Search ads are text ads that appear on search results when you enter a query in a search engine like Google. These types of ads help you drive traffic and generate leads and sales. Not only that, but there is also a 50% chance that customers will purchase via Google Ads PPC compared to organic searches.
Google dynamic search ads are a type of search ad that falls under the umbrella of Google ads. They provide an easier way to reach people looking for the services/products you offer.
Unlike other search ads, dynamic search ads (DSA) require advertisers to provide web pages instead of keywords. DSA campaigns are helpful when targeting a broader audience.
In this blog, you will learn how to set up Google dynamic search ads and its best practices.
Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
Understanding Dynamic Search Ads
In this section, we will understand dynamic search ads and how they work. We will also look at an example of a dynamic search ad.
What are Dynamic Search Ads?
Dynamic Search ads are a type of Google Ads. They are an automated ad type that generates ad copies using your website’s content instead of keywords. They also choose a landing page from your website based on the search query.
It uses Google’s advanced crawling technology to find relevant search queries without advertisers having to choose the keywords.
They are ideal for companies with clearly written content and well-optimized websites and for companies with large inventories to save a lot of time. They also identify relevant search queries that your traditional search ad campaigns might miss.
Dynamic Search Ads Example
Here’s an example of how dynamic search ads look on Google.
How Do Dynamic Search Ads Work?
Google Dynamic search ads analyze your website. They identify search terms relevant to your business. And generate ads and landing pages based on the website content.
For example, If a user searches for bedroom decor, it will pick relevant images and content from your website and create headlines on decorations used in the bedroom.
Apart from search terms, they also show ads based on the targets you choose (this will be shown in the setup process) while creating dynamic search ads.
NOTE: Dynamic search ads do not automatically generate descriptions. Advertisers must create descriptions, while the DSA campaign handles ad headlines and URLs.
What is the Difference Between Dynamic Search Ads, Responsive Ads, and Performance Max Campaigns?
Dynamic Search ads automate ads by creating headlines and ad copies. You have little control over this type of ad, as Google picks content from the website to show in ads.
Conversely, with responsive ads, you have complete control over the ad as you create headlines, ad copy, images, etc. These ads also adapt their size and appearance based on available ad spaces and show relevant messages to the customer. If you input multiple headlines and descriptions, Google Ads will test these combinations and understand the best.
Coming to Performance Max Campaign, it uses AI to optimize ads across Google platforms and offers a high level of automation. As compared to search campaigns, Performance max campaigns yield higher click-through rates.
How to Set up Dynamic Seach Ads?
Here’s a detailed process for setting up a DSA campaign in your Google Ads account. Before proceeding, ensure you have an active account.
STEP 1: Go to Google Ads, click the campaigns icon, and select ‘campaign.’
STEP 2: Then, select your objective: sales, leads, website traffic, awareness, and so on.
STEP 3: Now, you can add a goal or use the available conversion goals.
Next, choose your campaign type. For Dynamic Search Ads, click ‘Search.’
Give a name to your campaign and click on continue.
STEP 4: Now, select your bidding strategy and click on ‘Next.
STEP 5: Then, you’ll be redirected to your “Campaign Settings.”
Enter the campaign details: location, languages, and audience segments.
STEP 6: Scroll to the bottom. You’ll find the ‘Dynamic Search Ads setting’ box. If you don’t, click ‘More settings.’
Source – Semrush
STEP 7: Enter your website URL, choose your target language, and click ‘Next.’
Source – Semrush
Now, you’re required to set up your ad groups. Click ‘Create ad group’ and select ‘Dynamic ad group.’
Source – Semrush
Source – Semrush
NOTE: If you can’t find this option, you’re most likely seeing a standard ad group. Delete it and create a dynamic ad group.
STEP 8: Now, you must choose your targeting options.
Source – Semrush
Choose one of these options:
Specific Webpages: This option lets you choose the URLs to include in the campaign.
All web pages: This option lets you target the entire website. Keep in mind that you should avoid irrelevant web pages.
Categories: You’ll get a list of categories and examples of a Dynamic Search Ad for each (with its keyword and landing page)
Now, Google Ads will automatically use your website to create headlines.
STEP 9: You need to create descriptions for your ads and click “Done.”
Source – Semrush
NOTE: You can create several ads for a single category.
There is one final step.
STEP 10: Here, you can set up your assets, choose your budget, and choose a name for your campaign.
Review it and make the campaign live.
That’s it! You’re done.
Now, let’s move on to tracking the performance of your DSA campaign.
How To Track The Performance Of DSA Campaigns?
- Go to your Google Ads account –> Click on Campaigns and
click the Filter icon.
- Click the ‘+Attribute’ or ‘metric’ arrow to display the list, then click ‘Ad group type.’
- Clear the checkboxes for the other types of ad groups, and then click ‘Apply Filters.’
- Click a dynamic ad group name to open the ad group.
NOTE: The Positive Keywords tab is empty because positive keywords aren’t supported in dynamic ad groups.
