Creative Best

Practices Guide

WHITE PAPER

Title of the White Paper

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CREATIVE BEST PRACTICES GUIDE

Table of Contents
Overview 2-3
Responsive display ads 2
Why choose responsive display ads? 2
How do responsive display ads drive performance? 3

Asset guidelines 3-13

Images 3-9
Short headlines 9
Long headline 9
Descriptions 10
Logos 10
Feed 12
Business name 13
Call to action 13

Campaign and ad group setup 14-15

Reporting 14
Ongoing optimization 14
Controls 15

Examples of great responsive display ads 16

FAQs 16

Checklist 18

Appendix: Guidelines to other display ad formats 19-21

Image Ads 19
Lightbox and Carousel Ads 19
Gmail Ads 20
Expanded Text Ads 21
CREATIVE BEST PRACTICES GUIDE

Overview
There are many display ad types that run across our Google Partner
Inventory. Google Display Ads appear on over three million websites,
over 650,000 apps, and across Google properties such as Gmail and Google Display Ads
YouTube. This guide will help you create assets for display ads — 3M+ websites
with a focus on responsive display ads. 650k apps
Across Google Properties
Guidance on other ad formats can be found in the appendix. For a
basic overview visit the Google Ads Help Center.

Responsive display ads

Responsive display ads are Google’s marquee display ad format. Of the different ad formats, responsive display ads
drive the most performance, reach, and scale. They represent the future of asset-based digital advertising.

Asset-Based Ads
Responsive display ads are a form of asset-based ads. An asset is
simply a part of an ad, such as a headline, description, image, or logo.
When creating asset-based ads, you provide headlines, descriptions,
images, and logos. Google uses machine learning algorithms to
combine these assets in countless permutations across the web,
continuously optimizing for performance.

Because assets are combined without human assistance, special

care is required up front. This guide can help you ensure your assets
work together in a potentially very large number of configurations.

Why Choose Responsive Display Ads?

Responsive display ads allow for scale and performance while letting you
customize all assets to match your brand look and feel. They are tuned
to drive strong ROI and scale on Google and Google Partner Inventory.

See detailed specifications

50% more conversions when running
image + responsive display ads1 for responsive display
ad assets »

10% more conversions with responsive display ads having

multiple headlines, descriptions, and images2

1 2
Google internal data, 2016 Google internal data, 2017
CREATIVE BEST PRACTICES GUIDE

How Do Responsive Display Ads Drive Performance?

Google uses a machine-learning-driven model to determine the optimal combination of assets for each ad slot.
Google chooses specific assets for a given user, device, ad slot, and publisher based on predictions built from
your performance history. Here is how it’s done:

1 3 5

2 4
Assets added Assets serve and
to the ad Responsive display ads model updates
results are driven
based on results; predictions update
for future auctions
Responsive display ads model Actual results are compared
selects assets to use based against predictions
on predictions built from your
performance history

Asset Guidelines
Use the following guidelines to create responsive display ads that
reach users and drive performance for your business. While these
Looking for guidance and inspiration
guidelines are considered best practice, and therefore not mandatory,
to help you choose quality images?
all ads and assets must comply with Google’s Google Ads Policy.

Marketing Images Check out the companion deck »

Images are the most crucial element of responsive display ads.

The guidance below will help you tactically understand what makes
a good vs. bad image for responsive display ads and avoid common mistakes and pitfalls
that can hurt performance. You can upload your own images or choose from Google’s library.

Responsive display ads let you upload up to 15 images in two aspect ratios. The minimum is three images with at
least two images in the 1.91:1 aspect ratio.

Aspect Ratio Minimum/Maximum Recommended

1.91:1 (e.g., 1200 x 628 px) 1 min / 14 max 5–10 images per aspect ratio

1:1 (e.g., 600 x 600 px) 1 min / 14 max 5–10 images per aspect ratio

Images uploaded may appear in different sizes depending on layout. Images will resize in order to fit particular ad sizes.
CREATIVE BEST PRACTICES GUIDE

Use high quality images

Images help users understand your business, products. and brand. They are critical to ads that perform well.
For best results, avoid images that are blurry, skewed, upside-down, unclear, have a border, are color-inverted, or
excessively filtered.

