What is dynamic search ads?

Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs) are a type of paid advertising campaign that automatically targets relevant searches on Google based on the content of your website. Instead of building extensive keyword lists, DSAs crawl your website to understand its products and services. When a user's search query closely matches content on your site, Google automatically generates a headline for your ad, selects a relevant landing page from your website, and displays it to the user. You still write the ad descriptions, but the headlines and landing pages are dynamic.

This approach helps advertisers cover a wider range of searches they might otherwise miss with traditional keyword-based campaigns. It's especially useful for businesses with large inventories, frequently updated websites, or those struggling to identify all potential search queries their customers might use. DSAs act as a safety net, ensuring your business appears for relevant, long-tail searches that you might not have thought to bid on manually.

How dynamic search ads work

The core of DSAs lies in Google's ability to understand your website. When you set up a DSA campaign, you tell Google which parts of your website to crawl. This could be your entire site, specific pages, or categories. Google then indexes these pages. When someone searches on Google, the system looks for a match between the search query and the content on your indexed pages. If a strong match is found, Google instantly creates an ad headline that is highly relevant to the user's search query and the content of your page. It also chooses the most appropriate landing page from your site.

Targeting options

• All webpages: Google crawls your entire site.
• Specific webpages: You can specify URLs or use rules based on URL content (e.g., URLs containing 'product' or specific categories).
• Page feeds: Upload a spreadsheet of specific URLs and labels to give Google more structured information about your pages. This offers the most control.

Why dynamic search ads are useful

DSAs offer several key benefits for marketing teams looking to maximize their paid advertising efforts.

• Increased coverage: They help you capture traffic for searches you might not have covered with traditional keyword campaigns, especially long-tail queries.
• Time savings: You don't need to build and manage large keyword lists, saving significant time on campaign setup and ongoing optimization.
• Discover new keywords: By reviewing the search terms report for your DSA campaigns, you can uncover new, high-performing keywords to add to your standard campaigns.
• Always up-to-date: If your website content changes, your ads automatically adapt without manual updates, ensuring relevance.
• Highly relevant ads: Because headlines are generated directly from user queries and website content, the ads tend to be very relevant, often leading to better click-through rates.

Best practices for dynamic search ads

To get the most out of your DSA campaigns, consider these best practices:

• Use negative keywords: This is crucial. Just like traditional campaigns, add negative keywords to prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant searches. This helps maintain ad quality and reduce wasted spend.
• Write compelling ad descriptions: While headlines are dynamic, you control the ad descriptions. Make them clear, benefit-driven, and include a strong call to action.
• Optimize your website content: Ensure your website has clear, well-written content that accurately describes your products or services. Google relies on this content to generate relevant ads.
• Segment your targets: Instead of targeting your entire website with one DSA group, create separate ad groups for different categories or product lines. This allows for more specific ad descriptions and negative keyword lists.
• Monitor performance regularly: Keep an eye on your search terms report to find new negative keywords and identify high-performing search queries that could be moved to standard campaigns.
• Adjust bids: Apply bid adjustments based on device, location, or audience to optimize performance.

Key metrics to track

When running DSA campaigns, focus on these metrics to gauge success:

• Impressions and clicks: Understand the volume of searches your ads are appearing for and how many people are clicking.
• Click-through rate (CTR): A higher CTR indicates your ads are relevant to user searches.
• Conversions and conversion rate: The ultimate goal. Track how many clicks turn into desired actions (e.g., purchases, leads).
• Cost per conversion (CPC): How much you're paying for each conversion. Aim to reduce this over time.
• Search terms report: Crucial for identifying new negative keywords and potential standard keywords.

Dynamic Search Ads are a powerful tool for expanding your reach and improving efficiency in paid advertising. By understanding how they work and applying best practices, marketing teams can effectively capture a broader audience and discover new opportunities for growth. Remember to continuously monitor and refine your campaigns to achieve the best results.