Dynamic keyword insertion.

Heard of it? Fiddled around with it? Do you use it regularly but are unsure whether you are using it to its full benefit?

You’re not alone. DKI can be a powerful tool, when used appropriately. When used haphazardly? Well, it can make your ad sound sloppy, impersonal, and just plain…weird.

What is Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI)?

DKI is an AdWords feature that automatically updates your ad copy with a given keyword from your ad group. For example, if someone searches for the keyword ‘red shoes’, and you’re using DKI, Google will dynamically update your ad to include that term, assuming the term ‘red shoes’ is in your ad group, of course.

To use DKI, simply insert a snippet of code into your ad where you want keywords from your ad group to appear. When someone searches for that term, your ad will appear with that keyword inserted into the copy.

This allows you to create one ad that ends up being highly relevant, as your copy will match exactly what people are searching for. And as a bonus, remember that dynamically inserted keywords are in bold (as our non DKI keywords), helping to make your ad stand out.

DKI, when used properly, can increase CTR’s as your ads are more personal and relevant. And, because you’re only creating one ad (that will be dynamically updated with specific keywords), you save oodles of time.

Win-win, right?

Yes and no. Remember I mentioned earlier about using DKI appropriately? While DKI can be a powerful and effective tool, it also has the potential for great evil.

To make sure you’re harnessing the power of DKI for the light side, make sure you follow these 5 simple tips!

Important Tips When Using Dynamic Keyword Insertion

1. Choose your default keyword wisely.

To use DKI, use the following format within your ad copy: {KeyWord:your keyword here}.

Keep in mind that this keyword will be the default one for your ad group. That means that if one of the keywords in your ad group makes your ad exceed the character limit, this (the default) is the keyword that will be shown in your ad.

So choose wisely

2. Test various forms of capitalisation. Google gives you the ability to determine if and how your dynamically inserted keywords are capitalized.

For example, if you’re using the keyword phrase ‘best computers’, you could have it appear in any of the following formats:

• Best Computers
• best computers
• Best computers

3. Make sure ad copy is short so that if longer keywords are inserted copy won’t exceed limit. If a keyword makes your ad copy too long, AdWords will automatically insert the default keyword into your ad.

Since the majority of web searches are ‘long tail’ – meaning multi-word, highly-specific searches – this can be a definite problem. While long tail searches will trigger your ad to be shown, if they exceed the character limit, your generic, default keyword (whatever is following the colon in your ad copy) will be shown.

In this case, you’ll lose the benefit of using DKI, as your ad won’t use the keywords that triggered the ad.

4. Make sure every keyword in your ad group will make sense with your ad copy and landing page.

For instance, if you’d like product names dynamically inserted into your ad’s headline, be sure that every keyword in your ad group makes sense in the context of your headline. So, if you’re using Headline: Buy {keyword:glasses}, be sure that every keyword in your ad group makes sense after ‘buy’.

A good strategy to make sure your keywords make sense is to create more ad groups, and make sure each group contains closely related keywords.

5. When using broad match with DKI, be careful (or use phrase or exact match).

Ad copy can sound odd or forced with certain keywords. Add negative keywords to avoid showing up for misspellings or possibly inappropriate keywords you don’t want to trigger your ad.

Image Source: Stuart Miles

By Philip Shaw