how to create google dynamic search ads (BFI)

Google Dynamic Search Ads: The Ultimate Guide (2024)

Ayub Ali
January 1, 2024
Google Adwords
About 18 Min Read

Hey there, curious minds! Welcome to our blog, where we’re diving headfirst into the fascinating world of Google Dynamic Search Ads. If you’re ready to unlock the secrets of this powerful advertising tool, you’re in the right place!

In this ultimate guide, we’ll be your trusty tour guides, unraveling the mysteries and sharing all the nitty-gritty of Dynamic Search Ads (or DSAs, as the cool kids call them).

From how they work their magic to the pros and cons of using them, we’ll leave no stone unturned. We’ll tell you the requirements and walk you through the steps on how to create a product page feed using CTX feed for dynamic search ads so that you can make the most out of your DSA campaigns.

So buckle up, get comfy, and let’s embark on this thrilling adventure together. Get ready to take your online advertising to the next level with Google Dynamic Search Ads! Let’s dive in!

What are Google Dynamic Search Ads?

Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs) are a type of Google Ads campaign that automatically generates ads based on the content of your website.

This means that you don’t have to create individual ads for each keyword or product.

DSAs work by crawling your website and extracting relevant keywords and phrases.

Google then uses this information to create ad headlines, descriptions, and final URLs that are tailored to the search terms or keywords.

To simplify, with Dynamic Search Ads, instead of selecting specific keywords for your ads, Google’s system scans your website and dynamically generates headlines and landing pages based on the search terms entered by users.

This allows your ads to automatically match with relevant searches and display relevant content from your website.

Dynamic Search Ads can be a useful tool for you especially if you own large websites or frequently-changing inventory.

They can save time by automatically generating relevant ads and can help capture additional traffic by targeting a broader range of search queries.

It’s worth noting that while Dynamic Search Ads automate the process to some extent, it’s still important to monitor and optimize your campaigns to ensure they align with your advertising goals and deliver the desired results.

What are the Requirements for Using DSAs

There are some requirements you should maintain to use the Dynamic search ads feature. Below are the most important ones:

Active website: To use Dynamic search ads, you need to have a live website with relevant content. It’s like the home base for your ads. Dynamic search ads analyze your website to understand what it’s about and match it with user searches and intentions. However, it is crucial to note that, you must have a website with at least 20 pages of content.

Google Ads, Google Search Console, and Campaign: You must have a Google Ads account and campaign set up. Also, your website must have a Google Search Console account. This is because Google uses your Search Console account to verify your website and to track the performance of your DSA campaign.

Website indexing: Make sure Google indexes your website. This means that Google has scanned and stored information about your web pages. If your site isn’t indexed, DSAs won’t be able to work their magic.

Well-structured website: It’s essential to have a well-organized website with clear sections and pages. Dynamic search ads rely on the structure of your site to determine which pages to send users to when they click on your ads. So, having a logical layout and user-friendly navigation is important.

Relevant landing pages: Each page on your website should have unique and specific content related to different aspects of your business. It’s because dynamic search ads use these landing pages to match user searches and create customized ads. So, make sure your landing pages are relevant and provide valuable information to visitors.

Adequate content coverage: Dynamic search ads work best when your website has a wide range of content covering different topics related to your business. The more content you have, the more keywords and search queries Dynamic search ads can match with. This helps to ensure that your ads reach a broader audience.

Mobile-Friendly Website: Your website must be mobile-friendly. This is because more and more people are using their phones to search for products and services.

Google Ads Policy: Your website must be compliant with Google’s Advertising Policies. This means that your website cannot contain any spam, misleading content, or illegal content.

Clear call-to-action: Having a clear call-to-action on your landing pages is crucial. This is a specific instruction or prompt that tells visitors what you want them to do, like “Buy Now,” “Sign Up,” or “Contact Us.” Dynamic search ads can use the call-to-action buttons to create compelling ad headlines that encourage users to take action.

Monitoring and optimization: Like any ad campaign, DSAs require monitoring and optimization to ensure they are performing well. Keep an eye on the performance of your Dynamic search ads, regularly review the search terms triggering your ads, and make adjustments as needed. This helps to refine your targeting and improve the effectiveness of your ads.

How Do Dynamic Search Ads Work?

Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs) are a type of ad campaign that works in a cool and smart way.

Instead of manually creating ads for specific keywords, DSAs do all the hard work for you.

They look at your website and figure out what it’s all about. Then, when someone searches for something related to your website, DSAs create an ad that matches their search and sends them to the right page on your website.

Here’s how it works:

DSAs analyze the content on your website and find the best keywords to use in your ads.

So, when someone searches for something on Google, DSAs quickly generate a catchy headline and a clickable link that takes them to the most relevant page on your website.

It’s like having a super-smart assistant who knows exactly what people are looking for and guides them straight to your business.

One cool thing about DSAs is that they’re always up to date. You don’t need to constantly update your ads or come up with new ones when you add new stuff to your website.

DSAs automatically keep track of changes on your site and adjust the ads accordingly. So you can save time and focus on other important things.

But hey, we know you don’t want just any random person clicking on your ads. That’s where Negative Dynamic Ad Targets come into play.

These are like filters that you can set up to tell DSAs which searches you don’t want your ads to show up for.

You can specify keywords that are not relevant to your business, so your ads won’t bother people who aren’t interested. It helps you target the right audience and get more bang for your buck.

In a nutshell, DSAs are super handy because they automatically create ads that match what people are searching for. They save you time, make sure your ads are up to date, and bring more relevant traffic to your website.

And with Negative Dynamic Ad Targets, you can fine-tune your targeting and make sure your ads only appear to the people who are most likely to be interested in what you have to offer. It’s like having a smart and efficient ad campaign manager working for you 24/7.

Why Should You Use Dynamic Search Ads: The Benefits

Time-Saving

Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs) can save WooCommerce store owners like you a significant amount of time by automating the creation and management of search ads. Here are some of the ways that DSAs can save time:

No need to create keywords: DSAs use your product feed to generate ads, so you don’t need to spend time manually creating keywords. This can save you a lot of time, especially if you have a large product catalog.

No need to write ad copy: DSAs also generate the ad copy for you, using the product titles, descriptions, and other information from your product feed. This can save you even more time, as you don’t need to worry about coming up with creative ad copy.

No need to monitor performance: DSAs automatically track the performance of your ads and make adjustments as needed. This means that you don’t need to spend time manually monitoring your ads.

So, DSAs can save you a significant amount of time by automating the creation, management, and monitoring of search ads. This frees up time that can be spent on other tasks, such as product development, marketing, and customer service.

Constant Update to Ads

Apart from saving your valuable time in a variety of ways, dynamic search ads can help you with the constant update of your ads.

Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs) help by constantly updating your ads in a few ways:

New products and content: DSAs continuously monitor the content of a WooCommerce store’s website.

Whenever new products, services, or information are added or modified, DSAs automatically update the corresponding ads to reflect those changes.

This ensures that the ads are always aligned with the most up-to-date offerings of the store.

Seasonal changes: DSAs can also help you update your ads for seasonal changes. For example, if you sell Christmas ornaments, your DSAs will automatically generate new ads for Christmas-related keywords during the holiday season.

This lets you stay responsive to market demand and capitalize on seasonal opportunities.

Changes in search behavior: As search behavior changes, DSAs can help you update your ads to reflect those changes. For example, if people are starting to search for your products using different keywords, DSAs will automatically generate new ads for those keywords.

Optimized performance: DSAs use machine learning algorithms to optimize ad performance over time. As the system gathers more data about user interactions and conversions, it can identify patterns and make adjustments to improve the effectiveness of the ads.

This optimization process includes updating ad targeting, bidding strategies, and ad content, leading to better overall performance and efficiency.

This constant updating of ads can help you improve your ad performance in the following ways:

Increased relevance: By showing relevant ads to people who are searching for your products, you can increase your click-through rate (CTR).
Improved conversion rate: By showing relevant ads to people who are already interested in your products, you can improve your conversion rate.
Lower cost per click: By showing relevant ads to people who are more likely to convert, you can lower your cost per click (CPC).

Constant updates to ads through DSAs ensure that the advertising campaigns remain relevant, timely, and reflective of the evolving nature of a WooCommerce store.

By automatically adapting to changes in products, promotions, seasons, and search queries, DSAs help maximize the effectiveness of the ads and drive better results for you.

