Dynamic Product Ads (DPAs): What They Are & How They Work
Dynamic product ads (DPAs) automatically promote relevant products to shoppers based on their browsing behavior. They help businesses increase their engagement, conversions, and sales by dynamically updating to match users’ interests, whether it’s on Facebook, Instagram, Google, or one of the other popular networks. Today, we’ll break down how DPAs work, which platforms they perform best on, and more.
In this article, we’ll cover:
- What DPAs are and how they work
- How dynamic advertising increases conversions
- What platforms should you run dynamic ads on?
- Common challenges
- Setting up your DPA campaign
Let’s start by discussing what DPAs are.
What are DPAs?
DPAs, or Dynamic Product Ads, are like smart, automated shopping assistants that show the right products to the right people at the right time.
Instead of creating individual ads for every product, businesses upload a product catalog, and ad platforms dynamically show relevant products to potential customers based on their browsing history and interests.
DPAs help businesses boost sales and engagement by making ads feel more personal and relevant. Here’s how they’re commonly used:
- Retargeting: Ever browsed a product online and then seen it pop up in an ad later? That’s retargeting. DPAs remind shoppers about products they viewed but didn’t buy, sometimes even offering a discount to bring them back.
- Cross-selling: These ads help businesses suggest related products. For example, if you recently bought a phone, you might see an ad for a case, wireless charger, or headphones — things that pair perfectly with your new device.
- Personalization: Unlike generic ads, DPAs adapt to each shopper’s preferences, showing them products they’re actually interested in. This makes ads feel less like random promotions and more like helpful recommendations.
DPAs vs. static ads
The biggest difference between dynamic display advertising and traditional static ads is automation. With DPAs:
- Ads are always relevant: They update automatically based on what users are browsing, what’s in stock, and what’s trending, with no manual work required.
- They’re tailored to each shopper: Instead of showing a generic ad, DPAs adjust to each person’s behavior, making them more engaging and effective.
- They work best for e-commerce and retargeting: If you have a large product catalog, DPAs are perfect for keeping ads fresh and relevant without extra effort.
- Less hands-on management is needed: Once set up, these ads run on autopilot — for the most part, anyway. They still need ongoing optimization — like bid adjustments, feed management, and audience refinement.
Do DPAs convert better than static ads?
When combined with digital ad intelligence and a good campaign strategy, DPAs can consistently outperform static ads. This is because they deliver highly relevant content to users based on their behavior.
By displaying products that shoppers have already viewed or added to their cart, DPAs feel more natural and engaging, which can lead to higher click-through and conversion rates. Of course, you still need to be careful with ad fatigue, even if DPAs can refresh themselves.
How do dynamic product ads work?
Ad platforms use automation and machine learning to match each shopper with the most relevant products based on their browsing and purchase behavior.
Here’s how it works:
- Product catalog: The first thing you need to do is upload a product feed, which is a structured file containing details about each product, such as images, descriptions, pricing, availability, and product IDs. This feed updates regularly to keep product information accurate in ads.
- Smart product matching: When a user interacts with a website, whether by viewing a product, adding it to their cart, or searching for something, tracking tools like the Meta Pixel or Google Tag collect this data. DPAs then use this information to serve highly relevant product recommendations.
- Machine learning and automation: Unlike static ads, which show the same content to all users, DPAs use historical engagement data to optimize ad delivery over time, based on each shopper’s behavior.
If someone was looking at a specific item but didn’t buy it, they might see an ad reminding them about that exact product or similar ones they might like.
- Multi-platform reach: DPAs run across Google, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, so shoppers see relevant product ads wherever they spend their time online.
The best platforms for running dynamic product ads
DPAs work on different platforms, each with its own perks. Here’s a quick comparison:
Choosing a platform depends on your business goals. Consider:
- Meta (Facebook and Instagram): Great for retargeting, social commerce, and reaching broad audiences. If your brand is big on visuals (fashion, beauty, consumer goods), this is your spot. Use detailed targeting to re-engage past visitors and drive conversions.
- Google Ads (Dynamic Display & Remarketing): Focuses on reaching shoppers who are already searching for products like yours. With Google’s huge Display Network, it’s a go-to for retailers, travel brands, and businesses targeting high-intent shoppers.
- TikTok (Dynamic Showcase Ads): While not true DPAs, TikTok’s dynamic ad formats work well for Gen Z. If your products fit TikTok’s trend-driven style, using strong creatives can get you in front of the right crowd.