- Now, click the Ads tab.
- The tab lists the dynamic search ads that you’ve created.
| Did you know that you can also check the performance of your Google Ads account? Here’s a detailed guide on Google Ads Audit. |
Pros and Cons of Dynamic Search Ads
Below is the list of pros and cons of using Dynamic Search Ad campaigns.
Pros
✅It reduces the time spent choosing keywords, bids, and ad copy.
✅DSA campaigns are a great way to go beyond the existing keywords
✅Creating ads is easier and faster, as the Google ads tool automatically generates headlines.
✅Setting up a dynamic search ads campaign is seamless.
✅DSA campaigns help you to find out new keywords
Cons
❌Offers limited control over the ad copy.
❌As dynamic search ads target a broader audience, your CTR and conversion rate might be less.
❌There are chances of picking content from irrelevant pages, leading to mismatched headlines and ad copy.
Best Practices For Dynamic Search Ads
When setting up dynamic search ads, it’s crucial to be cautious of a few technicalities. Be careful about the URLs you’re passing and your selected bidding strategy. To ensure you’re doing the campaign right, follow the tried-and-tested practices of setting them up. These best practices will come in handy when creating dynamic search ads.
Use Smart Bidding and Bidding Adjustment
Smart bidding uses AI and machine learning to calculate the bid based on the probability of users clicking on the DSA. The bid gets higher if the probability is high. Thus, smart bidding helps advertisers yield optimal results.
Bidding adjustment is another strategy in which advertisers can manually modify the bid on a specific category, such as age group, location, or gender.
Target Specific URLs
You can choose specific URLs to redirect your visitors to specific pages when they click on an ad. This is a good option for sending traffic to a particular page or focusing on only a few products.
Target Specific Categories
You can choose multiple pages, group them, and use them to target ads. Google Ads will choose the landing page for each ad. Google will identify a list of relevant queries and generate ads.
| What are Categories? Based on your website content, Google creates sets of landing pages organized by theme. You decide which sets of pages to target, how to group similar pages and the level of granularity. Please note that categories may take up to 24 hours after setting up your Dynamic ad group. |
Target specific page titles or content
With this option, you can target pages with a specific term in the title or content. Google Ads analyzes those pages and serves dynamic ads.
Add Negative Keywords
Ensure you add negative keywords to your account, as DSA campaigns might target irrelevant keywords.
Narrow Audiences
DSA campaigns have a broader audience reach, and if you wish to target specific audience segments, you can choose the ‘Targeting’ option in ‘Audience Segments.’
Go to campaign settings –> click Audience Segments –> select Targeting.
Add DSA Exclusions
You can exclude the pages you do not want to target in your campaign. These pages can be poorly optimized, or you may not want paid traffic. You can also analyze URL performance and exclude URLs that have poor performance in your campaigns.
Conclusion
We hope this blog helped you better understand how to use dynamic search ad campaigns. Ensure your website is up-to-date and you provide relevant URLs to Google to generate highly converting ads.
FAQs
What is a dynamic search ad and how does it work?
Dynamic search ads fall under the search campaign type and are part of Google Ads.
Dynamic search ads automatically generate headlines and ad copy based on the user’s search terms without you having to choose keywords.
DSA analyzes your website content and identifies keywords. Based on the keywords, it automatically generates headlines and ad copies and chooses a landing page.
What is the difference between responsive search ads and dynamic search ads?
You create the headline, ad copy, image, and descriptions for responsive search ads, and the ad adapts to show relevant messages to your customers. In contrast, dynamic search ads automatically create headlines and ad copy based on the search terms. You will only have to create descriptions.
When should I use Dynamic Search Ads?
Choose Dynamic search ads only when you have well-written content and optimized pages. Google crawls your website and generates ads based on the content available.
How do I set up Dynamic Search Ads?
Go to your Google ads account, create a new campaign, and select the ad objective and goal. Go to campaign settings and fill in the details of the language, location, and audience segment. Expand more settings and go to dynamic search ad settings. Here, provide your domain URL and language. Next, you must create an ad group, click on dynamic ad group, and choose targets for your campaign. Choose ‘specific webpage’ or ‘All web pages’ or categories’ based on your requirements. Now, create descriptions, and Google Ads automatically generates headlines. Choose assets, budget, and save it. You’ve made a dynamic search ad.
What are the differences between DSAs and traditional search ads?
Dynamic search ads are similar to traditional search ads. The only difference is that DSAs analyze website content to generate ads automatically, and for search ad campaigns, advertisers have to choose keywords, headlines, descriptions, and images.
What should I exclude from my Dynamic Search Ads campaigns?
You can exclude pages with poorly written content, URLs that aren’t performing well, pages that have sold out, and pages with unavailable products.
How does Google determine the content for Dynamic Search Ads?
It depends on your website content and the targets set while setting up DSAs, such as a specific web page or all web pages.
Can I use DSAs alongside traditional search ads?
Yes, you can use DSAs along with other search ads. Be careful that they don’t collide with the exact keywords.
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