Complement to the Existing Search Campaigns

Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs) can complement existing search ads in the following ways:

Expanding keyword coverage: While traditional search ads rely on manually selected keywords, DSAs can provide additional keyword coverage.

DSAs use Google’s organic web crawling technology to identify relevant search queries based on the content of a WooCommerce store’s website.

This helps capture additional traffic and potential customers who might use different or long-tail search queries that were not included in the existing keyword list.

Filling keyword gaps: Keyword research can be time-consuming and challenging, especially when managing a large inventory of products or services in a WooCommerce store.

DSAs can help fill keyword gaps by automatically generating ads based on the content of the website. This ensures that ads are shown for relevant search queries, even if specific keywords were not initially included in the campaign.

Providing ad variation: DSAs create dynamic headlines based on the user’s search query and the content of the landing page. This provides ad variation and allows for more personalized messaging tailored to the specific search intent of the user.

By complementing existing search ads with dynamic headlines, DSAs enhance the overall ad portfolio and increase the chances of capturing the attention of potential customers.

Streamlining ad creation: Traditional search ads require manual creation and optimization of multiple ads for different keywords and ad groups.

DSAs automate the ad creation process by dynamically generating headlines and landing pages based on the content of the WooCommerce store’s website.

This saves time and effort for store owners and marketers, allowing them to focus on other strategic aspects of their advertising campaigns.

A/B testing and optimization: By running DSAs alongside traditional search ads, store owners can perform A/B testing to compare the performance of the two types of ads.

This allows for data-driven decision-making to determine which type of ads, or a combination thereof, deliver the best results. The insights gained from this testing can be used to optimize the overall advertising strategy.

By integrating DSAs into existing search ad campaigns, WooCommerce store owners can enhance keyword coverage, increase ad variation, streamline ad creation, and leverage the benefits of automation and optimization.

This combination allows for a more comprehensive and effective advertising approach, maximizing the reach and impact of the campaigns.

Negative Dynamic Ad Targets

Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs) help in Negative Dynamic Ad Targets (NDAs) by providing a way to exclude specific pages from your DSA campaign.

This can be helpful for a variety of reasons, such as:

Preventing your ads from showing for irrelevant searches: If you have a page on your website that doesn’t match the keywords that your target audience is searching for, you can exclude that page from your DSA campaign using an NDA. This will prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant searches, which can improve your click-through rate (CTR) and conversion rate.

Protecting your brand: If you have a page on your website that contains sensitive information, such as a price list or a contact form, you can exclude that page from your DSA campaign using an NDA. This will help to protect your brand by preventing your ads from showing for searches that could be used to exploit your customers.

Improving your ad relevance: When you exclude irrelevant pages from your DSA campaign, you’re essentially telling Google that those pages are not relevant to your target audience. This can help to improve the relevance of your ads, which can lead to more clicks and conversions.

However, to get the best results, you need to create practical negative dynamic ads. Below are some tips for creating effective NDAs:

Be specific: When you’re excluding pages from your DSA campaign, it’s important to be as specific as possible. For example, instead of excluding the entire domain of your website, you could exclude specific pages or even specific parts of pages.

Use negative keywords: You can also use negative keywords to exclude pages from your DSA campaign. For example, if you have a page on your website that sells shoes, you could exclude the negative keyword “free” to prevent your ads from showing for searches like “free shoes.”

Monitor your results: Once you’ve created some NDAs, it’s important to monitor your results to see if they have the desired effect. If you’re not seeing any improvement in your CTR and conversion rate, you may need to adjust your NDAs.

In short, we can safely say that you should leverage the Dynamic search ads for the following reasons:

Reach a wider audience of potential customers.
Save time and effort, as you don’t have to create individual ads for each keyword or product.
Improve your click-through rate (CTR), as the ads are more relevant to the search terms that people are using.

How to Create a Product Page Feed for Google Dynamic Search Ads?

If you have a WooCommerce store and you want to create a product page feed for dynamic search ads.

Below are the requirements you should have to create a product page feed for Google Dynamic search ads:

A WordPress store powered by WooCommerce
CTX Feed (Free/Pro)

Step 1: Install CTX Feed

Assuming that you already have a WordPress store with WooCommerce configured, the next thing you need to do is to install the CTX Feed plugin.