DO use the natural lines of an image. DON’T use visually skewed images.

DO use images that in focus. DON’T use blurry images.

DO use images that are easy to see and full color. DON’T use images that are hard to see or appear washed out.
CREATIVE BEST PRACTICES GUIDE

Use high quality images (continued)

DO use images that include a single, non-duplicated DON’T use images that include a mirror image.
composition of the subject.

DO keep edges square and borders transparent to allow DON’T round edges or use borders.
images bleed to the full aspect.

DO use the raw, natural composition of photos. DON’T use inverted color or excessive filters.
CREATIVE BEST PRACTICES GUIDE

No overlaid logos
Don’t overlay a logo on top of an image. Images where the logo is integrated in the photograph are OK.

DO preserve the original image, ensuring it’s the focus. DON’T overlay logos/other graphics on images.

Avoid overlaid text

Avoid inserting text on top of an image. Overlaid text can be unreadable in smaller ad sizes. Images where the text is
naturally embedded/integrated are OK.

DO preserve the original image, ensuring it’s the focus. DON’T overlay logos/other graphics on images.
CREATIVE BEST PRACTICES GUIDE

Avoid overlay text (continued)

Do not overlay buttons

Buttons (which promise non-existent functionality like “play”, “download” or “close”) violate Google’s Google Ads policy.

DO use the original image without button DON’T add buttons to your image
graphics that mislead functionality. as they aren’t a clickable element.
CREATIVE BEST PRACTICES GUIDE

Do not overlay buttons (continued)

Make your product or service the focus of the image

Blank space should not take up more than 80% of the image. Your product or service should be the focus.

Avoid collage images

Use single images. Collages are not recommended.
CREATIVE BEST PRACTICES GUIDE

Avoid digital composite backgrounds

Avoid displaying products over digital composite backgrounds, including an all-white background. Instead use quality
photographs that have physical settings with organic shadows and lighting.

Short headlines
Responsive display ads let you add up to 5 short headlines.
Short Headlines
• Don’t punctuate the end of short headlines 1 min | 5 max | Recommended: 5
• Don’t use the exact same text in a headline and description
• Don’t use your business name as a short headline
Characters
30 max | Recommended: 25*
Headlines longer than 25 characters might be cut off in certain
layouts. Ensure all assets are unique for maximum performance.

Short headline examples Long headline examples Long headline examples

Spell out your offer Tell users what they can do Make it unique and compelling
“Free delivery for 14 days” “Pay with a smart phone” “Bouncy castles for less”

Too short; undifferentiated Too salesy; not informative Don’t repeat the business name
“Try it free” “Nonstop excitement” “AirBNC – Bouncy Castles”

Long headlines
Responsive display ads let you add a single long headline. Spell out Long Headlines
your brand or product’s value proposition in a way that’s interesting and 1 only
useful to users.
Characters
90 max | Recommended: up to 90*

*
Each character in double-width languages such as Korean, Japanese,
or Chinese counts as two towards the limit instead of one.
CREATIVE BEST PRACTICES GUIDE

Long Headlines (continued)

• Don’t punctuate the end of your long headline

• Don’t use the exact same text in the long headline and your short headlines
• Write your headline so it can stand alone because it might be shown without description text

Long headline examples

Should be useful and can stand alone

“America’s #1 luxury bouncy castles. Free delivery within one week”

Can’t stand alone without additional detail

“The very best. Free delivery anywhere in the United States”

Descriptions
Responsive display ads allow you to add up to 5 descriptions. Descriptions
Descriptions are shown alongside short headlines (not long 1 min | 5 max | Recommended: 5

headlines). Description copy should be written to complement

short headlines. Characters
90 max | Recommended: up to 90*
Description examples

Articulate the value proposition clearly

“Inflates in a matter of minutes. No need for a generator, it lasts all day long.”

No detail and the business value is unclear

“Full of air and full of fun. Your summer isn’t complete without one.”

Logos
Certain layouts feature your brand logo. If you do not provide a logo, a neutral icon will be used instead, e.g., a globe
or the first letter of your brand name.

