Maximising Your Paid Search Campaigns with Dynamic Search Ads

Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs) are a powerful yet underutilised tool in any search marketer’s toolkit. In this in-depth guide, we’ll explain exactly what DSAs are, how they work, and, more importantly, how you can leverage them to significantly boost your paid search performance.

By the end, you’ll understand how to set up highly targeted DSAs that get more eyes on your products and services. Let’s get started!

What are dynamic search ads?

Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs) allow advertisers to create ads automatically based on their website content and visitor behaviour data, without the need to manually create and manage keywords.

When someone searches for a relevant term on Google, DSAs scan your website in real-time to generate ad copy that is hyper-relevant to that search. This includes automatically generated headlines, descriptions, landing pages, and more.

For example, if someone searched for “blue shirts for men,” DSAs would check your website, identify pages related to blue shirts for men, and create an ad on the fly tailored to that exact search term.

DSAs aim to be as specific and tailored as possible to maximise relevance between searches and ads. The automation handles scaling to long-tail keywords that may not be commercially viable at low volumes on their own.

How do dynamic search ads work?

Here’s a brief overview of how DSAs operate behind the scenes:

1. Website Analysis: Google bots continuously crawl and analyse the content and structure of your website. This includes pages, page titles, headings, visible text, etc.
2. Match Keywords: When a relevant keyword search occurs, Google matches it to related pages and content found on your site.
3. Generate Ad Copy: It automatically generates ad copy, including the headline, description, and URL, and decides the best matching landing page based on your website analysis.
4. Target Impressions: The ad is now eligible to show up for that keyword search as a potential advertisement. It will target searches that Google considers a close match to your website content.
5. Measure Performance: Your DSAs are tracked and optimised like other paid search campaigns. Google learns over time to improve creative relevancy based on metrics like clicks and conversions.

By letting Google analyse your site and match searches, DSAs save you the manual work of crafting ads and targeting thousands of keywords. The tradeoff is less direct control over ad text and matching.

Setting Up Dynamic Search Ads

Setting up DSAs is straightforward, using just a few steps:

1. Create a new campaign: Go to the Campaign section in Google Ads and select “Search” as the campaign type.
2. Choose DSAs. Under “Campaign Strategy,” select “Dynamic Search Ads” as the bidding strategy.
3. Target Audiences: Adjust location, language, and network targeting as desired, like regular text ads.
4. Bid and Budget: Set your daily budget and default bid amounts. I recommend starting modestly and testing bids.
5. Ad Extensions: Optionally include sitelinks, callouts, or other extensions for more visibility.
6. Advanced Settings: Tweak settings like device targeting or ad scheduling if needed.
7. Submit for review: DSAs require approval to go live, a process that usually takes 1-2 business days.

And that’s it! Let Google do the heavy lifting of matching searches to your site. Monitoring performance is key, like any campaign; we’ll cover optimisation next.

Optimising Dynamic Search Ads

To continuously maximise results from your DSAs, some regular optimisation tactics include:

Use Page Feeds

Page Feeds allow you to selectively feed blocks of pages to target in your ads. For example, only promote new product launches. This gives you more control over what content DSAs can use to generate ads.

Adjust Bids and Budgets

Monitor metrics like cost-per-click and conversion rates. Raise bids on high-performing keywords and lower bids on poor performers. Adjust budgets up if spending isn’t keeping up with leads and sales.

Refine Landing Pages

Ensure DSAs send visitors to your most relevant landing pages. Pages should be optimised for usability and conversion rates and contain the promoted content. Test different page combinations.

Review Ad Performance

Closely evaluate headlines and descriptions to spot inconsistencies. Does the creative accurately reflect the search intent? Make note of changes needed to better focus your messaging.

Enhance Website & Technical SEO

The more readable, relevant and well-optimized your site is overall, the more data DSAs have to work with. Take care of on-page fundamentals like keywords, tagging and internal linking.

Retrain with Negative Keywords

Add keywords for searches you don’t want ads to show on. For example, exclude competitor brand terms that don’t relate to your business. This refines your match types.

Optimising DSAs is an ongoing process. Staying actively involved will lead to continuous improvements in relevance and results over time.

Common Questions About Dynamic Search Ads

Here are some frequently asked questions about implementing and using DSAs:

Do I need a large website for DSAs to work?

No, DSAs can be effective even for smaller sites. The automation helps uncover long-tail search demands that may otherwise be missed. Just ensure your site is optimised enough for DSAs to generate relevant ads.

Can I edit auto-generated ad text?

While you can’t manually edit auto-generated headlines or descriptions, you can improve relevancy through website optimisation and refined landing pages. Page feeds also provide limited text customisation abilities.

How do I prevent irrelevant ads?

Negative keywords are essential for filtering out unintended matches. Also, use page feeds judiciously and verify landing pages are a good fit. Ensure your technical SEO fundamentals are strong enough for DSAs to analyse them properly.

Do DSAs work better than regular text ads?

DSAs automate scaling to long-tail keywords where manual campaigns may not. They also leverage real-time updates on your site. For many advertisers, DSAs can significantly expand reach. But regular text ads still have a place, depending on the goals.

Is there a minimum daily budget for DSAs?

There is no set minimum daily budget requirement. However, amounts under $25 per day may not provide sufficient data for DSAs to optimise effectively during the initial learning period. Start with a $50–100 minimum, if possible.

Can I use DSAs with other advertising types?

Yes, you can run DSAs alongside other Google Ads strategies like search, display, YouTube, etc. for a comprehensive multi-channel approach. Just be aware of potential duplication if targeting the same audiences.

I hope these FAQs help provide more clarity around leveraging DSAs successfully. Let me know if any other questions come up!

Key Takeaways

To summarise some of the most important points about boosting paid search with dynamic search ads:

• DSAs automate ad generation based on analysing your site in real-time, avoiding intensive keyword research.
• Setup is simple through the Google Ads interface, and then let Google do the work of matching searches to your business.
• Use page feeds to refine promoted pages and text customisations within auto-generated ads.
• Monitor metrics closely and refine efforts with negative keywords, landing pages, and bids over time for continuous improvement.
• Address technical SEO fundamentals to ensure your site data fuels relevant, high-performing DSAs.
• Leverage DSAs alongside other paid channels for complementary multi-touchpoint exposure to customers.

Dynamic search ads provide an excellent solution for scaling reach through search. With regular optimisation, they can boost your organic visibility while driving qualified traffic. Don’t sleep on the power of letting algorithms work for you!

Do you have any other questions? Feel free to reach out; I’d be happy to discuss Dynamics Search Ads further. I wish you the best with your paid search efforts.