Responsive Search Ads in Google Ads - Best Practices & Tips

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If you use Google Ads, you've probably already seen the announcement in your account: Starting June 30, 2022, Responsive Search Ads will be the only ad type that can be created and edited in standard search campaigns. Existing expanded text ads will continue to be delivered but can no longer be edited. New expanded text ads will not be possible from that point.

If you're unsure how to best prepare for this transition and what to consider when creating Responsive Search Ads, keep reading. In this article, we summarize all the basics and give you our best practice tips from years of Google Ads experience.

Text Ads in Google Search Ads

There are these different types of text ads:

• Expanded Text Ads (ETA)

• Responsive Search Ads (RSA)

• Dynamic Search Ads

• Call Ads

In this article, we focus on expanded text ads and especially on Responsive Search Ads.

The expanded text ads were introduced by Google in 2016, in addition to the regular text ads. ETAs allow for 3 ad headlines and 2 descriptions.

The Responsive Search Ads were introduced by Google two years later, in 2018. The main difference: In this automatic ad format, the assets appear in any order. You can create up to 15 ad headlines and 4 descriptions for this purpose. Google plays different combinations to find the best possible one. This allows up to 40,000 combinations.

From experience, we can assess the pros and cons of Responsive Search Ads very well. Although you are forced to deal with RSAs at the latest by the end of June if you want to create new text ads, knowing the positive and negative aspects is still helpful.

Advantages of Responsive Search Ads:

• More flexibility

• More space for ad text

• Higher visibility

• Much more testing possibilities due to a larger number of titles and descriptions

• Thus, fewer ad versions are necessary

Disadvantages of Responsive Search Ads:

• Limited testing possible (Pin function, see below)

• Less control as Google manages the delivery

• Not ideal for very granular campaign structures

In our best practice tips, we reveal how to get the most out of Responsive Search Ads.

Best Practice: Creating Responsive Search Ads

Do you edit your ads in the Google Ads interface? We recommend using the Google Ads Editor for ad creation and editing. With this tool, you can work efficiently by, for example, copying keywords and ads or using the search and replace function. It saves you a lot of manual work. Another advantage is offline editing of campaigns and ads.

In the Google Ads interface, you will find the Responsive Search Ads in the menu under ads and extensions. Click on Ads and Responsive Search Ad.

By the way: In the Google Ads interface, expanded text ads can still be created until the end of June 2022, but the function is somewhat hidden: When you select Responsive Search Ad, you can alternatively create an expanded text ad.

For Responsive Search Ads, you enter up to 15 ad headlines and up to 4 descriptions. You can preview how your ad would be displayed on desktop and mobile.

An important function to test and retain some control is the Pin function: It allows you to specify that certain ad headlines and descriptions are only displayed in specific positions. For example, you could enforce that your brand is always displayed in position 1 or that a certain promoted action always appears in the ad.

Best Practice for Responsive Search Ads

Now it's time for practical implementation: how do you get the best performance from your Responsive Search Ads? How do you create the best conditions for testing and optimizing?

Use all possible lines and characters

Up to 30 characters in the ad headline and up to 90 characters in the description are possible. Don't waste any characters!

Create concise headlines

The more distinctive and concise your headlines are, the more attention you draw to the ad and the more you motivate users to click.

Test different RSAs against each other

Do pinned titles and descriptions perform better or non-pinned? Which pinned assets perform best?

Pin important content

Use the Pin function to pin important titles & descriptions so that they are always displayed.

Avoid repetitions and redundant content

Your ad titles and descriptions should differ. Keep in mind that these need to be displayed and work in various combinations.

Examples

If you feel the last tip was too theoretical, take a look at our examples:

Good Headlines/Titles

• Internetwarriors

• Your Online Marketing Agency

• Many Satisfied Customers

• Successful Online Marketing

• Transparency through Reporting

• Measurable Marketing Success

• 20 Years of Internetwarriors

• Personal Contacts

• Internetwarriors Marketing

Each title has a different message, all headlines work in combination.

