Google Ads Introduces Two Tools to Help Improve Responsive Ad Performance

One of the challenges of online advertising is creating content that works in a variety of situations. Online ads work best with they can be formatted to run in a variety of ad spaces. Similarly, having ad text that can be changed on the fly to better fit a situation can lead to higher clicks and conversions. One way to accomplish these goals is to use responsive ads. Last week, Google Ads introduced two new tools that will make it easier for advertisers to create effective responsive ads.

Responsive ads work by allowing Google Ads to mix and match different headlines and text elements to create a version of your ad that’s tailored for a certain situation. Google Ads automatically tests the different combinations, and it learns which combinations perform best. Responsive ads can significantly improve the performance of an ad campaign. According to Google, “Trovit used responsive search ads to drive 44 percent more incremental site traffic, which resulted in 43 percent more conversions.” 

Last week, Google announced that these responsive ads are now available to all advertisers in all languages. The expansion of Google Ads to other languages is great news for advertisers who are targeting audiences that don’t speak English. To make the news more exciting for advertisers who already had access to responsive ads, Google rolled out two new tools that will make it easier to create achieve the results you want with from an ad campaign. 

When you use responsive ads, some of the elements you created will be more popular than others. Google uses algorithms and machine learning to figure out which is the best, and use those assets more frequently. Google has added a Performance column for responsive ads that identify “which of your creative assets are driving results in high volume ad groups.” 

Now that advertisers can see how each asset is rated, they can adjust the campaign more effectively. By removing “Low” rated assets with new ad copy gives your ad campaign more opportunity to improve its performance over time. Assets that are rated “Good” should remain in the ad set. And by looking at the “Best” performing assets, marketers can decide what kind of content your audience finds most compelling, and marketers can use that data to make better ads in the future.

The other change is a tool that lets advertisers see how their ads will look. Ad variations tool from Google Ads has been updated to support responsive search ads. This tool lets marketers run ad copy tests and see how the different variations of an ad look and perform.

Besides these two new tools, advertisers need to make the best use of the other tools that Google Ads provides. For example, don’t ignore the Ad Strength indicator. Fixing the issues they point out can lead to significant improvement in ad performance. According to a study cited by Google, “Advertisers who improve Ad strength for their responsive search ads from ‘Poor’ to ‘Excellent’ see 6% more clicks on average.”

Advertisers should make good use of these tools this holiday season. Using responsive search ads can ensure your ad shows up at the right place and time to gain a conversion. 

For more recent news from Google Ads, read this article on new tools for in-store retailers who use Google Ads..