Dynamic Search Ads Tap Informational Queries

Dynamic Search Ads have a long history of helping advertisers show for queries they haven’t bid on. Merchants with thousands of constantly changing products cannot realistically create ads for every item. DSAs fill this gap by allowing Google to crawl websites and display dynamic ads when they are relevant to a search query.

For instance, a merchant may bid on the keyword “window curtains” but not “blue rod pocket curtain panel,” as this query is specific and presumably has a low search volume.

I first addressed DSAs in 2021. They often attract unqualified traffic, regardless of how the campaigns are optimized. Google decides which queries trigger the ads, rather than advertisers selecting specific keywords. Fortunately, the cost-per-click for DSA campaigns is generally lower than traditional Search.

Lower CPCs enable more clicks for a given budget, ideally resulting in more conversions and revenue. While DSA campaigns may not be as efficient as Search, they can nonetheless generate conversions unavailable through other channels.

Versatile DSAs

Utilizing DSAs to focus on the depth of product pages is essential. However, there is another strategy that can lead to both short- and long-term success. By targeting blog and resource pages, we can drive top-of-funnel traffic. The approach can garner newsletter and other soft conversions to nurture potential buyers.

A Wayfair DSA campaign, for example, could promote its inventory of household sinks and target pages with “sinks” (or equivalent) in the URL.

A Wayfair DSA campaign could target pages with “sinks” (or equivalent) in the URL.

But Wayfair publishes additional sink-related content beyond product detail pages. Its “Ideas & Advice” section answers common questions and includes articles on different types of sinks. Users in research mode could find the articles extremely valuable. Hence Wayfair should consider a separate campaign to promote that content.

A campaign targeting pages containing an “ideas-and-advice” keyword could promote blogs and similar informational sections.

The original DSA campaign targeting “sinks” in the URL required a negative target for any pages containing “ideas and advice” in the URL. This tells Google not to direct traffic to those informational article pages in the product-based campaign. The goal is to ensure that informational queries only lead to the articles. It’s crucial for any DSA campaign to monitor the search query report for appropriate negative keywords.

Informational queries do not have buying intent, but the articles and guides should direct searchers to the next steps. Wayfair’s pages include links to other resources and product pages (for purchase). For example, a Wayfair article titled “What Is a Drop-In Sink?” describes the materials and links to product pages of stainless steel and porcelain sinks.

Furthermore, visitors landing on article pages are retargeting candidates. Having provided those visitors with helpful info, an advertiser can convert them to customers via retargeting ads. That’s why blog pages should include a newsletter signup call-to-action. Upload email lists to Google and then target those subscribers.

Wayfair’s article “What Is a Drop-In Sink?” links to product pages of stainless steel and porcelain sinks.

Thinking Ahead

Advertisers must find new strategies when search saturation occurs. One effective tactic is to target broader informational queries. Display and programmatic ads, while essential for brand growth, do not typically deliver strong initial returns. Combining informational DSA campaigns, landing page newsletter CTAs, and focused remarketing can drive additional revenue.

Google Ads Automated Rules for Better Management

Performance fluctuations in Google Ads occur for various reasons. The causes are often challenging to pinpoint, but automated rules can help.

Google Ads automated rules send notices or implement changes based on predetermined criteria. For example, an advertiser could set a rule to schedule a campaign or receive an email when a keyword has 75 clicks and zero conversions.

Automated rules are similar to scripts but more turn-key. Scripts are more dynamic and comprehensive than rules, such as alerting when an ad group doesn’t have a responsive search ad.

To set up an automated rule, navigate to the left navigation bar and click “Tools > Bulk Actions > Automated Rules.” Then set up rules for the account, campaigns, ad groups, keywords, and more.

Here are my four top automated rules.

Disapproved Ads or Keywords

A frequent reason for performance swings is Google’s disapproval. Disapproved entities at the ad or keyword level can produce drastic changes. Google’s notification option is in the top navigation bar, but it’s easy to miss. I’ve spent hours diagnosing a performance drop only to realize it was due to a disapproved ad. Setting separate rules to notify you when an ad or keyword is disapproved is easy and saves time.

The rules can apply at the account, campaign, or ad group levels. I prefer the account level to capture all campaigns. For ad rules, set the conditions to review disapproved status for all ads in active campaigns and ad groups. You can preview a rule before saving it.

Set the condition such as “Disapproved” status and then the action such as “Send email.”

The action is to send an email. Daily emails are suitable for disapprovals — I elect to receive them only for changes or errors. Thus I’ll receive an email only when an ad is newly disapproved.

Select the email frequency and the prompt, such as “Only if there are changes or errors.”

The process for keyword disapprovals is nearly identical. The only difference is selecting “disapproval” in the keyword status reason to get alerted. Keyword-level URLs may result in disapproved links.

