit. If the draft can no longer be checked at all, it says Couldn't check the draft for the business. Edit the lines already in the ad. Either way the ad already holds real starter lines, so you can edit them or add lines. Close the note with its dismiss button. On the dashboard card, the same wait shows Taking longer than usual, with Open in the editor and Dismiss. If you trash the ad while it is still building, the card goes away on its own. ## Why does my first YouTube ad show a video I did not add? That is a short sample clip. When no video of your own is found on your website, your first YouTube ad plays a sample so you can see the layout. Click Add video to swap in your own. ## What does Look around first do? Look around first sits under the main button on the first-ad screen. If you typed a business name, it builds their first ad for you and opens your dashboard instead of the editor. The button reads Setting up and the name while it works, and the screen says we'll build it while you look. On the dashboard, a card named Your ad for the business shows the ad with a BUILDING tag while the headlines and descriptions are written, usually within a few minutes. When it is done the tag changes to READY, and the card offers Open in the editor, Share for comments, and Dismiss. The card only says READY once the ad really has its lines. If you have moved to another page by then, a message says Your ad for the business is ready, with an Open button. If the first draft comes back with too few lines to show a real ad, we try once more and then fill a short starter set. A Search ad needs three headlines and two descriptions before it can be previewed. Until it has them, the card shows SHORT DRAFT and says The draft does not have enough lines to preview yet. Open it and add a few headlines before you share. Share for comments appears only once the ad has enough lines. The card says the copy was written from your site only when at least one headline came from the site. If the ad only has starter lines from the business name, it says it was written from the business name. Starter headlines taken from your website skip people's names, such as a team or staff list, and short section headings, so the first lines you see read as ad copy. If you have not typed a name or a website, the same button reads Show me a sample. It opens a filled-in sample ad for a sample coffee shop, marked as a sample, so you can try the editor before you add your own business. Hover the button and it says Open a sample ad. It does not use a preview slot. While it opens, the button says Opening sample…. The sample does not take one of your Free previews or a client, and it cannot be shared with a client. See The sample ad. With a name or a website typed in, the button reads Look around first and says We build the ad while you look around. When you open the first-ad screen again from Start from my website or Build another ad, the same button reads Back to dashboard, and hovering it says Skip for now and explore your dashboard. It takes you back to your dashboard without creating anything, not even a sample. The Make your first ad form asks for a Business name and an optional Website, and Show my ad builds it. If you land on an empty dashboard before your first ad is built, the form there is already filled in with the business name and website you typed, and the setup brings you back to the same first-ad screen. If you came from a responsive display, Performance Max, or YouTube page on the PPC Ad Editor website, your ad keeps that format here too. On an earlier Free plan or during a trial, Performance Max still needs Studio. The name you type is the one that gets built. ## No Show me a sample button after I paid After you buy Studio, the first-ad screen builds a real ad you can share, so it does not offer the sample. With no business name typed, the button under Build reads Skip for now, and hovering it says Open your dashboard. Your first ad is here when you're ready. Type a business name and click Build to make your first ad. ## Why is Dashboards greyed out in the left menu? Until your account has a dashboard, Dashboards in the left menu is greyed out and says After your first ad. Click or hover it and it says This unlocks after you finish your first ad. Build your first ad, or click Look around first, and it becomes a link once the dashboard exists. ## What if the website cannot be read? If Build times out on the website, the screen shows We couldn't read and the site's address. The site blocked the visit or took too long. This happens with some large stores, and nothing is wrong on your end. - Try again builds with the same website. If the site still cannot be read, the copy is written from a web search for the business. - If you change the channel or format and build again, the new ad is added to the same dashboard. You do not get the first ad back. - Build from the name only builds without the website. - Or try a product or landing page instead. The website field says Couldn't read this page. Try a product or landing page instead. If the address itself is not valid, the field says Enter a public website such as yourbrand.com. Fix it, or clear it to build without a website. ## I typed example.com, mybrand.com or another example website Studio does not read a placeholder address as your business. That covers example.com, test.com, mybrand.com, yourbrand.com, yourcompany.com, mybusiness.com, yourwebsite.com, mysite.com and other fill-in addresses, as well as localhost or an IP address. A real site with a similar name, such as mybrandshop.com, still works. The field says That looks like a placeholder, not your site. Enter your real website, or clear it and continue without one. Type your real website to have the copy written from it, or leave the field empty and build from the business name. After the ad exists, Suggest copy in the editor can still write from another source. If it cannot read the Final URL, We couldn't read this page lets you pick Web search, Another page, or A short description. See Draft copy with AI. ## This workspace is full If the Free tier's previews are all in use when you open the first-ad screen, the bar at the bottom says This workspace is full, with how many previews you have, such as 3 of 3 previews, and Open one you already have, or upgrade to add another. Two buttons sit beside it. - Open my previews takes you back to the workspace you were already in, with your existing previews. If you have no workspace yet, it opens your list of workspaces. - Upgrade opens the Studio offer. Studio has unlimited previews. To make room on the Free tier instead, move a preview you no longer need to the trash. See Trash. ## Other build problems - That took too long means building timed out. Try again usually works. - You've used your free dashboard means the Free tier already has its one client dashboard. Click Upgrade to add another client, or explore your workspace or the demo. - Your session expired means you need to sign in again. Click Sign in again. - Something went wrong on our side means the ad was not created. Click Try again, or look around and come back. - If your first ad looks wrong, such as the wrong image or lines that do not fit your business, open it in the editor and change the image or any line. Your first ad is an ordinary preview you can edit. Your name and channel are saved, so you can finish this setup later. Under or explore on your own, Blank canvas opens your workspace and Demo workspace builds a sample ad in your account.