Did you know that you can customize your Search ads on Google to show specific text to people based upon the device they are using, or whether they are on one of your remarketing lists?
Example 1: Car Dealership Customizes Call-to-Action for Mobile Users
A car dealership offering an online credit application might notice that people browsing their website via mobile phones are less likely to complete the application than is someone browsing the site via a computer. In most cases, that’s probably because it’s harder and takes longer to complete the form on a small screen than on a desktop or laptop device.
The dealership could use AdWords’ IF function to make their ads say “Call to Apply” instead of “Apply Online Now” when someone sees the ad on a phone.
Example 2: Online Retailer Brings Back Cart Abandoners
Cart abandonment — where shoppers add products to their carts but never buy them — is a huge frustration for ecommerce sites. Those customers are so close!
An online retailer could create a remarketing list of people who have added a product to their cart but have not yet purchased, and then use AdWords’ IF function to show only people on that list a “15% off” coupon code to incentivize them to purchase.
How the AdWords IF Function Works
It’s pretty simple.
First you write your ad the way you want it to display by default. So, if you’re using the IF function to target mobile users, you write the ad the way you want it to appear to people on computers and tablets. Or, if you’re using the IF function to target users on a remarketing list, you write the ad the way you want it to appear to people NOT on the list.
Then you use the IF function to write the text you want to appear to people on mobile, or on a remarketing list. (See the syntax here).
Only Available for Search Campaigns
The IF function is only available for AdWords Search campaigns.
It used to also be available for Display campaigns, but our dedicated support team at Google told us that Google removed the feature from Display campaigns in November 2016 because too few advertisers were using it.
Improved Version of an Older Feature
The AdWords IF function has actually been around for a while, but it wasn’t easy to use until recently.
Previously there wasn’t an option to use default text in the customized ad, so you had to have at least one non-customized ad in the ad group with the customized ad. That way Google had something to show when people didn’t match the advanced targeting.
But now that Google has added the default text option, we’re in business!