All about Google’s new responsive search ads

2018 has been a year of great change for Google Ads. It’s been re-christened from AdWords, and has undergone a full rebrand in the way it looks and operates. The next step in this year of reinvention is a step that means great things for advertisers and our clients alike: Responsive Search Ads.

Responsive Search Ads are the biggest change in the way Google Ads works since 2016, when Expanded Search Ads were launched. They changed the way that traditional search ads work for us behind the scenes, providing hundreds of new options for our customers on the front end.

With a traditional search ad, a static text ad is created with a single headline and text. Each variation is manually created, making testing a long process. With the new responsive ads, you’re able to write up to 15 headlines and 4 different descriptions that will dynamically combine to test over 43,000 ad options. As your ad runs, Google intelligently collects data on how they perform, collecting data signals on browsing habits, devices and engagement. With this data, the responsive ad will begin to show the highest performing variations more, optimising the adverts until they’re performing at their best.

Furthermore, Responsive Search Ads are bigger than their predecessors, allowing your ad to take up more space and push competitors down the page. When writing, we suggest getting truly creative. 15 variations of the same theme won’t make a good test – try things that are out of your comfort zone and your usual messaging. They just might work, and if they don’t, they won’t be shown as frequently.

As an agency running successful PPC campaigns for many clients, we’re always happy to see a development that offers more chances for our clients to gain sales and revenue. We can’t wait to see the positive effects that larger ads with a greater capacity for testing will have on our campaigns.