Wrong Headlines/Titles

• internetwarriors

• Internetwarriors GmbH

• Internetwarriors Agency

• Order Online Now

• Order Now

• Order Online

The created titles are too similar to each other, leading to redundancies in the ads' combinations.

If you wonder how to create so many different headlines, here's a suggestion on which information makes sense in the title:

• Brand Names

• Product or Service

• Relevant Keywords from Ad Groups

• Offered Benefits, USPs

• Call to Action

Good Descriptions

• Your economic success is our priority. We look forward to your inquiry!

• We find the right blend, since 2001 & for many satisfied customers. Secure offer now.

• Your 360° Online Marketing Agency in Berlin - Individual support for your success.

As an experienced agency, we support you in all areas of online marketing.

The examples above stand out because the text is unique and can be combined individually without creating duplications. All combinations make sense.

Wrong Descriptions

• We find the right mix, since 2001 & for many satisfied customers. Secure offer now.

• Always the right mix since 2001 & for many satisfied customers. Request offer now.

• Internetwarriors always the right ingredient for your success. Get an offer now.

Unlike the best practice example above, the texts here barely differ. The call to action repeats. The combination results in redundancies when the descriptions are played together.

We find the right mix, since 2001 & for many satisfied customers. Secure offer now.

Always the right mix since 2001 & for many satisfied customers. Offer now

Unlike the best practice example above, the texts here barely differ. The call to action repeats. The combination results in redundancies when the descriptions are played together.

Use content from your existing ETAs as a template

Save work and use your ETA ad content for your new Responsive Search Ads. Ideally, you have identified beforehand which titles and descriptions perform best.

For example, with 3 ETAs per ad group.

Create 9 completely different headlines and use different descriptions. For instance:

• Headline 1 = Reference to Ad Group Keywords

• Headline 2 = USP of the Product

• Headline 3 = Call to Action

Remember that the two descriptions should match.

Then build RSAs from these ETAs and save yourself the effort. To save even more time, you can work with Excel or use scripts that automatically create RSAs from existing expanded text ads.

If you want to retain more control, you have the option to pin the headlines according to their position (Headline 1 at Position 1, Headline 2 at Position 2, etc.) and test how they perform. But also test the variant without pinned headlines and descriptions.

Best Practice: Evaluating the RSA

In the Google Ads interface, you receive ideas and suggestions from Google and can check assets for performance and potential.

Under the section Ad Effectiveness, you can click on “Show ideas” and, for instance, see suggestions for new keywords, more specific ad headlines, or description adjustments. Review these ideas and test the suggestions that make sense and are relevant.

If you want to check your assets, you'll find the link “View asset details” under each of your created ads in the “Ads” menu.

You can see which were pinned, whether performance is good or bad (the status "learning" means that there haven't been enough impressions to evaluate this asset - specifically about 5,000 impressions in 30 days).

Check which assets were played how often, which perform best, and whether pinned or unpinned were more successful.

You also have the option to look at the combinations: How often is each combination played? Are you satisfied with the most played combination, or is there a need for action?

What You Absolutely Must Do Now

The most important thing: Test, test, test!

As long as you still have the opportunity, you should create different Expanded Text Ads and test them against each other. Test, for example, which titles, descriptions, CTAs, or USPs are clicked the most and lead to the most conversions.

Use these insights to create optimal Expanded Text Ads before the transition that continues to run. It is not yet foreseeable that Google will completely disable ETAs, so it is worth creating more ads here and optimizing existing ones. Not least, to gain insights for Responsive Search Ads with their limited testing possibilities.

And finally: Start using Responsive Search Ads! Get familiar with the format, test, and optimize. The earlier you prepare for the transition, the more relaxed you can approach June 30!

Prepared for the Transition to Responsive Search Ads

Do you want to anticipate June 30 calmly, but lack the knowledge or resources to prepare your Google Ads account for the transition? We optimize your Google Ads account, determine your most powerful expanded text ads, and create or optimize your Responsive Ads. With our experienced SEA team, you are well prepared for the summer and Responsive Search Ads. We get the most out of your Google Ads account.

Inquire with us without obligation!

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