When is it OK to Use Keyword Insertion in B2B Paid Search Creatives?

Joe Vivolo
May 25, 2010

Keyword insertion is a tactic used for creating ad copy, where rather than display a specifically crafted headline you choose to import the search query. Due to character limit restraints not all searches can be imported as the headline, so a reserve or backup headline needs to be crafted. Only keyword phrases that are under 25 total characters can be shown, and when the search query is too long, the pre-generated message would be displayed.

So using the above ad text as an example, if the search phrase was PPC Management the ad would read:

… because the search phrase fits into the alloted space. If the search phrase was much longer, the message we selected would show as the headline: Craft Text or Insertion?

Keyword insertion is favored by many because in theory it improves click through rate and helps tailor specific ads to large keyword groupings. Let me be very clear; I am not a big fan of keyword insertion and I don’t condone using it in most situations. I have, however, listed below a few situations where I have used keyword insertion in my creatives with some success.

When you have a large list of products with model numbers or serial numbers.

When your headline can say something like Widget 3452 instead of “Widgets on Sale” it could be a benefit to use insertion instead of static headlines. This is especially true when you are operating in a space that is saturated and many advertisers bid heavily for broad and phrase terminology. Referencing specific model types or product types can be a refreshing change of pace when the rest of the ads in the space tend to look exactly the same. This draws more visibility to your ad, bold-faces the headline, and may net you more clicks.

Ultimately you’d want to pull out as many different models and types as possible into their own ad groups, but from a time management perspective if Widget13a and Widget13b are functionally similar it might not make sense to create separate groups.

When your keyword buckets are very broad or poorly categorized.

Obviously not the ideal situation, but a good rule of thumb is the less ad groups you have the better results you will get from keyword insertion.

When you don’t have a lot of time or are gathering information.

Sometimes you don’t know exactlywhich themes or models have enough volume to warrant the creation of their own campaigns and ad groups. Keyword insertion is a good stop gap for situations like these, as well as good generic ad copy to begin with while learning the most powerful phrases and messaging.

Again, I’m not a huge fan of using keyword insertion but unlike some pros I don’t think it’s always bad. Check out some other resources on how to best use keyword insertion.

Google AdWords Help Center: Keyword Insertion

Redfly’s Ultimate Keyword Insertion Guide

Dynamic Keyword Insertion: Friend or Foe?

<Keyword insertion is a tactic used specially for creating ad copy, where rather than display a specifically crafted headline you choose to import the search query. Due to character limit restraints not all searches can be imported as the headline, so a reserve or backup headline needs to be crafted. Only keyword phrases that are under 25 total characters can be shown, and when the search query is too long, the pre-generated message would be displayed.
So using the above ad text as an example, if the search phrase was PPC Management the ad would read:

… because the search phrase fits into the alloted space. If the search phrase was much longer, the message we selected would show as the headline: Craft Text or Insertion?

Keyword insertion is favored by many because in theory it improves click through rate and helps tailor specific ads to large keyword groupings. Let me be very clear; I am not a big fan of keyword insertion and I don’t condone using it in most situations. I have listed below a few situations where I have used keyword insertion in my creatives with some success.

When you have a large list of products with model numbers or serial numbers.

When your headline can say something like Widget 3452 instead of “Widgets on Sale” it could be a benefit to use insertion instead of static headlines. This is especially true when you are operating in a space that is saturated and many advertisers bid heavily for broad and phrase terminology. Referencing specific model types or product types is very refreshing and draws more eyeballs to your ad because of the bold faced text and by meeting the search expectations of the user. Ultimately you’d want to pull out as many different models and types as possible into their own ad groups, but from a time management perspective if Widget13a and Widget13b are functionally similar it might not make sense to create separate groups.

When your keyword buckets are very broad or poorly categorized.

Obviously not the ideal situation, but a good rule of thumb is the less ad groups you have the better results you will get from keyword insertion.

When you don’t have a lot of time or are gathering information.

Sometimes you don’t know exactly which themes or models have enough volume to warrant the creation of their own campaigns and ad groups. Keyword insertion is a good stop gap for situations like these, as well as good generic ad copy to begin with while learning the most impactful phrases and messaging.

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