Responsive Search Ads

A responsive search ad, or RSA, is a Search ad you build from lists instead of finished lines. In the ad editor you can enter up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions, and you need at least 3 headlines and 2 descriptions to save it. Headlines allow 30 characters, descriptions 90, and each of the two display path fields 15. Google then assembles combinations to fit each search, so the ad a person sees may differ from the one the next person sees. RSAs replaced expanded text ads, which can no longer be created or edited. The ad is built on the idea that people search in many ways, so one fixed message rarely fits every query.

Under the hood, Google selects headlines and descriptions to show for each auction and learns which combinations get results. You influence it in two ways. First, by the assets you supply: distinct messages give the system real options, while fifteen rewordings of one line give it none. Second, by pinning, which fixes an asset to a position. Assets pinned to Headline 1, Headline 2, or Description 1 always show, while those pinned to Headline 3 or Description 2 are not guaranteed to. Google advises against pinning for most advertisers. Over time the asset report labels individual headlines, which tells you what to keep, rewrite, or drop.

RSAs interact with other settings in predictable ways. Ad Strength gives a rating from Poor to Excellent based on the quantity and variety of assets, and Google recommends at least two RSAs per ad group with Good or Excellent strength, each with a unique final URL. Google also cites internal data from August 2025 that advertisers moving Ad Strength from Poor to Excellent saw 15 percent more clicks and conversions on average. Assets such as sitelinks, callouts, and images sit alongside the ad, so a strong RSA still depends on strong supporting assets. Google recommends unique final URLs for the extra RSAs so each can match a different intent on the site, rather than all pointing to the same page.

The common mistakes are pinning too much, writing headlines that clash when combined, and ignoring legal or brand lines. If you pin everything, the ad becomes a fixed text ad with fewer combinations tested. If one headline says 'Free Quote' and another says 'Starting at $99', a mix of the two can read oddly or contradict itself. Required legal text should be pinned, but only to positions that always show. Another mistake is judging an RSA after two days; combination data takes time to collect. It also pays to read the combinations report occasionally, to see which pairings are actually served and whether any read badly together.

This week, open your highest-spend ad group and check the RSA's Ad Strength and its asset report. List what your headlines say: if three or four cover the same idea, replace the duplicates with different angles such as price, speed, location, guarantee, and a call to action. Keep pins to a minimum, pin only what you must, and add a second RSA with a different final URL if the ad group allows. Review again after a few weeks, when asset labels have enough data to guide cuts. Resist rewriting everything at once; change a few assets, wait for data, and repeat, so you know what moved the result.