• 1:1 aspect ratio (e.g., 1200 x 1200 px) • Transparent backgrounds preferred
• 4:1 aspect ratio (e.g., 1200 x 300 px) • White space or padding should be 1/16th of the logo size
• Center your logo and crop it carefully • Copyright symbols in your logo are OK
• Avoid using small text or adding extra “flair”

We recommend uploading both aspect ratios. If you are only able to provide one size, upload a 1:1 aspect ratio logo.

*
Each character in double-width languages such as Korean, Japanese, or Chinese counts as two towards the limit instead of one.
CREATIVE BEST PRACTICES GUIDE

Logos (continued)

Centering and cropping

In certain layouts, the corners of your logo may be cropped. Please make sure your entire brandmark is centered and
not too close to the edge of the image.

Text or flair
Avoid small text in your logo. Logos without text (brandmark only) are preferred, because text can become illegible on
mobile. Don’t add additional “flair” to your logo or details that aren’t typically a part of it.

Backgrounds
Transparent backgrounds are preferred, but white backgrounds are also acceptable.
CREATIVE BEST PRACTICES GUIDE

Padding
Any white space or padding should only be 1/16th the size of the logo. For example, in a 400 x 400 px logo, padding
should be no more than 25 pixels wide.

Symbols
Registered (®) or unregistered (™) trademark symbols are OK.

Feed
Linking your campaign to a feed results in highly relevant and dynamic
ads for the user. That said, dynamic ads are only as good as the
product information provided. (Consult the help center to learn how to
create a feed for your dynamic ads)
Learn about Dynamic
Where possible, include all fields in your feed. It equips the creative with Remarketing »
more information to show the user. Complete feeds result in better ads.

1. Double check the feed columns to verify which information is being

requested. For example, don’t enter an image URL in the category column.

2. Create separate feeds with localized information if you advertise products

across multiple languages and currencies. This ensures users see ads that
make the most sense to them.

3. Don’t upload placeholder content. Provide images relevant for each item.
CREATIVE BEST PRACTICES GUIDE

Business name
All responsive display ads require a business name*.

Use your conversational brand name or a sub-brand, but not your full legal name.

Brand/Sub-brand Legal
Google Google LLC
YouTube Australia YouTube Australia Inc.

Do not use trademark, registered trademark, or copyright symbols in your business name.

Brand Name Trademark / Copyright

Google Google™

Do not include promotional information irrelevant to your brand name.

Brand Name/Sub-brand Promotional / Irrelevant

Google Google Store Blowout Sale
YouTube TV YouTube TV — watch now!

Do not add slogans, emojis, HTML tags, variable names, or hashtags to your brand name.

Brand Name/Sub-brand Promotional / Irrelevant

YouTube The Best of the Web, on YouTube
YouTube <b>YouTube</b>
YouTube YouTube $COUNTRY_NAME
YouTube YouTube #happywatching
Google Home Google Home 🏠

Do not add unnecessary punctuation or capitalization.

Brand Name/Sub-brand Unnecessary Punctuation / Capitalization

Google Google!
YouTube YouTube KIDS
Google Australia == Google Australia ==

Call to Action
Call to Action text can be chosen from a menu or automated by the responsive display ads algorithm. For best
performance, use the automated Call to Action option unless you need to change for legal reasons.

• Google chooses the call to action most likely to drive performance for a particular ad or layout
• The call to action may change based on the publisher, format and device

* Each character in double-width languages such as Korean, Japanese, or Chinese counts as two towards the limit instead of one.
CREATIVE BEST PRACTICES GUIDE

Campaign and ad group setup

When setting up an ad group or campaign that contains responsive
display ad, follow these guidelines to ensure best results.
Looking to track impressions
• More assets in fewer responsive display ads is better than many
in responsive ads?
ads with fewer assets (per ad group)

• Create unique responsive display ads for each goal, audience, Learn how to include
or messaging strategy 1x1 tracking pixels »
• While you can upgrade a “legacy responsive ad” to a responsive
display ad with no changes, it is best to add as many variations
of each asset as possible when setting up a responsive display ad

