Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) are those that can be customized based on the end user’s search query with multiple headlines and descriptions.
Understanding responsive search ads
Individuals and businesses can use responsive search ads to promote their products and services on the Google Network.
Introduced in 2018, some of the primary features of responsive search ads include:
- The ability to define two or more descriptions and three or more headlines that are automatically tested to determine which combination works best.
- Customized URLs which can be appended to the end of a landing page address, and
- The ability to pin desirable headlines or descriptions such that they always appear in the advertisement.
Starting June 30, 2022, responsive search ads became the only search ad type that could be created or edited in a search campaign. Although this move was announced with plenty of warning, it nonetheless marked a significant shift in the way PPC marketers needed to approach their advertising efforts.
Indeed, while the prior system of expanded text ads had its shortfalls, it was also reliable, comfortable, and offered businesses more control over what ads were shown and at what time.
How do responsive search ads work?
Advertisers can select up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions for a single search ad which translates to a maximum of 43,680 ad permutations. These are then processed by Google’s machine learning algorithm to increase engagement and click-through rate.
Ad performance may be sub-optimal to start with as the algorithm learns the most effective headline-description combinations. Over time, however, it serves optimized ads based on a user’s search behavior, device preferences, and various other signals.
As a result, businesses must resist the urge to pull under-performing ads before the algorithm has had a chance to determine what works best. It’s also worth noting that the technology is not a panacea that will deliver guaranteed results. These algorithms can only use the information a business has provided them with so it’s important that the best converting words and phrases are identified ahead of time.
Responsive search ad best practices
Google notes that responsive search ads have a CTR that exceeds those seen in standard search ads by 5-15%. Here are some of the ways a business can maximize its ROI from the new system:
- Don’t settle for the bare minimum – while ads must have a minimum of three headlines and two descriptions, it would be foolish not to utilize the system to its maximum capacity and test thousands of ad permutations.
- Use the pin functionality wisely – if there is information that absolutely must be shown in an ad like a brand message or disclaimer, it can be pinned to the headline or description. However, excessive pinning can limit the effectiveness of the machine learning algorithm. When two headlines are pinned, for example, the number of possible permutations is reduced by 99.5%.
- Consider ad groups – since Google already tests various versions of the responsive search ad, there is no need for the business to include multiple ads in the same ad group. Multiple ads has the reverse effect of slowing down the optimization process.
Key takeaways:
- Responsive search ads (RSAs) are those that can be customized based on the end user’s search query with multiple headlines and descriptions.
- Google’s machine learning algorithm can analyze a maximum of 43,680 ad variations to increase engagement and click-through rate. This process can take time, so it’s important for businesses not to pull their ads early if the results are sub-optimal.
- To maximize the benefits of responsive search ads over standard search ads, businesses should use their full allocation of permutations, use the pin functionality wisely, and use one ad per ad group.
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Connected Marketing Concepts
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing describes the process whereby an affiliate earns a commission for selling the products of another person or company. Here, the affiliate is simply an individual who is motivated to promote a particular product through incentivization. The business whose product is being promoted will gain in terms of sales and marketing from affiliates.
Ambush Marketing
As the name suggests, ambush marketing raises awareness for brands at events in a covert and unexpected fashion. Ambush marketing takes many forms, one common element, the brand advertising their products or services has not paid for the right to do so. Thus, the business doing the ambushing attempts to capitalize on the efforts made by the business sponsoring the event.
Brand Building
Brand building is the set of activities that help companies to build an identity that can be recognized by its audience. Thus, it works as a mechanism of identification through core values that signal trust and that help build long-term relationships between the brand and its key stakeholders.
Brand Equity
The brand equity is the premium that a customer is willing to pay for a product that has all the objective characteristics of existing alternatives, thus, making it different in terms of perception. The premium on seemingly equal products and quality is attributable to its brand equity.
Brand Positioning
Brand positioning is about creating a mental real estate in the mind of the target market. If successful, brand positioning allows a business to gain a competitive advantage. And it also works as a switching cost in favor of the brand. Consumers recognizing a brand might be less prone to switch to another brand.
Business Storytelling
Business storytelling is a critical part of developing a business model. Indeed, the way you frame the story of your organization will influence its brand in the long-term. That’s because your brand story is tied to your brand identity, and it enables people to identify with a company.
Content Marketing
Content marketing is one of the most powerful commercial activities which focuses on leveraging content production (text, audio, video, or other formats) to attract a targeted audience. Content marketing focuses on building a strong brand, but also to convert part of that targeted audience into potential customers.
Digital Marketing
A digital channel is a marketing channel, part of a distribution strategy, helping an organization to reach its potential customers via electronic means. There are several digital marketing channels, usually divided into organic and paid channels. Some organic channels are SEO, SMO, email marketing. And some paid channels comprise SEM, SMM, and display advertising.
Growth Marketing
Growth marketing is a process of rapid experimentation, which in a way has to be “scientific” by keeping in mind that it is used by startups to grow, quickly. Thus, the “scientific” here is not meant in the academic sense. Growth marketing is expected to unlock growth, quickly and with an often limited budget.
Guerrilla Marketing
Guerrilla marketing is an advertising strategy that seeks to utilize low-cost and sometimes unconventional tactics that are high impact. First coined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his 1984 book of the same title, guerrilla marketing works best on existing customers who are familiar with a brand or product and its particular characteristics.
Inbound Marketing
Inbound marketing is a marketing strategy designed to attract customers to a brand with content and experiences that they derive value from. Inbound marketing utilizes blogs, events, SEO, and social media to create brand awareness and attract targeted consumers. By attracting or “drawing in” a targeted audience, inbound marketing differs from outbound marketing which actively pushes a brand onto consumers who may have no interest in what is being offered.
Integrated Marketing
Integrated marketing describes the process of delivering consistent and relevant content to a target audience across all marketing channels. It is a cohesive, unified, and immersive marketing strategy that is cost-effective and relies on brand identity and storytelling to amplify the brand to a wider and wider audience.
Marketing Mix
The marketing mix is a term to describe the multi-faceted approach to a complete and effective marketing plan. Traditionally, this plan included the four Ps of marketing: price, product, promotion, and place. But the exact makeup of a marketing mix has undergone various changes in response to new technologies and ways of thinking. Additions to the four Ps include physical evidence, people, process, and even politics.
Marketing Personas
Marketing personas give businesses a general overview of key segments of their target audience and how these segments interact with their brand. Marketing personas are based on the data of an ideal, fictional customer whose characteristics, needs, and motivations are representative of a broader market segment.
Multi-Channel Marketing
Multichannel marketing executes a marketing strategy across multiple platforms to reach as many consumers as possible. Here, a platform may refer to product packaging, word-of-mouth advertising, mobile apps, email, websites, or promotional events, and all the other channels that can help amplify the brand to reach as many consumers as possible.
Multi-Level Marketing
Multi-level marketing (MLM), otherwise known as network or referral marketing, is a strategy in which businesses sell their products through person-to-person sales. When consumers join MLM programs, they act as distributors. Distributors make money by selling the product directly to other consumers. They earn a small percentage of sales from those that they recruit to do the same – often referred to as their “downline”.
Niche Marketing
