The ABCs of Google’s Dynamic Search Ads

Digital Marketing / August 09, 2023

What are Dynamic Search Ads

You know those regular search ads, right? They’re the ones where advertisers pick certain keywords to show their ads. Well, Dynamic Search Ads work a bit differently. Instead of choosing keywords, they use content from your own website to figure out who to show the ads to and what the ad should say.

So, when someone searches for something related to your website, the search engine will grab a relevant page from your site and create an ad that matches the search. It’s like magic – your ads automatically adapt to fit what people are looking for!

Google says that using Dynamic Search Ads can be really helpful in two ways. First, it can help you find those relevant searches that your regular search campaigns might be missing out on. Second, it ensures that your ads stay relevant to what people are actually searching for. So, it’s like a double win – you get more visibility for your business and your ads are always on point!

Dynamic Search Ads vs Responsive Search Ads

Dynamic Search Ads and Responsive Search Ads are different, mostly in regards to the level of control advertisers have on the keyword targeting, ad copy and landing page. 

As mentioned above, Dynamic Search Ads are generated from your website content, making your ads relevant and saving you time. All you have to do is add a creative description.

As for Responsive Search Ads, allows you to upload several headlines, keywords, and descriptions. The Google’s machine learning then optimizes the ad versions in real time.

	Dynamic Search Ads	Responsive Search Ads
Keyword Targeting	Automatically-generated	Manually-generated with broad, phrase and exact match.
Ad Headline	Automatically-generated	Manually-generated but Google will select the best headlines from a list provided by the advertiser.
Ad Description	Manually-generated	Manually-generated but Google will select the best headlines from a list provided by the advertiser.
Final URL	Automatically-generated	Manually-generated
Negative Keywords	Manually-generated	Manually-generated

Are Dynamic Search Ads Right For Your Business?

Dynamic Search Ads make the most sense for e-commerce businesses as they often have a large inventory of product pages and collections. 

That said, even for e-commerce shops, there are a few factors to consider before deciding if Dynamic Search Campaigns are worth testing:

Factor #1: Does your website change often? If you are making frequent major changes to your website, you might want to stear clear of DSA as frequent updates to your website can disrupt this algorithmic matching process and lead to unpredictable ad coverage. So, if you launch daily promos or deals, avoid using DSA.

Factor #2: Is your website well-structured and organized? Because the Google algorithm matches search queries to relevant landing pages on your website, having organized content and clear categories helps Google understand the context and relevance of your web pages, ensuring more accurate targeting and improved ad performance.

Factor #3: Do your landing pages contain keyword-optimized copy? You need to make sure that your pages’ copy includes your top relevant keywords, otherwise your Dynamic Search campaigns will lose their relevancy. Keep in mind that the most important signal used by Google to generate your ad headline is the HTML title of your page.

Factor #4: Are you part of highly-regulated industries? In highly regulated industries like gambling or pharmaceuticals, there are strict advertising guidelines and requirements that need to be followed. With DSAs, advertisers have less control over ad copy, which might lead to headlines not conveying the necessary disclaimers or not following the necessary requirements. 

Pros	Cons
Close the gap in keyword coverage	Not having full control
Ad creation is much easier	Not having headlines match the ad
Easy to set up	Low performing search queries wasting budget

Best practices for DSA

1. Create a solid campaign structure

Since DSA campaigns use auto-targets, it’s important to organize them in specific ad groups. If each ad group represents a product or product line within a larger category, having a detailed structure can help you manage and control them better.

For example, if a clothing retailer launches a DSA campaign for various clothing categories like shirts, pants, and dresses, they should organize separate ad groups for auto-targets associated with each category. By doing this, they can create personalized description lines for each group, and Google will dynamically generate unique headlines based on the content of the pages.

2. Add negative keywords

Make sure your ad is only shown to the right audience by selecting keywords that Google should ignore for the campaign.

It’s important to note that because the brand name appears on every page of the site and the url, DSAs often trigger the brand name. Which is why when you are looking to acquire new users, it’s important to exclude brand keywords from these campaigns.

3. Landing page exclusions

Make sure to block certain pages on your website from showing ads by setting up exclusions. For example, you can block pages with sold-out products from generating ads.

4. Use value-based bidding

When you set clear goals for your algorithm, it really boosts your campaigns’ performance. Once the system knows which conversions are the most valuable, it’s like having a roadmap to success – it knows exactly where to focus and what to aim for.

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