Limited by Budget or Bid Strategy

Monitoring restrictions for multiple campaigns and bid strategies can be challenging. For example, a profitable campaign may hit its daily budget by noon each day, or a bid strategy with a too-high ROAS target could restrict traffic. A rule can identify such limitations.

The rule is set at the campaign level and requires setting a status condition. Google provides 20 potential statuses to check, but the first five tend to be enough in my experience.

Choosing the first five statuses is likely sufficient.

The associated actions are to change budgets or send an email notification. There is no action to adjust the bid strategy. I prefer receiving a notification rather than Google automatically changing budgets. I can then view the campaigns and bid strategies and decide the next steps. As with the disapproved rule, I run the restrictions rule daily and opt to receive an email only for an issue.

Threshold Rules

Threshold rules identify ineffective tactics at any account stage. For example, a threshold rule can review all campaigns with 200 clicks and no conversions over the last 60 days, or ads with ROAS lower than the goal and a conversion rate under 1%. The possibilities are endless and depend on how you gauge performance.

Here are a couple of scenarios.

Action: Pause Keywords when “Keyword status: Enabled,” “Keyword clicks > 100,” and “Keyword conversions < 1 using data from the last 60 days.”

Set a threshold rule by designating the target, the condition, and the action. Then select the action’s frequency and prompt.

Action: Send email when “Campaign status: Enabled,” “Campaign Search impression share < 20%” using data from yesterday.

This example applies the action to “selected accounts,” sets the conditions, and chooses the action. It then shows the action’s frequency and prompt.

Remember that a metric may naturally be lower on a weekend when running rules based on yesterday’s data. For example, a campaign may have an impression share of over 20% daily except for Sunday. Thus a 20% impression rule would generate an email on Monday.

No Activity

Ad groups sometimes stop showing impressions because an ad or keyword is disapproved. Yet occasionally ads and keywords have no impressions because a negative keyword blocks traffic or Google has declined payment methods.

The solution is to create a rule for the ad group when impressions were zero the day before. No impressions do not imply an error, especially with ad groups containing low-volume keywords, but the rule at least alerts you to check.

Setting the no-activity rule at the campaign level will only notify you if an entire campaign saw zero impressions instead of individual ad groups.

I sometimes set a trigger for less-than-normal impressions. For example, if an ad group typically sees at least 50 daily impressions, I might create a rule to alert me when impressions drop below that number.

Holiday Promotions in Google Text Ads

With the holidays approaching, advertisers are shoring up their Q4 promotional schedules. On Google Ads, those promotions will show across the company’s various properties. For example, advertisers can set up a promotion feed for Google Shopping to publicize items on sale.

Google Shopping ads from Best Buy and Target showing monitors on sale.

Similarly, display and video ads can showcase special offers, making it easy for shoppers to see the deals before clicking to the site.

It’s trickier to showcase promotions in text ads. Advertisers can submit up to 15 headlines and four description lines. Google will then decide which headlines and descriptions it shows. The headlines and descriptions for a specific promotion may or may not see many impressions.

Advertisers can pin a headline or description, ensuring the preferred text appears in every ad. However, Google tends to lower the ad score for those pins, which could result in fewer overall ad impressions. Plus, going through every ad to pin an asset is tedious.

Before responsive search ads, scheduling and showing text-ad promotions was easier.

Luckily, there is a little-known feature in Google Ads text versions that can better highlight promotions, helping advertisers this holiday season.

Campaign Headlines and Descriptions

The Google Ads interface has an “Assets” option in the left navigation under “Campaigns” at account and campaign levels. A plus sign marks the option to add a headline or description.

Add a “Headline” or “Description.”

Selecting “Headline” or “Description” produces a screen to add the asset. In the example below, I’ve inserted a headline (“Cyber Week Sale — Save 30%”) across my campaigns. Instead of updating 25 individual ads, the headline will appear in every ad and ad group in the campaign.

Select “Headline,” then insert the asset “Cyber Week Sale – Save 30%.”

I’ve specified that the headline should show across all ads, but it’s up to Google to determine when the asset will show. My next step is to pin the headline to show only in position one, two, or three. I tend to pin a promotion to show only in headline two or, alternatively, description line 1 if I compose that related copy. I prefer headline two so the searcher’s query can show in headline one. For example, a search for “men’s dress shoes” could show headlines 1 and 2 of:

Luxury Men’s Dress Shoes | Cyber Week Sale – Save 30%

Pinning assets may result in fewer impressions. But conversely, implementing campaign-level assets is a big time saver. Moreover, these promos typically run for a short time — during the holidays, I want fresh offers that stand out.

Scheduling Promotions

Campaign-level assets allow scheduling. Here’s an example of the two promotions between December 2 and 15.

Campaign-level assets allow scheduling, such as these two headlines.

