Dynamic search ads refer to search ads that appear based on the content of a site. They have proven to be a highly effective way to drive more traffic to websites and capture unique searches. These ads can help to ‘beef up’ a marketing campaign, as they can help to create more business.
In this article, we’ll walk you through dynamic search ads, defining what they are, the benefits they can provide, and how to create them.
In the most basic terms, dynamic search ads are search ads that are shown on your website based on the content that is displayed on your site. These ads take advantage of Google’s organic web crawling technology in order to target the most relevant search queries. In other words, Google crawls a website and then matches ads to the terms that are the most closely related to the content the site. Then a headline and a landing page are dynamically generated so that they correspond to the search term. This creates more consistency between search terms, search ads and landing pages.
How Dynamic Search Ads Work
Dynamic search ads utilize the content that is placed on a website in order to target ads to searches. There are several different targeting options available to choose from. They can be used for all pages and for specific pages:
- All pages. Google keeps indexes of websites, pinpoints the most relevant searches, and then generates ads to those searches.
- Specific web pages. Ads are based on a specific category, such as “clothing” or “tools”. Ads are then generated based on those specific categories and are placed on corresponding web pages. Specific keywords can also be targeted.
Who Should Consider Using Dynamic Search Ads?
Any business that operates a website that is rich in content should consider taking advantage of dynamic search ads. For example, a retail website that showcases a variety of products and/or services, or businesses that are branching out into new markets would benefit from these types of ads.
Dynamic search ads often have longer headlines than headlines that are associated with other types of search ads. This makes these ads more visible to searchers. It also means that advertisers can have better control over the URLs and the descriptions that are provided in the ads.
Benefits of Dynamic Search Ads
There are several reasons why dynamic search ads can be beneficial for businesses. Some of the key benefits of these types of ads include:
- Improved efficiency. Because dynamic search ads rely on relevant data from Google’s organic search index, it reduces the amount of time advertisers have to invest in building out keywords, ad text and bids for the products and services that are featured on a site.
- Headlines are dynamically generated. When a person’s search is related to a product or service, Google will dynamically create an ad that contains a headline that features the actual words that are being used in search phrases, as well as the landing page within the advertisement. Additionally, dynamic search ads feature generated headlines, which, as was already mentioned, leads to greater visibility and makes advertisements more relevant to shoppers.
- Automatically updated ads. Whenever a retailer makes changes to a page, Google automatically crawls it and makes sure that they pull the most recent and up-to-date version of the site and its pages in order to generate the most relevant ads.
- Better control. Dynamic search ads gives advertisers the ability to base their ads on an entire website, or for a specific page or category within a website. Moreover, they also have the option to prevent advertisements for products from showing that may not be in stock.
- More traffic. Hands down, one of the biggest advantages of using dynamic search ads is that it increases traffic to websites. In turn, this can increase the potential for more sales. The more an advertiser invests in optimizing marketing campaigns with dynamic search ads, the more potential customers can be reached.
When Dynamic Search Ads Shouldn’t Be Used
Unless an advertiser or a website is using feed-based targeting that you have control of, it is recommended that websites that change on a rapid basis should avoid using dynamic search ads. For example, a website that offers deals on a daily basis will not benefit from this type of advertising. Otherwise, Google’s dynamic search ads are highly recommended and beneficial for all other websites and advertisers.
Creating Dynamic Search Ads
To create dynamic search ads, follow these simple instructions:
- Sign in to your Google AdWords account
- Click on the tab titled campaigns
- Click on the drop down menu and choose the search network only option
- Once you are on the select campaign settings page, select the dynamic search ads option.
- Enter your campaign name.
- Decide if you would like to input any additional features, which can be added under the all features tab.
- Input your domain and the language that corresponds to the pages that you want the ads to target.
- Choose your targeting preference. You have the option to target ads that are based on Google’s organic index of your site, or you can target them based on URLs.
- Choose your target geographic locations under the locations options.
- If you would like Google to optimize your bids, opt for the automated bid strategy.
- Indicate your bid and budget.
- Click save and continue
Summing Up Dynamic Search Ads
Dynamic search ads offers distinct benefits to marketers and to businesses. It helps to save time; it’s cost-effective; it increases exposure and traffic to a website; ads are automatically updated; and it provides you with greater control over a campaign. Plus, it’s extremely easy to use. Given all of these benefits, dynamic search ads is definitely an option worth considering.
