Responsive search ads let Google Ads combine up to fifteen headlines and four descriptions into ads of up to three headlines and two descriptions. Write each part to stand alone, and test one beside your existing ads.

An ad written in parts

Google Ads is testing a new kind of search ad. Instead of writing an ad, you write its parts: up to fifteen headlines and up to four descriptions.

Google builds each ad from that pool, three headlines and two descriptions at most, and varies the mix from one search to the next.

Over time it favours the combinations that perform best. The format is called a responsive search ad, and it is still in beta, so not every account has it yet.

How it differs from an expanded text ad

An expanded text ad, the standard format, is written whole and always appears in the order you wrote it.

Since late August it can carry three headlines and two descriptions, though the third headline and the second description do not always show.

A responsive ad gives up that order. Any headline can appear first, beside any other, and the line you wrote as the punchline may arrive on its own.

In return, one ad can test many combinations at once, and can show a longer version wherever the space allows.

What changes for the advertiser

The first is the one that catches people out. Every advertiser writes ads as sentences that flow, and this format breaks the flow by design.

Headlines that work in any order

Every headline must work alone, and next to any of the others. Read every pair aloud, in both orders, and the problems show themselves.

Sequences break first. "Call Today" followed by "For a Free Quote" reads well; shown alone, the second is half a sentence.

Duplicates waste space. "Since 1998" and "20 Years in Business" can appear side by side, saying the same thing twice in the only lines people read.

Contradictions do damage. Two different offers, or a seasonal line beside a year-round one, can appear together and promise something the business never meant.

Writing the set

Start with what must be true in any version: what you do, where, and one reason to choose you, each written several ways rather than fifteen variations on one idea.

Include headlines that use the words people search with, one that names the business, and one plain call to action that works with nothing before it.

Each extra headline gives Google more combinations to try, but only if it is genuinely different; ten near-copies give the system nothing to test.

Write the four descriptions the same way, each complete on its own.

Pinning, and what it costs

Pinning locks a chosen headline or description into one slot. A headline pinned to position one always appears first.

It is useful for something that must always show, such as the service itself, or wording a regulator expects in every ad.

Every pin reduces the combinations Google can try, though, and pinning one headline to each position turns the ad back into an ordinary text ad with extra steps.

If something must lead, pin two or three alternatives to that position rather than one, so there is still something to test.

A worked example

A parking lot line painting company works for strip mall owners, schools and churches, mostly between April and October, with ads for restriping and for new layouts.

The owner built a responsive ad for restriping by splitting the existing text ads into lines, and the first draft read well only in the original order.

"Book Before the Rain" depended on a description that might not show. "Call for a Free Quote" and "Free Quotes, Call Today" appeared side by side. "Plus Free Stencilling" made no sense in first place.

The rewrite kept ten headlines that each stood alone: the service, the cities served, night and weekend work, a call to action and the business name. The service headline and one alternative wording were pinned to the first position.

It now runs beside the two existing text ads, and in a month the three will be compared on calls and quote requests, not clicks.

Testing alongside existing ads

A responsive ad belongs beside text ads that already work, not in place of them.

A sensible mix is two or three ads in each ad group, one of them responsive. Leave the existing ones running, so the comparison means something.

Judge on enquiries rather than clickthrough rate. A responsive ad may show in more auctions and positions, so its clicks are not directly comparable.

In a small account, give it at least a month, and longer if each ad group sees only a few clicks a week.

What the reports tell you

Reporting is thinner than for an ordinary ad, and still changing during the beta: you can see how the ad does as a whole and its ad strength rating, but not the enquiries behind each headline.

So judge the ad as a whole, against the ads beside it, and reread the possible pairings whenever a headline is added or changed.

If one headline keeps turning up in pairings you would never have written, rewrite or remove it rather than pinning everything to stop it.

And the format leaves the landing page alone. A responsive ad sending every click to the home page has the same problem as any other ad doing that.

The counter-case

Some accounts gain little from it yet. An ad group with a handful of clicks a month cannot give the system enough to learn from, and the comparison will take a season.

Ads whose wording must be exact, because of a regulator, a franchise agreement or a legal disclaimer, are easier to keep compliant as text ads, or with that wording pinned.

And it is a beta. Details may change before it becomes standard.

For most active accounts, though: one responsive ad per main ad group, every headline standing alone, judged on enquiries.

Before adding one

  1. Check the format is available in your account.
  2. Choose your busiest ad group first.
  3. Write ten headlines that each stand alone.
  4. Read every pair aloud in both orders.
  5. Pin only what must always appear.
  6. Keep the existing text ads running beside it.
  7. Compare enquiries after at least a month.

Step four is the check nobody else will do for you. Combinations you never read are combinations your customers will, and one awkward pair can undo the rest.

Judging paid social on enquiries rather than likes follows the same logic as Facebook ads after the News Feed change.

Frequently asked questions

How does a responsive search ad work?

An ad you write in parts: up to fifteen headlines and four descriptions. Google Ads builds each ad from them, using no more than three headlines and two descriptions.

How is it different from text ads?

An expanded text ad always appears as written. A responsive ad can show any headline first, beside any other, and tests combinations automatically.

How should the headlines be written?

So each makes sense alone and beside any other. Avoid sequences that need a following line, duplicates that say the same thing, and offers that contradict each other.

When is pinning a headline worth it?

Only for something that must always show, such as the service or required wording. Each pin reduces what Google can test, so pin two alternatives rather than one.

Should it replace my existing ads?

No. Add it beside the text ads already working in the ad group, and compare them on calls and quote requests after at least a month.

Why not judge it on clickthrough rate?

A responsive ad may show in more auctions and different positions, so its clicks are not directly comparable. Enquiries are the fairer measure, and the one that pays.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

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