Everything you need to know about Dynamic Product Ads

In this quick guide, we'll break down the benefits of DPAs, walk you through the setup process, and share some tips for optimizing your campaigns. Let’s get started!

What are Dynamic Product Ads?

Dynamic Product Ads (DPAs) are a type of online advertising that automatically creates ads for products in your inventory, displaying them to potential customers who have shown interest in similar products or have visited your website.

How Dynamic Product Ads work

Dynamic Product Ads automatically create targeted ads using your information from your product feed, such as product titles, images, descriptions, and prices. When someone visits your website, a tracking pixel keeps track of what they're interested in. If they show interest in a specific product, DPAs for that product (or similar ones) will appear on the ad platforms you're using, like Facebook or Instagram.

Why Dynamic Product Ads are essential for eCommerce businesses

DPAs are particularly effective for retargeting potential customers who have visited your website but haven't made a purchase. By showing them products they've viewed or similar items, you can increase the chances of them returning and completing their purchase. This also means that your ads are more relevant, potentially leading to higher click-through rates and conversions.

Key benefits of using Dynamic Product Ads for eCommerce

Here are some other advantages of using DPAs as an online retailer:

Personalized user experience

DPAs create a more personalized shopping experience for potential customers. Not everyone is ready to buy immediately, so it's important to stay top of mind. By reminding them of products they've previously shown interest in, you're more likely to capture their attention when they're eventually ready to make a purchase.

Higher conversion rates

DPAs often outperform generic PPC ads in terms of conversion rates. This is because they target audiences that are already primed to make a purchase. When a customer sees an ad for a product they've previously considered, they're more likely to click on it and complete their purchase.

Cost-efficiency

DPAs can be a more cost-effective way to promote your products compared to traditional prospecting ads. Instead of a "spray and pray" approach that targets a broad audience, DPAs allow you to focus your efforts on the most relevant potential customers. This targeted approach helps you avoid wasting your advertising budget on people who are unlikely to be interested in your products, resulting in a higher return on investment.

Scalability

DPAs enable you to promote a wide range of products without having to create individual ads for each item. Your product feed will automatically generate ads for all of your products, making it easy to manage your campaigns, even if you have a large inventory.

Setting up a Dynamic Product Ad campaign

Ready to create your first Dynamic Product Ads campaign? The first step is selecting the best ad platform for your business. Here's a quick rundown of some of the most popular ones:

Choosing the right platform for your Dynamic Product Ads

Dynamic ads on Meta

Meta's DPAs automatically promote your entire product catalog across Facebook, Instagram, and Audience Network without having to create thousands of individual ads.

You can display your products to users based on their browsing history, previous interactions, or items left in their shopping carts. With Channable’s Dynamic Image Editor, creating personalized DPAs with image templates and data from your feed is both easy and impactful—boosting advertising results and saving a huge amount of time.

Dynamic prospecting ads on Google

Google’s dynamic prospecting ads use machine learning to identify potential customers and show them the most relevant products based on their interests and demographics. While dynamic remarketing targets existing visitors, the goal of dynamic prospecting is to acquire new users.

Dynamic Product Ads on Reddit

Similar to Meta, Reddit's Dynamic Product Ads automatically create ads from your product catalog, showcasing the right product to the right user at the right time. Dynamic Product Ads combine user shopping signals with machine learning and advertiser product catalogs to deliver highly relevant products to users.

Other major social media platforms also offer DPAs:

• Snapchat dynamic ads

• Pinterest dynamic ads

• Dynamic YouTube ads

• TikTok Dynamic Showcase Ads

How to create a product catalog

A well-structured product catalog is essential for running successful Dynamic Product Ads. It provides the foundation for ad platforms to understand your products and match them with potential customers.

Here's a simple 5-step guide to get you started:

1. Choose a format

Most platforms support common formats like CSV, XML, or Google Sheets. Research the specific requirements of your chosen ad platform. To speed up the process, you can usually download your product feed from your eCommerce platform.