CTX Feed has both free and pro versions. You can get any from the official page.

Step 2: Make the Google Dynamic Search Ads with Readymade Template

It doesn’t matter whether you have installed the free or pro version, you’ll have 100+ readymade product feed templates to create feeds for marketing channels and shopping platforms.

However, the pro version offers advanced features like category mapping, attribute mapping, dynamic attributes, filters, advanced filters, multicurrency, etc.

Here is a CTX Feed Free vs. Pro comparison chart.

However, once you’ve installed the right version for your site, go to CTX Feed > Make Feed from your WordPress dashboard.

start making feed with ctx feed first step

Content Settings

Once you click on the “Make Feed” option, you’ll be now redirected to a page that starts with content settings. Here you have to configure the following:

Country: Though it’s automatically chosen based on your store’s location, you can change it if required.

Template: Choose the “Google Dynamic Search Ads” templates from the list of templates.

File Name: Give your Google Dynamic Search Search feed a name. However, make sure that a file name is not repeated.

File Type: Choose “CSV” from the file type.

Include Variations: Choose from any of the following variations depending on your requirements:

All Variations
Default Variation
Cheapest Variation
First Variation
Last Variation
Variable + Variations

Delimiter: Choose a delimiter from the following options:

Comma
Colon
Space
Pipe
Semi Colon
TAB

However, just choosing a comma is fine to go ahead.

Enclosure: You can either choose a single-inverted enclosure or double-inverted enclosure or none of these.

Feed Config

Below the Content Settings, there is a Feed Config tab. For the Google Dynamic Search Ads Page feed creation, you’ll require two attributes: page URL and custom level, which are set on the automatic template.

You can add or delete new attributes if required by using the respective buttons. You can also change types, add prefixes, suffixes, and more depending on your requirements.

Filter

From the filter tab, which is next to the Feed Config tab, you can do the following:

Remove/keep backorder products.
Remove/keep out-of-stock products.
Include/exclude hidden products.
Remove/keep empty description products.
Remove/keep empty image products.
Remove/keep empty price products.
Filter products based on product status
Filter products based on product IDs
Include or exclude products based on categories
Filter products based on the shipping country
Build the campaign URL
Replace the string and more.

Pro users can also make the best use of attribute mapping, category mapping, dynamic attributes, and more.

Advanced Filters

This is another Pro feature that lets you create filters based on your preferred condition. It is here to give you the ultimate freedom to configure your product feed to your heart’s content.

Update and Generate Feed

Once you’re done with the content settings, feed config, filter, and advanced filter settings, you can now complete the feed generation process by clicking on the “Update and Generate Feed” button at the end of the page.

Step 3: Manage the Feed

Once you’re done with making the feed, you have to wait a few seconds or minutes depending on your inventory size to create a dynamic search ads product feed and you’ll be redirected to the Manage Feeds page.

On the Manage Feed page, you’ll find the feed file you’ve made. You can change the auto-update time, enable or disable auto-update, regenerate the feed, download the feed, and more by clicking on the respective buttons.

That’s all. You’re now ready to use the Google Dynamic Search Ads product feed for your website.

Pros and Cons of Dynamic Search Ads

Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) have both advantages and disadvantages. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons:

Starting with the Pros first:

Pros of Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs)

Easy-peasy: Dynamic search ads make it super simple to reach potential customers without the hassle of creating and managing individual ad campaigns.

Time-saver: You don’t need to spend hours crafting specific keywords or ad copy. Dynamic search ads automatically generate ads based on your website content.

No keyword stress: Forget about the stress of selecting the perfect keywords. Dynamic search ads dynamically match user searches with relevant content on your website.

Wide coverage: Dynamic search ads help you cover a broader range of search queries, ensuring your ads show up for various search terms related to your products or services.

Stay updated: As your website evolves, dynamic search ads keep up with the changes. They automatically adjust and display relevant ads based on your updated content.

Fill the gaps: Dynamic search ads fill in the gaps where traditional keyword-based campaigns may miss out. They capture long-tail keywords and specific search queries that you might not have thought of.

Smart bidding: You can use Smart Bidding with DSAs to automatically set your bids and optimize your campaigns for conversions.

