Dynamic Keyword Insertion

Hey Jim -

To determine if DKI is going to be effective with your campaigns, I recommend TESTING it to see.

I use DKI in my Headlines - A/B testing of two identical ads, save for the Headline. One uses KWI, the other doesn't.

{KeyWord: Home Landscaping}
Beautifully designed landscapes
from an experienced local pro!
www.XxxxXxxx.com

vs

Home Landscaping
Beautifully designed landscapes
from an experienced local pro!
www.XxxxXxxx.com

Run the two ads long enough to gather significant data (remembering to set campaign so the ads to serve equally) and then you'll see if the DKI provides better results.

I've had some ad groups where DKI is more effective than static ads, and others where the static ad is more effective. I don't think you're going to find a hard solid answer works the same across all campaigns.

So test, and find out what's best for your product/service.

Good luck!

Di

Thanks Di... I very much appreciate your insights... (and now I will even be able to give them a real try this week ;)

Thanks Pandiyan,

How often do you see DKI being used by your company's competitors?  Is this a fairly common technique in your opinion?

Thanks again for your insights,

Jim

Here is my experience with it:

1. I almost always add at least 1 dki ad in adgroups that have longer tail terms - NOT broad ones (get into that later)

2. If you use {keyword:} - All letters will be small
If you use {KeyWord:} - The first letter of each word will be capitalized
If you use {Keyword:} - The first letter of the 1st word will be capitalized
 

3. I add adwords conversion tags on my website so I can easily see which ads are CONVERTING, not just high CTR. high CTR does not equal high conversions

4.  I do not use for broad terms. Why???  because if you use dki for broad one keyword terms and you dont have ALL the negative keywords you want, you will most likely have a high CTR and low conversions for those ads.  Example: You sell widgets and you have dki for the keyword widgets.  If you dont have a ton of negative keywords in your campaign, your ad will not only show for searches like "widgets suck" but your ad will show exactly what they typed "widgets suck" so they will click EVEN if your description shows you sell them.

Thanks Al,

I really like your point about 'conversions - not CTR' --> after all isn't that what SEM is all about --> drive conversions (e.g. sales, lead generation)...  Thank-you for taking the time to explain DKI further to me...I am ready to give it a whirl this week,

Jim