Ad copy is an important part of improving the performance of a paid search campaign. However, it can be a time-consuming process, especially if this needs to be done across a number of campaigns. Responsive Search Ads were introduced by Google in late 2018 as part of their bid to boost automation. This means that there is no more need to split test ads by creating three sets of new ad copy; instead, one RSA can be used.
What Are Responsive Text Ads?
An RSA is a new ad format that contains at least three headlines and up to four descriptions. However, it is advised to use as many headlines as possible (up to 15), as this will improve the strength of the ad and will provide Google with more possible ad copy variations. Google uses machine learning to optimise each ad by showing different ad copy variations to best match the search term.
Best Practice Checklist for RSAs
It is important to use unique information in each headline and description. Google will try not to serve ads that contain similar headlines but cannot make this guarantee.
Test different CTAs in your headlines and descriptions in order to see which one drives the most sales or generates more leads. Try to use CTAs that aren’t being used on current ads so that you can use the RSA to identify which works best. An E-Commerce brand may currently use ‘Buy Online Now’, but this could be tested against ‘Order Online Now’. A brand that focuses on lead generation could use ‘Contact Us Today’ and test it against ‘Get In Touch Today’ or ‘Find Out More’.
Ensure that they are added to each ad group within a campaign to compile as much data as possible.
Set them live and relax? Think again!
Once the RSAs have been set live, it is vital that their performance is checked regularly as they are still in Beta. Identify how they are performing against your current extended text ads in regards to Click-Through-Rate, as this is the most important metric when it comes to analysing ad copy.
In addition to this, add the ad strength and ad strength improvements columns in the Google Ads interface, as this will provide a good indication as to how the RSAs are performing.
This column might suggest adding more headlines, longer headlines more descriptions or longer descriptions in order to improve strength and performance.
It is also possible to view which ad copy variations receive the most impressions. This is a good way of being able to see which ads are being served the most and those that Google thinks have the best chance of converting, based on the search term that has led to that ad appearing.
Once the RSAs are live, test them against your current ad copy for 30 days and review their performance after this period of time. It is likely that you will be in a position to suggest new sets of ad copy to your client after this time; however, if you feel that more time could be given to test the RSAs then there is no harm in having more data to inform your decision making process.
How could Google improve Responsive Search Ads?
It has already been mentioned that RSAs are still only in Beta, therefore improvements could be made to provide more information on their individual performance.
Google only provides the ad copy combinations that receive the most impressions, which means that we cannot yet see a breakdown of which ads have the best CTR and Conversion Rate. This information is currently only available at ad level, which is what can help determine the overall performance of the RSA compared the other ads in a campaign. If this data was available, then more information could be presented to the client to justify why their ad copy should be updated.
Unsure where to start when it comes to utilising Responsive Search Ads within your Paid Search campaigns? Don’t worry; we are here to make this easier for you! Give us a call today to find out more about how we can help.