Responsive Search Ads

Responsive Search Ads

28 July 2022 |

SEM and SEO

Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) have become more critical than ever for advertisers to master, with Google recently sunsetting Expanded Text Ads.

Responsive Search Ads use Google’s machine learning to automatically mix up to 15 headlines and four descriptions to determine which combinations drive the best results.

What makes a good search Ad?

Your headlines are arguably the most crucial element of your ads, and you need to ensure an even combination of headlines that:

  1. Match the users’ search intent (shows the user why this ad is relevant)
  2. Include consumer benefits or unique selling points (shows the searcher what they will get)
  3. Calls to action (tells the user what they should do)

Machine learning isn’t great at figuring out sentence syntax (just yet anyway), and it can take a long time to figure out which headlines to use in what order, leading to poorer results while it tries to figure it all out. Human intelligence with a well-thought-out strategy for your RSAs works very effectively alongside machine learning to help it learn quicker by feeding it with the best headline combination as a starting point.

Advertisers should always try to use the total 15 available headline allocations to feed the algorithm with as many combinations as possible. However, it’s critical to give Google a consistent amount of each type of headline (match user intent, consumer benefits, call to action) to get the best results in the shortest time. Get this balance wrong, and your results will suffer.

AB Testing

This is where human intelligence comes into play once more; once the ad is set up, an excellent option for A/B testing is to create an exact copy of your RSA but pin the headlines that match search intent into position one and pin the call to action headlines in position two.  Pinning your headlines in this order matches regular sentence syntax and what we know from countless hours of testing to get the best results.

If you want to know more about how your business can utilize Responsive Search Ads (RSAs), reach out to an ADMATICian to learn more about the opportunities for your upcoming campaigns.