Google Dynamic Display Ads for Non E-Commerce

by | Jan 29, 2025 | Google Ads

No Products, No Problem. You Can Set Up A Dynamic Display Ad Feed For Lead Gen Too.

Below is a standard dynamic display ad for e-commerce. It’s connected to your product feed which shows your products dynamically placed in the ad. Much more efficient and less time consuming to set up if you want hyper targeted ads in display format.

dynamic product display ad

E-commerce dynamic product display ad example.

Most people aren’t aware you can upload a feed to your dynamic display ads for services too. Below is a breakdown of industries that can benefit from this feature that’s tucked away in Google Ads.

Travel Industry

If there’s one industry that depends on dynamic ads, it’s the travel industry. Keeping up with flight prices, hotel room availability, limited time travel deals etc. wouldn’t be possible and dynamic display ads can be used for all of these scenarios.

For example, a hotel chain could create ads that automatically adjust to show different room images, real-time rates, and location-specific promotions based on their browsing history.

Travel Industry Dynamic Display Ad

Dynamic Display Ad Example For Travel Industry.

Auto Dealers

Auto Dealers could use these ads to showcase specific models, prices, and promotional offers that match what the potential buyer previously viewed on the dealership’s website, helping move them closer to making a purchase decision.

These are not to be confused with “vehicle listings” that show up in Google Search. These ads would require a separate feed to be set up in Google Merchant Center.

Education

Educational institutions and online learning platforms can create more relevant and compelling display ads to reconnect with potential students at different stages of their decision-making journey. This is especially beneficial for schools that offer multiple programs to ensure they’re showing the right program to the right prospect.

Instead of showing generic ads about the institution or mismatched programs, dynamic ads automatically display content based on the specific programs a person has shown interest in along with enrollment dates, tuition fees etc.

Real Estate

Realtors, developers and rental property platforms are perfect candidates because they can create highly personalized ads displaying the right property (or multiple properties) to a potential buyer/renter in one ad.

Price drops? New listing? Your audience will be the first to know when they are served these highly engaging ads.

Jobs

Job portals, recruitment agencies and staffing companies could also benefit from dynamic display ads. Your campaign would pull job listings with relevant data such as job titles, companies, salaries, locations etc.

Setting Up Your Feed

Go to Tools > Business Data > Click The Blue Plus Sign > Dynamic Ad Feed and you will see the different options. Google will provide a template in a spreadsheet to use where you would enter the data. What data? Don’t worry, they provide instructions in the template. See screenshot below:

dynamic display ads lead gen data feed

Lets Talk About The Drawbacks With Dynamic Display Ads

Limited creative control

You can control the basics like color scheme and call to action but if you’re worried about the ads not matching the look and feel of your brand, you’re rolling the dice. You are stuck with Google’s premade designs.

Risk of showing irrelevant ads

Dynamic display ads use a combination of assets including headlines, images along with your feed. Not all ads being served will use your feed. Some will show just an image and a headline. What image? What headline? You will never know. Some ads are just text-based and don’t show images at all.

Setting Up Dynamic Display Ads Is One Thing, Using Them Effectively Is Another

Although I used a lot of remarketing examples above, these campaigns work great for targeting your “prospecting” audience as well. What is the best way to approach this?

Well, you have 2 million+ websites and apps on the Google Display Network to choose from. I like to go with targeted placements so I can place ads on sites that align with the audience I am targeting.

If you want to showcase your vacation rentals on a travel blog, you can do that. If a realtor wants to showcase their new listings, on a real estate marketplace site, then can do that too.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s many different ways to target your audience. But that’s for another article.

Make sure to isolate your ads for each audience segment

To serve your ads to the right audience, you need to create separate ad groups within a campaign for each audience segment to prevent crossover.

Having one audience segment per ad group will isolate them from each other, ensuring you don’t confuse your audience or show irrelevant ads.

These ads also require headlines and images, so make sure they match your offering. While adding a video asset isn’t required, it’s highly recommended if you want to enhance your ad with video content. Keep in mind that videos must be uploaded to YouTube first, as Google requires the YouTube video link.

How Do You Set Up Audience Segments? See Video Below:

Summing It All Up

Whether you’re in travel, auto sales, education, or real estate, you can leverage this powerful advertising feature to showcase your services. Although the ads might not appear exactly how you want them to, you are trading in creative control for efficiency and automation.

The key to success lies in proper feed setup, strategic audience targeting, and making full use of available assets like images, headlines and video content.

By following the setup guidelines and best practices covered above, you can start creating more relevant ads that connect with your target audience across the Google Display Network.

CHEERS!

Greg Morris | The SEM Guys

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Greg Morris

Written by Greg Morris

Greg Morris is a top digital marketing strategist helping businesses of all sizes ranging from service-based local business to Fortune 500 companies.

Since 2006, Greg has helped clients leverage a comprehensive range of digital channels to enhance brand visibility, engage target audiences, and build their digital footprint.