5 Reasons Google Keyword Insertion Tool Doesn’t Work

Judging by the title of this post, I’ve already tipped my hand on my opinion of the Google Keyword Insertion tool.

For those who don’t know what this is, here’s a quick explainer:

When you’re creating ads to be displayed in Google, you can automatically insert the search phrase used into the ad copy, to be displayed as the Ad Title or even embedded in the body of the ad. The more common approach is the former, and it looks something like this:

If the search term used to trigger the ad is too long, a default title is displayed instead.

Sounds so neat and easy – so why not use it for every ad, right? Ha. In case it’s not obvious, I couldn’t disagree more.

5 Reasons Why I Don’t Like the Google Keyword Insertion Tool

Here are my top reasons why I don’t like the Google Keyword Insertion tool.

Reason #1 – Titles Can Mislead Users

You don’t have control over any misleading words in your ads.

For example, what happens when someone searches for “[brand] coupons” and they land on a page that doesn’t have any coupons? You’ve now instantly created mistrust and disappointment in the minds of the visitor.

It’s a bad way to start off a relationship with a potential customer who might have been actively trying to purchase something from you (after all, they’re searching for coupons).

Reason #2 – Google Will Prioritize CTR Over Everything Else

Google claims you will get great CTR when people see the same search phrase repeated in the ad, and there is truth in that statement.

But are you looking for lemmings to visit your website or real buyers? Why not pre-qualify the prospect and avoid eating up your PPC budget! It is ideal to have a high CTR, but an improving Conversion rate is even better.

Remember, PPC is not just about brining traffic to your site. That traffic is useless if it doesn’t create leads and sales.

Humans still rule over machines. A hand crafted messaged that inspires emotion will read better than a “repeat after me” machine response.

Reason #3 – You Can’t Control the Message

The best PPC Managers think like control freaks. They want to own the entire process from the beginning interest (selection of the search phrase) to the final sale or lead.

So why give up something like the message of your initial value prop? Own it all!

Relinquishing control over your brand message, especially to a company that has their own best interest in mind over yours, is never a good idea.

Reason #4 – It’s Lazy

I get it. You’re busy, and working with experts can be expensive.

But there’s honestly no shortcut effective an effective PPC strategy.

While it’s hard to come up with compelling ad copy that will get you both great CTR and conversion rates in such a small space, that’s no excuse to get lazy and just let something random get thrown up against the wall.

Think about it. Why would you let arguably the most important element of your ad be left up for someone else to decide? Let your competitors be lazy instead.

Reason #5 – While it Works For Long-Tail Applications, it Fails Where it Matters

Every time I have ad tested my hand crafted, human inspired ads against the random and dynamically generated copy for top performing terms of very tight ad groupings, I win.

In most cases these top performing terms with hand crafted ads win because you have more control over the message. The one caveat is that insertion tool does work in broad long tail ads where you are looking for a small number of additional sales, so it does have a place, but in long tail terms they often exceed the character limits.

Final Thoughts

These are my top reasons I don’t like the insertion tool by default. I don’t use it as a hammer to every ad, more like a rifle for special cases. Maybe it’s part of your main arsenal and don’t agree. Cool. I’m always up for a challenge and would be willing to test one of my ads against your top performer. But don’t forget, I don’t just measure CTR as the winning argument – conversion rate matters too!

Want to know more? Just contact us and we can offer a free review and assessment of your Google Ads.