How to Create Better RSA Ads
How to Optimize RSAs for Better Performance
If you’ve never run paid search ads before, you’re probably wondering what RSAs are and what all the fuss is about. In the good old days, you could create text ads in Google Ads (ETAs) that allowed you to create a headline, description, and CTA. This allowed the advertiser to control what was shown to the user and provided insights on which text ads performed best.
Then Google Ads introduced RSAs or Responsive Search Ads. RSAs let you create multiple headlines, descriptions, and CTAs in one ad, instead of creating multiple tailored ads. Google then takes each line and generates multiple variations, displaying what they think the audience wants to see. According to Google, with RSAs you can “Enter multiple headlines and descriptions when creating a responsive search ad, and over time, Google Ads automatically tests different combinations and learns which combinations perform best.”
The downside of RSAs.
RSAs sound great. You can create multiple versions of an ad by simply adding in multiple lines instead of having to create individual ads. The downside is that you don’t get to control the final product. Google decides which line goes where, and the algorithm doesn’t always choose the right order of text or an order that makes sense to humans.
You can pin headlines in specific positions. For example, only display this line in header 1. However, Google takes off points for pins. The more you pin headlines into specific positions, the lower your quality score, which can reduce how often your ad is shown in search results and increases your cost per click. However, many people do like RSAs for its simplicity.
Optimizing RSAs.
Google announced that as of June 30, 2022, advertisers would no longer be able to create or edit expanded text ads (ETAs). You can still pause and activate your existing expanded text ads. However, Google strongly encourages transitioning to responsive search ads.
While there are some downsides to RSAs, there are things you can do to set your campaigns up for success.
1. Make sure headlines make sense.
As much as possible, try to create headlines that would make sense on their own or in any order. This way you can avoid pinning and lowering your ad score and quality score. You also want to make sure your ad copy will continue to convert users, so your headlines should remain engaging and contain value props for your target audience.
2. Pay attention to ad strength.
As you are creating RSAs, you will see an ad strength score at the top. Google recommends having at least one RSA per ad group with at least a good or excellent ad strength. You’ll need to play around with your RSAs to improve ad strength. Ways to improve ad strength include using more keywords from your ad group and providing more unique headlines.
3. Pin text to the right positions.
If there is text that you want to appear in every ad, you will need to pin it to either Headline 1, Headline 2, or description 1. Pinning headlines in position 3 will keep them in that position, but they won’t show up in every ad, since Google limits how many advertisers get to have three headlines in search engine results pages (SERP).
4. Create two RSAs per ad group.
Google Ads allows you to create up to three RSAs per ad group. Two is typically plenty to determine what’s converting best for you.
5. Don’t test RSAs against ETAs.
RSAs are just too different from ETAs to be tested against each other. However, if you have winning copy from your ETAs, you can apply them to your RSA ads and use pinning to fake an ETA. Just be mindful of your ad strength score. You may have to remove some pinning to increase your ad strength and quality score.
Summary
Advertisers can no longer create Expanded Text Ads (ETAs) in Google Ads. While you can still use your ETAs, you can’t update them. If you’re creating RSAs for the first time or are having trouble optimizing RSAs, there are a few things you can do to get better results. Create headlines that make sense on their own or in any combination. Pay attention to ad strength as you are creating ads, and add keywords and unique headlines and remove pinning to improve it. Pin text to the right positions. Create two RSAs per ad group. Use learnings from your best ETAs and apply them to your RSAs.
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