Google Responsive Search Ads: All You Need to Know
Google Responsive Search ads (RSAs) are the latest and most advanced type of Google search ad. Developments in machine learning & artificial intelligence have led to a great degree of advancements in serving of digital search ads across platforms like Google search.
These developments have helped google create an ad format for search which uses both the human creative touch as well as machine intelligence.
This article will give you a clear understanding of what Google Responsive Search ads are, benefits of the same and simple tips to get the best out of responsive search ads.
What are responsive search ads (RSA’s) and how do they work?
Simply put, Google Responsive Search ads are a bunch of text assets that include headlines and descriptions created by us. Google finds the best working combinations of these text assets. Based on the search query typed into Google search and the intent behind the same google displays these ads.
Once you add responsive search ads (RSA’s) there is a learning phase. In this phase google machine learning studies and analyses the ad copy added to find the best combinations of the same. Once the learning phase is over Google adapts to the combinations that produce the best results to display a search ad that will be most relevant to the search query typed in.
This brings us to an important question. Do we just have to add the text assets and let Google do the rest? Well, not quite! Optimization of RSAs over a period of time is very important as it helps personalize your ads for the user. We will look at some tips & tricks to make great RSA ads later in this article.
What are the Benefits of RSA Ads?
The use of RSA ads has brought in a lot of benefits for both customers searching and advertisers. The most evident benefits of using responsive search ads are as follows:
1) Improved Click-Through-Rate (CTR)
RSA ads allow addition of 15 headlines and 4 descriptions. If you have well-written headlines & descriptions, then google show your ad for more keywords & search terms. This will improve the relevance of your ad depending on the search query.
An improved ad relevance will directly improve the quality score which will lead to a higher ad rank. A higher ad rank for more keywords and search terms will help your ad show higher by performing well during ad auctions.
This will directly improve the CTR and the chances of conversion.
2) Simple A/B Testing
Due to Google’s machine learning and the text assets you have added google will create thousands of variations of your ad depending on the search query. These different combinations automatically created by google serves as a form of simplified A/B testing. You will not need to deep dive into CTR and impressions anymore.
Additionally, the availability of options like editing, removing and pinning these assets allow you to do tests of your own to help improve your ad performance.
3) Improved Device Level Optimization
The number of characters shown in the headlines & descriptions differ on different devices. Thus, being able to add 15 headlines gives you the ability to add combinations of short and long headlines within the 30-character limit. The same applies for descriptions with the 90-character limit.
For mobile devices your shorter headlines & descriptions will work better whereas for desktops longer headlines & descriptions will work well too. This will help you better optimise your ad for specific devices.
4) More Personalized ads
Google’s machine learning takes into account a user’s past searches, clicks, search query, device and intent. This helps google show the most relevant ads to the customer. Google will use the headlines & descriptions that are most relevant to the above while displaying an ad.
This has brought about more personalisation of ads & the ability to add more headlines & descriptions than what we could in expanded text ads has allowed advertisers to incorporate personalisation of ads for the user.
How to create a Responsive Search Ad?
Creation of an RSA ad is a super simple process. Head over to the campaign in which you want to create the new responsive search ad and choose the correct ad group.
Once in the ad group click on the ads section and you will see a plus button.
Click on the plus button and you can select Responsive Search Ad as one of the options as in the image below.
Once you select responsive search ad google will redirect you to a page in which you can add all the details about the responsive search ad like:
- Final URL
- Display URL Paths
- 15 Headlines & 4 descriptions
- Business Name 7 Logos
- Sitelinks
Once you add the assets you have planned you can simple click save and your Responsive Search Ad is ready.
7 Tips to Hack Google Responsive Search Ads
1) Addition of 15 Headlines & 4 Descriptions
Responsive search ads allow addition of 15 headlines & 4 descriptions. As a best practice I recommend using all 15 headlines & 4 descriptions. Using all headlines & descriptions helps google try multiple combinations to bring about the best results for your ad.
It is also good to keep these headlines & descriptions unique. Paraphrasing headlines or using multiple close variant keywords in headlines can reduce the performance of your RSA ads.
2) Include Performing Keywords in Headlines & Descriptions
If you are already running ads on google using expanded text ads then it would help to insert your best performing keywords in your headline. This will help make your ads more relevant to the search query and since ad relevance is a parameter for quality score it will also help improve your ad rank and chances to rank in an auction.
To insert a keyword, you can use the following code in your headline:
Headline: Buy {Keyword: Running Shoes}
Google will replace this keyword using a keyword from your ad group (“running shoes near me” or “shoes for running”) and if it cannot it will simply display the term “running shoes” as that is the keyword you have requested to have inserted into your headline.
3) Include your USP in your Descriptions
Adding your USP helps you stand out against the competition. This can include an award, number of years of service, number of clients served, something unique to your product, company or brand, social proof etc. This helps reinforce the position you are trying to earn in the mind of the consumer.
It is important to note that these USPs and offers are present on your landing pages else this description will have a low quality score and might not be visible in most of your ad impressions.
4) Include Offers in Headlines & Descriptions
Adding an offer in your headlines & descriptions can help people move quickly down the marketing funnel as offers can help influence their buying decision. These offers should be visibly present on the landing page of the website and easy to redeem.
Adding offers in your headlines & descriptions helps especially when you are trying to remarket to audiences that have already interacted with your brand and expressed interest or a desire to buy.
5) Only pin assets that Performed Well
Pinning your headlines & descriptions is a good idea if used well. I recommend letting your RSA ad run for at least 60 days before you pin any headlines or descriptions.
60 days is a good enough timeframe for Google to learn and calculate numbers of impressions, clicks and CTR of your assets. In 60 days, you will know which headlines & descriptions are working well and can pin them for better results.
6) Swap out Poor Performing Assets
Just like you would change a headlight on a motorcycle if it weren’t working, you should replace headlines & descriptions with a low strength. After 90 days review your headlines & descriptions, remove those that haven’t performed them and replace them with fresh ad copy.
This is one of the best techniques to optimize your RSA ads and it also helps keep your ad copy up to date.
7) Pin Headlines & Descriptions to specific positions
After you have assets that are performing fairly well, you can create a structure to help improve the visibility of your ads & headlines.
Google RSA ads will display 3 headlines and 2 descriptions of your ad for a particular auction. Sometimes depending on the device google may only show 2 headlines & 1 description.
While writing your RSA ads, I would recommend coming up with a template for how you want your ads to show. A template could look like:
Headline with Keyword – Call to Action – USP
OR
Benefits – Offers – Call to action
Basically, in the first example above you want your headlines with keywords to show in the 1st position, the ones with call to actions in the 2nd and the ones with a USP in the 3rd.
You can achieve the above by pinning your headlines & descriptions for the positions that you would like them to show. You can pin multiple headlines for all three positions. However, I recommend using pinning sparingly and incorporating it slowly overtime to ensure that there is no sudden impact to the performance of your ads.
Google eliminates headline 2nd and 3rd position for certain devices positions for few devices. We recommend keeping your important headlines pinned to the 1st position.
Conclusion
Your RSA ads can make or break your search campaigns. It is very important to create good responsive search ads and optimize them based on performance from time to time.
If you need help with your Google RSA ads book a strategy call with us now and we will help you create & optimize converting responsive search ads.
Would you like to work with us?
Smash the button on your right and follow along to embark on a journey with us. Together, we’ll swiftly address your needs and provide the assistance you seek.