PixelMEDIA Inc.

In my experience, pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns have the highest ROI when users see ads containing the exact term searched for. Dynamic keyword insertion (DKI) is a method to ensure that the user search query will match the text seen in a PPC ad. As long as you are bidding on the keyword that the user types in and it is under the character limit, the user’s search query will show up in the ad exactly.

For example, if you type in the term “coffee tables” you would expect to see ads that contain “coffee tables” within the text. In fact, terms that users search for are bolded when they show up in ads to ensure users’ eyes are immediately drawn to these ads. Most likely the ads will be more relevant to the query, making DKI a very powerful tool to increase click-thru-rate (CTR).

Let’s look at an example from Google AdWords to further clarify the concept. Every ad using DKI in the headline or the body needs a default keyword so when a user types in a query that is over the character limit, a term will still show up in the ad. In this case, let’s use {KeyWord:Coffee Tables} as the default keyword. The ad group is made up of these terms:

antique coffee tables

coffee tables

glass coffee tables

round coffee tables

wood coffee tables

All of these terms are 25 characters or less. So when a user types in “antique coffee tables,” the headline of the ad should read:

Notice that the query is in lowercase while the headline and the term in description line one are in uppercase. The case given to the {KeyWord} in DKI will determine the case of the displayed headline. There are six possible keyword cases which can be good for testing and for terms that do not always follow normal case rules.

DKI is a great tool, but does come with shortcomings. All ad groups must be themed as tightly as possible. If you are using DKI you have to make sure all of your keywords portray the same theme and are under the character limit. The default keyword will not always be the best match to the query.

Let’s say you are also bidding on the term “contemporary coffee tables.” This query is 26 characters long so the default keyword “coffee tables” would be the headline. Also, if the ad uses DKI within either description line, the associated content plus the term cannot be more than 35 characters (in AdWords). This ad fails to match the exact user query:

What’s the big deal you say? The user will still see an ad that talks about coffee tables and the root term will still be bolded; however the ad will not speak directly to contemporary coffee tables. Granted, no ad will have this term as the headline because of the character length, but your competitors may use the term within the body of the ad:

For this reason alone your ad groups should be as tightly themed as possible. You want DKI to be effective 100% of the time.

The use of broad terms is another example of where DKI fails to be effective:

This ad is using DKI in the headline and both description lines. The destination URL of this ad is a page that has absolutely nothing to do with gross shoes. The company running this ad is going to find that it has a very low cost-per-acquisition (CPA) because the query does not relate to the destination page. Even if one person clicks this ad, DKI has not worked correctly.

DKI can be an amazing facet of any PPC program, but it has to be used wisely. If used correctly, you gain an edge over your competition by persuading users to click your ad. If used incorrectly, you will receive many irrelevant clicks that waste precious funds.

Tags: dki, dynamic keyword insertion, pay-per-click