• When adding a new responsive display ad to the same ad group as

legacy responsive ads, smart display ads, or existing responsive
display ads, it is recommended to run all ads in parallel for at least
two weeks before pausing the older ads

Reporting
The asset report can help you understand when to
Label What it means
replace poorly performing assets with new ones. Assets
are measured according to volume of conversions, Learning Not enough data
conversion rate, and cost-per-acquisition (CPA) per
impression, per asset. Each asset has performance This is the worst performing asset
Low
of its type within this creative
label showing its current state (see chart).
Performing well compared to other
Note that performance grouping is relative and some Good
assets of its type within this creative
assets will fall into all categories.
Highest performing asset of
High
its type within this creative

Ongoing optimization
Consistently reviewing your asset reports will uncover opportunities to optimize your campaigns. This lets you give
your creative department specific feedback and request assets that improve performance. Here are some things to
look out for.

Short term
We recommend reviewing the asset report every two weeks or monthly and refreshing as follows:

• Add the maximum amount of new assets to your responsive display ads every month

• Don’t add new assets more than once per week

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Ongoing optimization (continued)

• After adding new assets, change assets labeled Low

• Look to your high-performing assets for ideas on how to replace low performers

Long term
We recommend reviewing the asset report every two weeks or monthly and refreshing as follows:

• Which types of short headlines, long headlines, descriptions are working?

• Consider length, punctuation, calls to action, common terms
• Consider structure, e.g., does it start with a verb? Descriptive vs abstract?
• Which types of images consistently perform better?
• Consider: color, contextual relevance, themes, image quality, style

Implementing changes
Do not delete/change all assets simultaneously. This will likely cause a noticeable drop in performance.

• To minimize disruption, rotate in assets gradually.

• Don’t swap all existing assets all at once — performance history is associated with
both individual assets and the ad unit itself

Controls
Customize responsive display ads to meet your brand guidelines. We offer two controls:

Custom Colors: This lets you denote a primary and secondary color related to your brand.

• Once you denote primary and secondary colors, we will use them wherever possible.
UP TO
• You can choose to run ads only in layouts where we can respect your primary
and secondary colors. However, if this option is chosen, you may lose up to 75%
75%
loss in conversions
of conversions and reach on average because of the lack of eligible inventory. and reach on average

Ad Preferences: This lets you choose which formats you want your ads to run in.
UP TO
• There are three options: All formats, Non-native only, and Native only 40%
• We recommend the default setting to run across all inventory types. Excluding drop in conversions
and reach on average
native inventory, may result in a 40% drop in conversions and reach on average.
CREATIVE BEST PRACTICES GUIDE

Examples of Great Responsive Display Ads

Responsive display ads are only as good as the assets used to create them. Here are examples
of great responsive display ads.

What Makes These Ads Great?

• Strong image that follows all guidance

• Headline is compelling

• Clear differentiators and value prop

articulated in the description

• Logo provided

What Makes These Ads Great?

• Strong product images that follow guidance

• All feed inputs provided, so information is complete

(reviews, prices, product names)

• Transparent logo provided

CREATIVE BEST PRACTICES GUIDE

FAQs
Responsive Display Ads run across native and non-native inventory. Can I use only one of these inventory
sources?

We do offer a way to target or opt out of native inventory. Opting out of native inventory, however, can cause up to
a 40% drop in conversions and reach (on average).

Should I create a separate responsive display ad for native and non-native inventory?
No, you won’t need to. Google will optimize your assets across each publisher, device, and ad slot, and will
account for the differences in native and non-native ads.

Will Google pair my ad with images automatically?

Images are only paired to expanded text ads in display campaigns. Images are not paired to your responsive
display ads.

On which websites will my ads appear?

You can find this in the Placements report in Google Ads.

How will ads appear on a website or publisher?

You can preview how an ad might look (within the context of a publisher’s page) when creating or editing an ad.

Does the ad preview show all possible formats?

The preview only shows a representative number of layouts. There are many permutations of publishers, devices,
ad slots, and sizes — it is not feasible to show every possibility.

Can I set up responsive display ads via the Google Ads API or Google Ads Editor?
Yes, responsive display ads are supported by both Google Ads API and Google Ads Editor.