- Snapchat (Collection Ads): Similar to TikTok, Collection Ads aren’t true DPAs. However, they offer plenty of engaging formats. If you’re targeting younger users with eye-catching content, it’s worth a shot.
- E-commerce platforms (Amazon, Etsy, etc.): If you sell directly on these sites, their ad tools help you reach shoppers who are already looking for what you offer.
- Other DPA platforms (Criteo, AdRoll, etc.): If you want to extend your reach beyond the big players, these platforms specialize in retargeting and dynamic product ads.
How to set up a winning DPA marketing campaign
Setting up a DPA campaign the right way can make a big difference in your results. Here’s a simple step-by-step guide to help you create dynamic ads that drive sales:
1. Prepare your product catalog
Your product feed is the foundation of your DPAs, so it needs to be accurate and up-to-date. Make sure it includes:
- High-quality images that make your products stand out.
- Updated pricing and availability so shoppers see the right information.
- Clear product descriptions with keywords that help with targeting.
Once everything looks good, upload your product catalog to Google Merchant Center (for Google Ads) or Meta Ads Manager for Meta ads).
2. Set up dynamic audience targeting
DPAs shine when they reach the right people. You can choose from:
- Retargeting: Show ads to people who browsed your products but didn’t buy.
- Broad audience targeting: Let platforms find new shoppers who are likely to be interested in your products.
- Lookalike audiences (Meta, Google, TikTok, Snapchat): Expand your reach by targeting people similar to your best customers.
3. Design high-performing dynamic creatives
Even though DPAs are automated, your ad creative still matters. To make them stand out:
- Use clear, eye-catching images or videos that highlight product benefits.
- Follow best practices for ad formats. For example, carousel ads often work well for showcasing multiple products.
- A/B test different creative elements (layouts, copy, CTAs) to see what drives the best engagement.
4. Track and optimize performance
Once your ads are live, it’s a good idea to continuously keep an eye on what’s working and make small changes by adjusting bids, refining audience segmentation, and updating product catalogs to maximize conversions. Here are some key things to track:
- Conversion rates and ROAS (return on ad spend) to see how well your ads are performing.
- Bidding strategies — increase bids on high-performing ads and lower bids on underperforming ones.
- Creative tweaks to optimize your ad. For example, you can try different images, headlines, or CTAs.
Common challenges and mistakes in dynamic advertising
Even though DPAs are highly automated, there are still some common mistakes that might hurt your ads’ performance. Here are a few mistakes to watch out for:
- Poorly optimized product feeds: Low-quality images, incorrect pricing, or missing product details can make your ads look unprofessional and turn potential customers off.
- Targeting the wrong audience: If you don’t refine your audience segmentation, your ads may reach people who aren’t interested, wasting your ad budget.
- Failing to A/B test creative variations: Testing products titles, descriptions, and pricing strategies helps to improve performance, since DPAs pull content dynamically from your catalog.
- Not setting proper bidding strategies: If you don’t adjust your bids based on performance, you could overspend on low-performing ads or miss out on high-value opportunities.
- Ignoring performance data: DPAs need ongoing monitoring. If you’re not tracking key metrics like ROAS and conversion rates, you won’t know what’s working or what needs improvement.
How Bestever helps optimize your dynamic product ads
Running successful DPAs isn’t just about automation — it’s about making sure your product feed, creative elements, and targeting are working together to drive results. That’s where Bestever comes in.
We use AI-driven insights to help you refine your DPA strategy, ensuring your ads stay relevant, engaging, and high-converting. Here’s how:
- Assess ad performance instantly: Bestever’s Ad Analysis Dashboard evaluates key factors like visual appeal, brand consistency, sales potential, and audience engagement, giving you a clear picture of what’s working and what needs improvement.
- Get AI-powered creative recommendations: If an ad isn’t quite working out, ask Bestever’s AI ad assistant to tell you what’s wrong to get instant actionable feedback on how you can fix those issues asap.
- Understand your audience: Bestever’s audience insights help you refine your targeting and messaging by analyzing who’s most likely to engage with your brand. Simply share your website URL and Bestever can generate audience personas to help you get started.
- Speed up creative production: Bestever can help you generate image, video, and audio ads that align with your brand, making it easier to test multiple ad variations and keep your campaigns fresh.
- Make faster optimizations: Don’t let underperforming ads drain your budget. Bestever provides real-time feedback, so you can tweak your campaigns and improve results without wasting ad spend.
Ready to get the most out of your DPAs? Let our team show you how Bestever’s AI can analyze your campaigns and provide data-driven insights to boost performance.