Imagine a way to drive more traffic to your website with minimal setup effort while harnessing the full power of Google’s machine learning algorithms.

That, Google claims, is why every marketer should be using Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs).

We know DSAs as useful tools for advertisers seeking to boost visibility and reach audiences beyond the limits of traditional search campaigns.

Yet, few marketers are aware of their potential as a unique and often underutilized avenue for gaining in-depth competitive insights (without breaking the bank, or costing you hours of precious time). 

In a recent episode of the Paid Media Lab, we spoke to PPC expert Navah Hopkins about Dynamic Search Ads, and their surprising potential to be one of the best PPC competitor research tools available to marketers. 

You've likely already heard Navah speaking at key industry events, shared her valuable and insightful takes on LinkedIn, or read her in-depth PPC articles on Search Engine Land. 

Navah is also a Brand Evangelist at Optmyzr, where she provides regular PPC insights to help performance marketers gain a deeper understanding of the ad platforms they use.

Watch the full episode here (low on time? Use the timestamps below to jump to the sections you’re most interested in) or continue reading for a comprehensive breakdown of Navah’s DSA competitor research strategy. 

Timestamps: 

00:00 - Intro

03:45 - Dynamic search ads overview

05:16 - Dynamic target section features

06:56 - Search volume validity in DSA

09:37 - Dynamic search ads setup guide

13:21 - Generating optimal headlines in DSA

15:03 - How Google makes category decisions

17:38 - Navah’s first-hand examples

19:43 - Using DSA to get competitor data

21:00 - DSA challenges/pitfalls to look out for

22:02 - Microsoft DSA vs Google DSA

22:58 - The future of Dynamic search ads

24:45 - Final thoughts / wrapping up

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For all of Navah’s tips, tricks, and insights on Dynamic Search Ads, their potential as a powerful competitor research tool, and more – watch Scott’s full episode above, and make sure to subscribe to the Lunio YouTube channel to watch full episodes of the Paid Media Lab podcast, featuring insights from top PPC professionals. 

Alternatively, follow the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Amazon Music to get new episodes delivered straight to your feed.

What are Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs)?

Dynamic Search Ads are a powerful tool offered by Google that allows advertisers to target users based on the content of their website. 

Unlike traditional campaigns that rely on keywords, DSAs enable Google to crawl your site and automatically generate ads based on its understanding of your pages. 

This, fortunately, also makes them highly adaptable and efficient for uncovering insights.

Key aspects of Dynamic Search Ads:

• Automatic ad generation: Google generates headlines dynamically based on your website content, while you only need to provide the descriptions.
• URL-based targeting: You can target all categories, specific categories, or individual pages on your site.
• Keyword-free option: While you can incorporate keywords, DSAs are designed to function effectively without them, opening up opportunities to discover new search terms and behaviors.

According to Google, advertisers using DSAs typically see a 15% increase in traffic and impressions when adding DSAs to their campaigns, highlighting their potential for expanding reach.

Why use Dynamic Search Ads for competitor research?

During our chat, Navah highlighted a clever strategy for using DSAs as a competitive research tool that most marketers don’t consider as a core part of their competitor research strategy.

The method allows you to gain insights into your competitors’ strategies, without investing in costly competitive intelligence tools or extensive manual research.

Traditionally, competitor analysis might involve investing in third-party platforms or manually dissecting competitors’ ads, content, and keyword strategies. However, DSAs offer a direct and innovative alternative by leveraging Google’s own algorithm to interpret competitor websites.

Benefits of using DSAs for competitor research:

• Cost-effective: This strategy is entirely free, as you don’t actually need to run the campaigns to gather insights.
• Competitor insights: Understand how Google interprets your competitors' websites, including the categories and search terms it associates with their content.
• Creative inspiration: Extract potential ad headlines and messaging ideas from your competitor’s website content.
• SEO synergy: Identify opportunities to improve your organic content by targeting neglected categories or enhancing existing pages.