Which Ad Rotation setting should I choose?

Set your creative rotation settings to Optimize. (In Smart Bidding, the creative rotation setting is automatically set
to Optimize and cannot be changed).

How should I test my responsive display ads?

Responsive display ads are ideal for testing creative, because thousands of permutations of assets are iterated
across users, sites, apps, and devices. Upload the maximum number of assets and rotate in new assets regularly
for best results.
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Checklist
Including Google’s recommendations for best ad performance:

All images meet basic quality standards

Upload logo in both 1:1 and 4:1 aspect ratios

Include the recommended number of assets for each asset type:

- Images (5–10)
- Short headline (5)
- Long headline (fill up to the 90 character limit)
- Description (5)

All short headlines, long headlines, and description copy is unique Include more

assets per ad rather than creating additional ads Choose automated the Call to Action

Do not use color or format controls unless there is a specific business need to do so

Use Smart Bidding (ECPC, Target CPA, or Target ROAS) for best performance

Swap in new assets and pause down low performing assets every two weeks
CREATIVE BEST PRACTICES GUIDE

Appendix: Guidelines to Other Display Ad Formats

Image Ads
You have the option to upload your own image creatives to run on Google Partner
Inventory. Image ads only run in banner-eligible slots, which is a limited scale relative to
responsive display ads. Read more about image ads.

Images
• Upload your image ads in high-definition (HD) sizes.
Clear images are more likely to stand out.
• Include the top 5 image sizes. They are automatically
resized to fit 95% of available placements.

160 x 600 px 320 x 50 px 300 x 250 px 300 x 600 px 728 x 90 px

• Use AMPHTML or HTML5 to create your interactive or animated image ads

• Follow Google Ads specifications. Check HTML5 ads with Google Ads HTML5
Validator.

Content
• Match the message on your landing page to the message in your ad.
• This benefits users and can improve conversions.
Lightbox &
Carousel Ads

Lightbox & Carousel ads enable brands to drive consideration by only paying when
customers choose to engage with their experience. They feature cards that let you
showcase products, images, videos, and maps.

Logos
• Use a bright brand logo on a transparent background
• Remove padding to make your logo appear larger
• JPG, PNG, or GIF only; 50 x 50 px recommended

Content
• 35 characters or less per line for best visibility
• At least 2 lines; make each line unique
• Make sure to preview the text on different placement sizes
CREATIVE BEST PRACTICES GUIDE

Lightbox & Carousel Ads (continued)

Image card
• Use a 1.9:1 aspect ratio images for optimal appearance
• Captions show alongside your images; keep to less than 35 characters
• Caption title should be concise. You can use the product name
• Caption descriptions are for extra information and are visible in the expanded state
• Customize your final URLs direct to users the most relevant pages on your website

Cover images (video thumbnail)

• Provide cover images in a 16:9 ratio
• Do not include text in the cover image
• Position important content at the focal point of the image and include ample padding

Carousel
• Call to action: Be concise and encourage action
• Cards: Use 2–10 cards
- Choose branded colors via hex code

Gmail Ads - Use 100% opacity

Gmail ads are interactive ads that show at the top of your inbox tabs. Some of these ads are
expandable. When you click one of these ads, it may expand just like an email.
Read more about Gmail ads.

Images
• Choose clear images and a logo that best represent your business
• Upload multiple images
• Our asset-based creatives will find best performing combination

Content
• Choose a message message that resonates with the audience you’re targeting
• Make your call to action prominent and direct
• Highlight special offers, promotions, or deals in your teaser text

Experience
• Direct users to a relevant landing page
• Review ad preview layouts for both desktop and mobile
• Test out several combinations of text and images to see what performs
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Expanded Text Ads

Expanded Text Ads are search ads that are copied into a Display campaign to run across our Google Partner Inventory.
The text you provide will be paired with images to run across our inventory of more than three million publisher sites
and apps. We recommend responsive display ads instead of expanded text ads.

Google Ads is a digital advertising solution for businesses of all sizes. Whether you’re a small business owner or enterprise marketer, Google Ads
delivers reach, relevance and trusted results to help you grow your business. Learn more at ads.google.com/home

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All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.