Responsive Display Ads in AdWords

Updated March 3, 2025

The Winner is the First Responder

Online advertising is constantly evolving in an attempt to keep up with the rest of the internet. In the last few years there has been a big push to create high quality content that looks natural whatever device it is viewed on. So Google’s latest innovation, Responsive Display Ads, is a way to make sure AdWords ads look good, wherever they’re displayed.

Responsive display ads are ads that adapt to the environment they’re placed in. Like a chameleon the ad blends into the website’s format, on mobile, desktop or tablet (Although, hopefully, unlike a chameleon the ad gets seen…). As Google continues its drive to reduce the difference between the desktop and mobile experience, features like responsive ads become more important. Google wants all users to have the same high quality level of experience. So it’s no good having a perfectly rendered web page, if the ad it’s showing isn’t displaying properly.

To run responsive display ads you need to give Google options. This lets Google pick the right combination of image and text before displaying the ad. You have to provide a short and long headline, as well as two different sized images and a logo. This gives Google a selection of different puzzle pieces to fit together to make an ad fit.

How to Build Responsive Display Ads

Full instructions on how to create a responsive display ad from Google can be found here. Google break down exactly how to create, and start a responsive display campaign.

Have you run display ads in the past? What successes have you had? We’d love to hear how you’re using display to grow your business.