Tailoring your ad copy for different audiences is an essential part of any successful advertising campaign. Microsoft has announced their release of IF functions globally that will help advertisers easily tailor their ad copy based on device and audience.
Using IF functions will allow you to customize a single ad in your account with different ad messages based on your customer’s device or a specific audience segment. This conditional messaging option lets advertisers simply their campaign management by eliminating the need to set up multiple campaigns with different ad messaging.
Let’s take a look at how advertisers can use the IF function to customize their ads.
How IF Functions Work
When an ad is served, if the device or audience referenced in the IF function matches the searcher, the parameter is replaced with the appropriate text. If the user does not match the condition of the IF function, the parameter is replaced with the default value.
Here is an example of what the IF function would look like if you want to target a customer based on device:
{IF (device = device type, text to insert) : default text if condition not met}
If you want to target a user based on their inclusion in one of your audience lists, this is what it will look like:
{IF (audience IN ( <audience list 1> , <audience list 2>), text to insert ) : default text if condition not met}
Let’s say we wanted to customize ad copy for users searching on a mobile device with a directive to call you in the ad. This is what that would look like in the interface:
If someone is searching on a mobile device, Title 2 will read “Call Us Today.” If a user is not on a mobile device, they’ll see the default text “Contact Us Today.”
Tips for Using IF Functions
- You can reference IF functions in any part of the Expanded Text Ads except the URL fields.
- Default values are optional and will be used if the condition isn’t met. If a default value is used in one IF function, all other IF function parameters in that ad must have a default value as well.
- Nested IF functions aren’t allowed. IF functions inside IF functions or other customizer parameters inside IF functions aren’t allowed.
- Both device and audience can’t be referenced in one IF-function syntax.
- You can create IF functions using the Google Import tool.
Have you tried using IF functions in your ad copy? If so, let us know in the comments below!