2. Structure your data

Google Merchant Center and Meta's Commerce Center might have slightly different requirements for your product catalog, so double-check which information is needed for each platform. Most platforms will require your catalog to include the following fields:

• Product ID: A unique identifier for each product.

• Title: A clear and descriptive product name.

• Description: Detailed information about the product's features and benefits.

• Link: The URL of the product page on your website.

• Image link: A high-quality image of the product.

• Price: The current selling price.

• Availability: Indicates whether the product is in stock or out of stock.

• Category: The product's category or hierarchy.

• Brand: The brand associated with the product.

• Condition: The condition of the product (new, used, refurbished).

• Custom attributes: Additional data specific to your products (e.g. color, size, material).

3. Format your data

Follow the exact formatting guidelines provided by your ad platforms. This may include specific character limits, data types, and required fields.

4. Validate your data

Use the platform's validation tools to check for errors and ensure your catalog meets their requirements. Google Merchant Center provides real-time feedback on the status of your products, indicating whether they are approved, disapproved, or pending review. Commerce Manager provides an overview of the health of your product catalog along with detailed error messages.

5. Submit your catalog

Manually upload your catalog or sync it using a feed management tool and wait for your products to be approved.

How to dynamically update your DPAs with customized fields

While it may seem that you have no control over how DPAs are displayed, you can actually add pre-set fields. Most platforms allow you to customize the headline, description, image, and call-to-action. You can even add dynamic element placeholders that will be automatically populated with product information from your catalog.

When creating your DPAs, most ad platforms will allow you to customize the fields with static or dynamic elements. This can be particularly useful if you want to promote a discounted sale price or create urgency by showing the remaining stock count. Here are two ways you can customize your DPAs:

1. Use dynamic text from your product feed in the ad copy

Use the platform's specific syntax to insert dynamic elements that will be replaced with product information. For example:

Save {product.discount_percentage}% on {product.name}! Now only {product.sale_price}

2. Customize images with discounts and shipping information

Ad platforms like Meta Ads Manager allow you to enhance product images with frames and dynamic text elements. For example, you can use frames to highlight real-time discounts, strikethrough prices, and free shipping offers, boosting your ad's conversion potential.

Before hitting the publish button, make sure that you preview your ads with different products from your catalog to ensure it displays correctly.

Optimizing Dynamic Product Ads

To increase the effectiveness of your DPAs, consider the following best practices:

Optimize and maintain your product feed

As DPAs are automatically generated based on your product feed, it’s crucial to make sure that your product catalog is up-to-date with accurate product titles, descriptions, images, pricing, and availability. This prevents users from seeing out-of-stock items or incorrect prices in ads.

If you’re using Dynamic Product Ads for prospecting, it’s important to provide as much detail about your products as possible, including size, color, material, and other relevant attributes. The more information you provide, the more targeted your ad reach will be.

Use custom labels to target specific products or collections

Custom labels allow you to segment products within your feed, providing granular control over your targeting and bidding strategies. You can use custom labels to segment popular products (e.g. your best-sellers), highlight seasonal items (such as sunglasses during the summer), or promote products involved in sales, discounts, or limited-time offers.

By using custom labels, you can increase bids for high-performing product categories, target specific demographics or interests, and create seasonal campaigns to promote relevant products at the right time of the year.

Ready to experiment with Dynamic Product Ads?

Whether you’re an online retailer with a large product catalog or a budding entrepreneur looking to maximize ad spend, Dynamic Product Ads are a highly effective and cost-efficient way to promote your products online. By leveraging the power of automation and data-driven targeting, DPAs can help you reach the right customers at the right time with the right products.

Ready to give DPAs a try? You might be surprised at how much they can improve your eCommerce sales. So, dive in, experiment, and let the magic of personalization work its wonders for your online store. Find more information here.