Competitive research with DSAs: Navah’s step-by-step strategy

To leverage DSAs for competitive research, follow these steps based on Navah’s recommendations:

1. In your Google Ads account, create a search campaign without a goal: This ensures no functionality is filtered out during the setup process.
2. Configure campaign settings: Input basic campaign details, then save and pause the campaign to avoid spending budget.
3. Add a competitor’s URL: In the campaign settings, locate the dynamic URL section and add the competitor’s URL you want to analyze. Ensure this URL hasn’t been used in another campaign.
4. Navigate to dynamic targets: Go to the "audiences, keywords, content" section and locate the dynamic target section.
5. Explore categories: Review the categories Google identifies for the competitor’s website to understand how it interprets their content.
6. Review search volumes and headlines: Analyze the search volumes for each category and the suggested ad headlines to uncover actionable insights.

These steps allow you to uncover valuable data without spending a penny on actual ad campaigns. Using this strategy, you can refine your advertising efforts with precise, data-backed insights.

Analyzing the insights

Once you’ve gathered the data, it’s time to analyze the insights and identify opportunities:

• Ad creative: Evaluate the generated headlines to understand how competitors present their products or services. Look for recurring themes, keywords, and calls to action that resonate with their audience.
• Search volume: Focus on categories with significant search volume but less competition. These areas can offer high-potential opportunities for your campaigns.
• Category analysis: If the identified categories don’t align with the competitor’s offerings, it could indicate weaknesses in their SEO strategy. Wider teams can then target these gaps with organic content.

For instance, a competitor might target high-volume keywords but overlook niche categories. By identifying these gaps, you can develop tailored strategies to capture untapped market share.

Real-world applications

Navah noted that Amazon is a frequent competitor in e-commerce categories, often dominating impression share. 

However, in lower search volume product categories, Google’s understanding of products can be limited. This presents an opportunity for smaller e-commerce businesses to compete by creating standout ad creative and implementing more aggressive bidding strategies.

Potential challenges and how to overcome them

While DSAs offer significant advantages, there are some challenges to consider:

• User interface: The Google Ads UI can be cumbersome, especially when setting up campaigns you don’t intend to run.
• Data reliability: Insights from DSAs are estimates rather than guarantees. Always validate findings with your own data and analysis.

To mitigate these issues, ensure your team is well-versed in navigating the Google Ads platform and integrates DSA insights with other data sources (e.g. Google Analytics or third-party tools).

The future of Dynamic Search Ads

Navah highlighted that privacy concerns could lead to the eventual removal of DSAs. This makes it crucial for marketers to take advantage of this tool while it’s still available.

As privacy regulations continue to evolve, advertisers should focus on diversifying their strategies and building first-party data solutions to remain agile in the face of platform uncertainty. 

Final thoughts & additional resources

Dynamic Search Ads offer a cost-effective and efficient way to conduct competitor research. By following the steps outlined in this post and leveraging insights from experts like Navah Hopkins, you can uncover valuable opportunities to optimize your PPC campaigns. Embrace this powerful tool, and make the most of it (while it’s still available!)

For more actionable DSA insight and expertise from Navah, make sure to watch her full episode of the Paid Media Lab podcast. Alongside her DSA competitor research strategy, we also discussed:

• Dynamic search ad overview and target section features
• Search volume validity in DSA
• Dynamic search ads setup guide
• Generating optimal headlines in DSA
• How Google makes category decisions
• Navah’s first-hand examples
• DSA challenges/pitfalls to look out for
• Microsoft DSA vs Google DSA
• The future of Dynamic search ads

During the discussion, Navah also pointed out some additional resources to help marketers further their understanding and make the most of DSAs:

• Google Skillshop: Explore the official Google Skillshop for in-depth knowledge of DSAs and other advertising tools.‍
• PPC Town Hall podcast: Check out Optmyzr’s podcast, featuring forward-looking strategies and expert insights from the PPC industry.