Ad personalisation is one of the lesser spoken about optimisations at marketers disposal when it comes to google ads. Often overlooked and not held in the same regards as accompanying capabilities such as automated bidding, smart campaigns and audiences. We have the ability to automate and serve our potential customers with Ad copy tailored to their location, search query, age, gender & products they recently viewed.
Time and time again we have seen key metrics increase when we have implemented an Ad personalisation strategy into our campaigns.
I want to draw attention to 3 different tools at your disposal and how you may incorporate them into your campaigns to boost performance.

Dynamic Keyword insertion

Dynamic keyword insertion has been around since the beginning, so it’s important to pay it its dues. Often when someone makes a specific search the first thing they’re likely to click on is the most similar result to said query. With dynamic keyword insertion it utilizes match type to pull the users query into the headline you specify. Time and time again we see ads utilizing this function outperform others in key AD metrics such as CTR and Conversion.

One other advantage is that it allows us to group keywords with similar intent into 1 AD group and rest assured the ad served will have a headline relevant to the users query. This allows us avoid having to create single keyword ad groups making the campaign more manageable and efficient.

By standard we incorporate dynamic keyword insertion into at least 1 ad in every ad group, and typically in the Headline 1, reason being we want to ensure the user is met immediately with whatever it is they are searching for.

IF Function

Tucked away as a subcategory under the device, in the IF Function headline option, lies probably one of the best tools marketers have in terms of creating personalised AD copy on the Google Ads platform. Say someone has visited your site2 or 3 days ago while browsing for solutions,They leave and perform a similar query, we just so happen to also be showing ads for that as its further down the funnel of intent and we’re good marketers. Instead of serving that user who is familiar with your site and service with the same ad again you can now dynamically change your headlines and descriptions by utilizing remarketing audiences.

We do this by creating audiences in Google Analytics and importing them into google ads. Audiences such as returning users, users who visited the checkout, spent a longer than average amount of time looking at a particular service, the list is as long as a length of string.
Then we create a custom ad copy for that user and depending on the audience you create you may want to change your ad copy to lead with a special offer, your branding, A standout USP etc.

It’s one of the most powerful tools we can use to increase personalization with users who are already familiar with our brands and offer them something different than the standard keyword insertions which everyone else does.

Some Google Analytics Audiences to consider:

• Returning users
• Checkout Cart Customers
• Past Converters
• Specific Services Pages (based on time)
• Specific Product Pages (based on time)
• Different age demographics (careful now, google data isn’t 100% for this)
• Users with multiple sessions
• Users who arrived at your site through particular referrals
• Users with high intent signals (based on page depth, bounce rate & time on site)

Ad Customizers

Ad customizers enable advertisers to serve individuals different ad copy based on their geographic location, the time of day and the day of the week. 

By inputting different variations of ad copy to an excel feed which we then uploaded to google ads, we can serve people living in different regions more personalised ad copy based on their location. 

One example of how we utilize Ad customizers is to serve our clients customers living in regions where they have a branch with more relevant Ad copy e.g “Visit Our Branch in Cornwall”, its not groundbreaking but when compared to the more generic “Visit Our Branch Today” that every other competitor uses, it stands out and we have seen improved click through rates and conversions.

The is the benefit of increased traffic by having higher click through rates and improved Ad rank within the campaign, connectedly, the average cost per click and overall cost of the campaign decreases too as the ad rank increases.

Another use case includes changing ad copy for certain times of the day. We ran a campaign encouraging customers to “order before 2:00p.m. for next day delivery” and changed the ads after 2:00p.m to “get free nationwide delivery”. This created a sense of urgency in our copy and encouraged shoppers to convert earlier in the day whilst not deterring potential customers shopping after 2:00pm

Similarly We can serve customers with ad copy notifying them they can have their order delivered if they order on a certain day as opposed to serving the generic “get free delivery”.

Final Thoughts

Spending time researching your competitors ad copy can be very fruitful, make a list of their ads and aiming to outcompete them by communicating your value proposition clearly and personally if at all possible.

Standing out from the competition in the search results will always be an ongoing process, utilizing Ad customizers, Keywords insertion and IF functions to do so will allow you diversify your ad copy and ensure your maximizing performance.

Spend time analysing your competitors Ad copy, chances are most of them will follow suit and repeat the same headlines over and over. Ask yourself how can I add value to my customers? whilst also differentiating my ad copy and standing out, that loose rule of thumb will ensure your CTR, Conversion and Ad rank increases.

Some Key takeaways:

• Use keyword insertion to ensure your serving potential customers with their specific query to increase CTR.
• Use audience IF functions to tailor your message to specific audiences you create in google analytics
• Use Ad customizers to serve individuals different ad copy based on their Geo location, time of day or day of the week.