Click the link titled “Advanced options” (below the asset) to schedule it.

Click “Advanced options” to schedule the asset.

Promotion Assets

Advertisers can set promotion assets (formerly “promotion extensions”) at the account, campaign, and ad group levels. Promotion assets allow an extra line of text for a monetary or percentage discount. The example below shows a Zappos promotion asset — “Summer sale: 10% off… .”

Zappos ad with a “Summer Sale: 10% off” promotion asset.

As with campaign-level headlines and descriptions, promotion assets can be scheduled. Google offers a menu of sale occasions, such as Black Friday and Christmas. Unlike pinned headlines and descriptions, promotion assets won’t always show. It’s up to Google when these extra assets appear.

Google’s Search Tie-ups Are Illegal, Judge Rules

A federal judge ruled on August 5 that Google’s search business violates U.S. antitrust law. In U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., Judge Admit Mehta’s opinion states, “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly.”

Though Google has stated that it will appeal, the ruling will have lasting implications.

Distribution Agreements

According to Judge Mehta, in 2020 nearly 90% of search queries went through Google. The decision focuses on Google’s distribution deals to reach users. The company pays billions to third-party providers — web browser software, mobile device manufacturers, wireless carriers — to be the default search engine. Apple alone received $20 billion in 2022 to make Google the default search engine on Safari.

For Google, more users means more data and more advertising revenue. According to the opinion, Google’s advertising revenue grew from $47 billion in 2014 to $146 billion in 2021.

The Ruling

In 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice filed two lawsuits against Google. One claimed that the distribution agreements violate the Sherman Antitrust Act, which prohibits activities restricting commerce and competition. The second asserted that Google Ad Manager restricted competition in advertising technology.

Judge Mehta, ruling in the first case, concluded that Google indeed violated the Sherman Antitrust Act, stating:

• General search services and search ads are distinct markets,
• Google has monopoly power in those markets,
• Google’s distribution agreements are exclusive and anticompetitive,
• Google has not offered valid procompetitive justifications for those agreements.

He also concluded that Google charges “supracompetitive” prices for general search text ads, which show its monopoly power.

Mehta announced no fines or sanctions pending Google’s appeal.

Advertisers

Little will change in the short term to impact advertising performance. Likely Google will cease pursuing new distribution deals. Even if the ruling is upheld, it’s unclear when and if those deals end. For example, the Apple deal is through 2026.

Nonetheless, advertisers should consider options beyond Google. Presumably more search providers will emerge, although Google will likely remain the most popular. (AI-powered search competitors have not lessened Google’s dominance, per SparkToro.)

Future legislation could force platforms such as Safari to give users a clearer option of their preferred search engine. We’ve seen this scenario with user privacy. Websites must be transparent about how they use and collect data and allow users to opt out of tracking.

This ruling could foretell similar lawsuits. The DOJ’s second case, against Google Ad Manager, goes to trial in September, and the Federal Trade Commission has charged Amazon and Meta with anticompetitive practices.

Google Ads Alters Design, Broad Match, Payments

Google has implemented three significant updates in the past couple of months. The changes impact all advertisers to varying degrees, so it’s essential to understand them and act accordingly.

New Interface

Every few years, Google Ads redesigns the admin interface to make it easier to use and integrate new features. The existing design will disappear on August 30. The most significant change is a single central menu.

Previously, the left-hand navigation was a long menu of options. It was easy to get lost. Users had to scroll to see all options despite having submenus. Plus, the top menu contained options for “Tools and settings,” which included conversion setup and performance features. The categorization was confusing.

The new menu has five high-level categories, each with multiple options:

• Campaigns,
• Goals,
• Tools,
• Billing,
• Admin.

For example, “Campaigns” is the hub for campaign setup, assets, keywords, and more.

In the new menu, “Campaigns” is the hub for campaign setup, assets, keywords, and more.

The new menu is cleaner and contains non-management items such as page appearance and notifications. It also includes a more prominent search bar for accessing all pages and campaigns in an account.

Broad Match Queries

Google has emphasized broad match in recent years as it relies on machine learning and AI to target users better. Through my own testing, I’ve found broad match typically produces more revenue, even if its efficiency lags behind phrase and exact match.

One concern with broad-match keywords is potential conflicts with brand keyword goals. For example, if Best Buy bids on the broad-match version of its name, a search for “flat screen tvs” could trigger a brand ad.

Remember that Google takes liberties with query matching. Bidding on a brand name doesn’t mean the query is that term. “Brand inclusions” instructs Google to show ads only when the brand is included. Thus a “Best Buy” brand ad will appear only if the query contains a variation of those two words. Brand inclusions is available for campaigns solely using broad match keywords.

“Brand inclusions” instructs Google to show ads only when the brand is included. Click image to enlarge.