Budget-friendly: Worried about overspending? Dynamic search ads allow you to set a specific budget, ensuring you have better control over your ad spend.

More traffic: DSAs can help you reach people who are searching for products or services that you offer, even if they’re not using your exact keywords.

Real-time relevance: With dynamic search ads, your ads are always relevant to the user’s search because they dynamically pull content from your website in real-time.

Negative keywords: You can use negative keywords to prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant search terms.

Improved ad performance: By automatically matching ads to relevant content, dynamic search ads often deliver higher click-through rates and improved overall ad performance.

Quick setup: Setting up dynamic search ads is a breeze. With just a few clicks, you can get your campaign up and running even if you’re not a PPC expert, saving you time and effort.

Automated reporting: DSAs provide automated reporting so you can track your results and make necessary adjustments.

Remember, these are just some of the benefits of dynamic search ads, but it’s essential to consider your specific business needs and goals before deciding on any advertising approach.

Let’s now talk about the main cons of using Google Dynamic Search Ads:

Cons of Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs)

Below are some of the disadvantages of depending on Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs) for your business:

Loss of control: With dynamic search ads, you have less control over the exact keywords and ad copy that appear, which can be frustrating if you prefer a hands-on approach.

Branding challenges: Dynamic search ads may not always reflect your brand identity accurately, as they generate ads based on website content rather than a specifically crafted brand message.

Missed targeting opportunities: Since dynamic search ads rely on website content, they might not capture specific targeting criteria, such as location or demographics, which could result in wasted ad spend.

Limited landing page control: You may have less control over the landing pages that users are directed to with dynamic search ads, potentially leading to a suboptimal user experience.

Ad relevance issues: Despite their dynamic nature, these ads can sometimes display irrelevant content if your website includes pages that are not directly related to your core products or services.

Can be spammy: If you’re not careful, your dynamic search ad campaigns can end up looking spammy or irrelevant.

Not suitable for all businesses: DSAs aren’t suitable for all businesses, especially those with small or poorly-structured websites.

Mismatched headlines: Sometimes, the headlines that DSAs generate don’t match the ad copy or the landing page, which can lead to a poor user experience.

Reduced ad customization: Dynamic search ads offer limited customization options, which means you might not be able to tailor your messaging as effectively as with traditional ad campaigns.

Requires ongoing maintenance: Dynamic search ad campaigns require ongoing maintenance to ensure that they’re performing well and not wasting your budget.

Conversion tracking complexities: Tracking conversions accurately with dynamic search ads can be more challenging, as the ads are dynamically generated based on different website pages.

Lower conversion rates: Due to their less-targeted nature, dynamic search ads might have lower conversion rates compared to traditional keyword-based campaigns, impacting your overall return on investment.

Not a silver bullet: DSAs aren’t a silver bullet for increasing your website traffic or conversions. They’re just one tool in your PPC toolbox, and you need to use them in conjunction with other strategies to get the best results.

It’s important to carefully consider these pros and cons and assess how well Dynamic Search Ads align with your specific advertising objectives and strategies. It may be beneficial to test DSAs alongside other campaign types to determine the optimal approach for your business.

Final Thoughts

Well, my fellow dynamic ad explorers, we’ve reached the end of our ultimate guide to Google Dynamic Search Ads. We hope you’ve enjoyed this wild ride and gained some valuable insights along the way.

Remember, Dynamic Search Ads can be a game-changer for your online advertising strategy. They offer a unique and dynamic approach to reaching your target audience, saving you time and effort while maximizing your ad reach.

Whether you’re a small business looking to expand your online presence or a seasoned advertiser seeking new tactics, Dynamic Search Ads has got your back. Embrace the power of automation, real-time relevance, and broader coverage to propel your business forward.

So go ahead, give Dynamic Search Ads a spin, experiment, and see the magic unfold. Stay curious, stay creative, and never stop exploring the endless possibilities of Google’s advertising tools.

Thank you for joining us on this thrilling journey, and remember, the world of Dynamic Search Ads is yours to conquer. Until next time, happy advertising!

Google Dynamic Search Ads: The Ultimate Guide (2024)

What are Google Dynamic Search Ads?

What are the Requirements for Using DSAs

How Do Dynamic Search Ads Work?