Sometimes, an advertiser just needs to get a consistent message out to all searchers. Google Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) are designed to be given multiple headline and description inputs, and the AI chooses the inputs it thinks are the most effective combination to assemble the ad. RSAs, while giving lots of data to Google for learning, can make it tedious to add new messaging or promotional language to campaigns. Do you duplicate ads for each new promotion or seasonal period so you can schedule them? And if the promotions are short (less than a week) in nature, is it even worth it to do?
Google is now rolling out a feature where you can easily add new ad copy across an entire Search campaign at once, with the advent of campaign-level headlines and descriptions.
Creating a campaign-level headline and descriptions will easily allow an advertiser to add new messaging in one spot without changing the original ads. The user will enter their headline and/or description text, select where to place each headline and description if desired, and choose the start and end date in which they want to run them (or no time limit at all).
There are many reasons to use this feature, and the promotion or seasonal period example referenced above is one of them. Face it: running ad extensions only sometimes best articulates the promotional message an advertiser wants to get across. People like to see the big, bold “SALE!” sign in their faces and want all the information upfront immediately. Running promotion extensions to show discounts and promo codes is important, as is messaging that can be used in callouts or sitelinks, but they are all shown around the ad’s main focal point.
Building promotion or seasonal-related headlines and descriptions typically requires pinning, pausing main ads to display the special ones, and/or editing the ads and then eventually changing them back. This can get messy and can impact overall performance. Is it worth hurting ad score and potentially overall performance to get the same headline combination to display over X amount of time? With this new RSA feature, the messiness and risks are subdued and much easier to manage.
These new features will be created in the Assets tab in the Google Ads interface, where all of the extensions are. There will be a “Headline” button and a “Description” button in the row of asset types between the Sitelink and Callout buttons.
Please note that this new feature does NOT act like an extension, nor is there a place to enter an alternate landing page, but control over the campaign’s displayed ad copy only. The landing page will still default to the ad group’s landing page. It is also worth noting that a user can add just a campaign-level headline(s) or description(s) and does not have to do both at the same time.
Say an auto repair shop has a discount promotion on engine repair services for hybrid cars in March. If there is a campaign that focuses on hybrid car engine repair service, the advertiser can enter headlines, “25% off Hybrid Engine Services” and “March 2024 Only – Schedule Now” and enter descriptions, “Customers with shop-listed hybrid cars will get 25% off engine services in March 2024.” and “Service slots are limited, schedule now to get discount. Additional services not included.” Then, they will make sure the headlines and descriptions are set to run through March 31st. Once that period is over, the original ad copy would seamlessly take back over.
Going the seasonal route, one could use a holiday or time of year to promote certain languages. Say a nursery is getting ready for Spring, and they can run campaign-level headlines such as “Prepare for Spring Planting.” Or if a candy shop is gearing up for Valentine’s Day in January and February, it can display campaign-level headlines such as “Valentine’s Day is Coming.”
It can be difficult to manage a mass of ad campaigns and track what ad copy is running and when. Avoiding the headaches of constantly updating during promotions and seasonal periods with seamless changes like this new feature will save a lot of that. Not only does it save time and energy, but it’s also more effective to display special promotional language through consistent headline and description messaging.
