What Are Google Responsive Search Ads?

Responsive search ads allow advertisers to create ads that adapt to show more text to their target audiences. Through them, you can enter multiple headlines and descriptions. Google Ads will test different combinations to actually learn which combination brings with it the best results.

Google’s responsive search ads have the potential to improve your campaign performance. Here’s a quick guide on how these ads work, and how to use them to their full potential.

Why Responsive Search Ads Work

Responsive search ads increase the likelihood of you reaching those users from your target audience that are the best fit to click on the ad and even convert. Regular ads may not provide users with enough information for them to overlook the organic search results, especially when you think about how much information you can realistically convey in a headline and a short description.

With this kind of ad format, you can potentially:

• Create flexible ads and present more information to potential customers;
• Save time by providing multiple headlines and description options, and let Google learn which combinations are best;
• Run better geo-targeted ads and modify headlines and descriptions based on user location;
• Participate in more auction, and make it likelier for your ad to be delivered in the search result page;
• Attract more clicks and conversions than regular text ads, which can also improve ad group performance.

How These Ads Work: Best Practices

This ad type relies on diversity. Specifically, the more headlines and descriptions you enter, the more chances you have at better results, as Google can test out more and more variations to see which are better at converting.

You can provide up to 15 different headlines and 4 descriptions to create a responsive search ad. Google then takes the ad text and creates different combinations, different from expanded text ads, and delivers them to your target audience.

Any given ad will have maximum three headlines and two descriptions to create the ads shown to users. Google Ads will test the best combinations of headlines and descriptions and learn which fit better with which user queries.

But while you are the one who creates the headlines and descriptions, you cannot tell Google which combinations to try, and which not to. Because of this, you need to make sure all these elements make sense individually and in combination with each other to avoid showing users ads that make little to no sense.

Google recommends you have at least 2 expanded text ads and 1 responsive search ad per each of your ad groups. To increase the likelihood of your ads being delivered, you should provide at least 5 unique headline variants that do not repeat the same or similar phrases. Additionally, you should:

• Keep in mind that headline and descriptions may appear in any order;
• Try to group the headlines when writing them, to ensure the content is linked together and the ad seems natural;
• Include at lead one keywords in the headlines.

Ad Strength for Responsive Search Ads

Ad strength gives feedback to help you focus on giving customers the right message through your ads. Google recommends using this feedback when creating responsive search ads, as it can help you optimise how the ad shows.

Some issues Ad Strength can signal are:

• Missing ad group;
• Missing keywords – keyword research may be needed here too;
• Missing final URL;
• Headlines or Descriptions that are too similar – you should not repeat yourself in these elements, but rather try to convey different aspects of your business;
• Headlines or Descriptions that are too short – your headline and description still need to be engaging to users, so remember to showcase within them your best selling points, ad a call to action, etc.;
• Suggestions for additional keywords to headlines and descriptions;
• Suggestions for pinning – pinning can reduce the number of headlines and descriptions that can be shown. When you pin multiple headlines or descriptions to certain positions, you can control how some of these elements appear in your final ads.

You can use this information to improve your ads even before you give Google the green light to start delivering them and testing different combinations.

Final Thoughts

The road to great performing ads can be lengthy, but the right Google Partner can help you leverage this PPC system to its full potential.

Australian Internet Advertising is that Google Partner. Schedule a free 30-minute strategy session with our Google Ads team now and let’s start work on improving your digital marketing strategy on Google Ads.