Conversely, regardless of match type, brand exclusions is available across all campaigns. Best Buy can bid on “flat screen tvs” in a non-brand campaign and exclude ads from queries containing “Samsung,” for example. Best Buy could add “Samsung” as a negative keyword, but the brand exclusion covers all variations.

The other query update is for misspellings in negative keywords. Previously, negative keywords had to be exact. “Dinosaur” would apply only to the precise spelling of that word. But now, with the update, it could apply to:

• “Dionsaur,”
• “Dinnosaor,”
• “Denosaur.”

Review search query reports to see if misspellings are converting. If they are, consider adding the misspelled versions as negative keywords.

Payment Method Change

Google has changed its accepted payment methods. Henceforth, only direct bank payments are permissible. Advertisers can no longer pay with credit or debit cards. I’ve received conflicting notification emails for the effective date — either July 31 or August 31. Regardless, advertisers should update their payment method right away —to monthly invoicing or direct debit from bank accounts.

Eliminating credit cards saves Google from incurring processing fees. Yet the change hurts advertisers who will no longer receive credit card points and rewards or a much-needed cash flow buffer.

Google Ad Updates from Marketing Live 2024

Marketing Live is Google’s annual conference to announce new advertising features. This year’s event, on May 21, emphasized AI initiatives. Many changes — from Performance Max to Search — apply to ecommerce companies.

Google announced over 30 updates. In this post, I’ll review the 10 most impactful to merchants.

Ad Updates for Merchants

Ads in AI Overviews

AI Overviews is Google’s response to a query, displayed directly on search results. Google scrapes Overviews from external sites and then inserts limited links to those sources. Google Ads can show above or below Overviews and, soon, in them.

For example, the query “how should I clean my couch” produces an Overview with an ad for cleaning services below it.

The query “how should I clean my couch” produces an AI Overview with a related ad below it. Click image to enlarge.

Shopping ads in visual search

Shopping ads now appear at the top of visual search results. Consumers don’t search by text alone. They may see an item, take a picture, and then search on that image for options to purchase. Google Lens or Circle to Search provides this functionality.

3D images

A coming feature later this year in Shopping ads is 360-degree views. Merchants can provide Google with footwear images, and AI will repurpose them into three-dimensional spins, giving shoppers a more complete look. Likely the feature will roll out to more categories.

Profit optimization

Advertisers can soon optimize Performance Max and Standard Shopping campaigns for profit. The feature is not a new bid type; instead, it uses cart-level conversions and Merchant Center account data to highlight products with higher margins. Advertisers have long maximized profits manually by creating campaigns around specific products. This new feature will make it easier.

Shopping ads by customer type

Many ecommerce stores have separate marketing programs for customers versus prospects. Merchants can now include those promotions in Shopping ads and customize by user type. Google hasn’t explained how, but my guess is via Customer Match. Advertisers can upload customers’ info and show ads to that group. Everyone else is a prospect.

Brand standards

Advertisers can soon upload brand guidelines such as colors and fonts when creating Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns. Google’s AI would then create images that match the guidelines or produce variants to test. This feature ensures advertisers’ branding is consistent across sites and platforms.

Performance Max asset-level reporting

A common frustration with Performance Max campaigns is the lack of conversion data by asset. Advertisers can see conversion performance at the ad level but not individual assets. Hence Headline 1 could generate more sales than Headline 3, but an advertiser wouldn’t know it. Until now. Asset-level reporting will be invaluable.

YouTube transparency in Performance Max

Performance Max campaigns include YouTube video ads. Advertisers can set account-level YouTube exclusions but cannot view the performance of individual placements. That’s now changing. YouTube advertisers in Performance Max can soon see conversion data by placement and adjust budgets as needed.

Lower lookalike threshold

Google Ads demand generation campaigns resemble those on social media platforms such as Meta and LinkedIn. Such campaigns don’t often drive sales, but they do grow top-of-the-funnel audiences. The critical segment with the Demand Gen type is lookalikes. Advertisers upload a list of customer email addresses, and Google creates a lookalike segment to target, similar to Meta’s program.

The challenge has been Google Ads needs at least 1,000 contacts to create the segment. That’s not always attainable for smaller advertisers. But now, as announced at Marketing Live, Google requires only 100 contacts.

AI Essentials

Google Ads recommends optimization tactics in its interface. Many don’t make sense, although they inform Google’s priorities, which include growing advertising revenue. In the example below, Google recommends driving more traffic by updating responsive search ads and customer match lists. But more traffic isn’t always advertisers’ primary goal, although it does produce more revenue for Google.

The “AI Essentials” portion of the recommendations is new. It states where and how advertisers should use Google’s AI. But be wary. Carefully weigh each recommendation.

The new “AI Essentials” recommendations states where and how advertisers should use Google’s AI. Click image to enlarge.