Multimedia ads

Learn how to set up multimedia ads to capture potential customer's attention

Note

For a list of frequently asked questions about multimedia ads, please see below.

Multimedia ads capture a potential customer's attention with large visual imagery that showcases your brand and products to increase traffic and sales on your website. We match your multimedia ads with potential customers' search queries by displaying the most optimal combinations of headlines, descriptions, images, and logos.

There are three ways to create multimedia ads: You can manually create your own, apply our recommendations, or leverage existing content by copying your responsive search ads to multimedia ads. Multimedia ads are also available in dynamic ad groups, which automatically generate multimedia ads based on your website content and campaign information. For more information, see About multimedia ads in dynamic ad groups.

Save time by using multimedia ads' ad creator to seamlessly add images from your website to your ads. You can also enhance your images with smart effects, including designer effects, background blur, and background color.

Multimedia ads serve in distinct sidebar ad positions and won't replace your text ad placements.

Note

Not everyone has the option to select Logos, copy their existing responsive search ads to multimedia ads, or add multimedia ads in dynamic ad groups yet. If you don't, don't worry—they're coming soon!

What you need to know

Notes

Multimedia ad recommendations are available for all advertisers except aggregators, adult content, and weapons. Pharmaceutical advertisers can manually create multimedia ads, but auto-apply recommendations for multimedia ads won't be available for their account regardless of recommendation settings. For more information about recommendations, please see Use recommendations to enhance your campaigns.
Please note that all advertisers can manually create their own multimedia ads. The advertiser constraints listed above only apply to multimedia ad recommendations.

You can have up to five total multimedia ads but can only have three active multimedia ads per ad group.
The accepted file types for images are .GIF (without animation), .PNG, .JPG, and .JPEG.
All existing bid strategies except target impression share apply to multimedia ads.
Bulk API support is available for multimedia ads. For more information, see Responsive Ad Record - Bulk. Please note that multimedia ads are part of the ResponsiveAd object. Learn more: ResponsiveAd Data Object - Campaign Management.
Reporting is available for multimedia ads. Only ad-level reporting is available at this time. For multimedia ads that have multiple images, reporting won't show the performance for each image. For more information about how to create a report, see Create a report.

Create a new multimedia ad

From the collapsible menu on the left, select All campaigns > Ads & extensions > Ads.
Select Create ad, and then select a standard ad group in a search campaign.
For Ad type, select Multimedia ad.
Enter the short and long headlines. Headlines are the most prominent text that appears in your ad, so you should make the most out of the available characters. We require multiple headlines so the ad display is flexible across a variety of publishers and placements.
Enter the ad text. This text will appear below or adjacent to your ad's long or short headline, depending on the ad placement.
Enter your business name.
Enter your landing page URL in the Final URL box. Note: In order to add website images to your ad (i.e., images extracted from your website), you must enter your Final URL.
Enter your mobile URL.
Select Add images. Accepted file types: .GIF (without animation), .PNG, .JPG, and .JPEG. Choose from existing images, stock images, website images (i.e., images extracted from your website), or upload a new one. To add website images, you must first enter your Final URL.
Note: Microsoft Advertising will only extract images from your Final URL's domain. In the future, we will support image extraction from website subdomains as well.
You need to choose at least one image with 1.91 : 1 aspect ratio and one image with 1 : 1 aspect ratio. The ad's imagery and overall appearance adjust responsively so it can blend in across a variety of publishers and placements.
Your images must meet the minimum dimensions in pixels for the following aspect ratios:

Image dimensions
Aspect ratio Minimum dimensions (pixels)
1.91 : 1 703 x 368
4 : 1 608 x 152
1 : 1 470 x 470
1 : 2 470 x 940
Optional: Select Add logos. Adding logos to your ads allows you to better showcase your brand and reach potential customers.

Note: You can add up to 5 square (1 : 1) and 5 landscape (4 : 1) logos. You can choose which aspect ratios you want when adding your logos. We will crop your logos in your chosen aspect ratios. Your selected logos will appear in the thumbnail list below Logos.

To re-crop your logos, select the pencil icon below your logo in the thumbnail list.

Your logos must meet the minimum dimensions in pixels for the following aspect ratios:

Logo dimensions

Aspect ratio Minimum dimensions (pixels)

1 : 1 128 x 128

4 : 1 512 x 128

Note
Not everyone has this feature yet. If you don't, don't worry—it's coming soon!
To edit and modify your image, select the pencil icon below your image in the thumbnail list. Then, you can choose to apply smart effects and crop your image. Choose from these options for smart effects:
- Designer effects. This is a selection of image filters.
- Background blur. Use the slider to adjust your image's blur amount. Background blur works best when the image has a clear subject.
- Background color. Apply a solid background color to your image.
Note: Smart effects are selectively enabled based on image quality.
Select Apply.
In the Ad preview area, you can preview how your image will look in an ad and edit as needed by selecting Edit placement. You can also choose Include or Exclude for each aspect ratio. When you select Exclude, this means that ad placements for this aspect ratio will not serve.
Select Save.

Aspect ratio	Minimum dimensions (pixels)
1.91 : 1	703 x 368
4 : 1	608 x 152
1 : 1	470 x 470
1 : 2	470 x 940

Aspect ratio	Minimum dimensions (pixels)
1 : 1	128 x 128
4 : 1	512 x 128

Best practices for multimedia ads

Create multimedia ads in existing ad groups. For optimal performance, we recommend using image assets in all four aspect ratios: 1.91 : 1, 1 : 1, 1 : 2 and 4 : 1, to analyze performance and drive results.
Provide as many assets as possible. You can provide up to 15 headlines, 4 descriptions, 16 images, and choose from a variety of call to action buttons. We suggest at least 8 to 10 distinct headlines that don't contain similar phrases. Use a combination of short and long headlines to maximize space on any device. Create headlines that are related to your keywords and use at least one brand title.
Make content distinct. Avoid repetitive language and create varied descriptions. Include additional product or service benefits and features, a clear call to action, and shipping and return information.
Make sure your image uses one of the accepted file types: .GIF (without animation), .PNG, .JPG, and .JPEG.

About ad creator

The redesigned multimedia ads' ad creator experience allows you to apply smart effects and choose which images from your website you would like to include in your ads.

Save time with website images. You can easily add images from your website to your ads. Select Add images > Website images and choose which images you would like to show with your ads.
Enhance your images. Stand out from the competition by applying smart effects to your images. Select the pencil icon below your image in the thumbnail list > Smart effects and choose from designer effects, background blur, and background color.

We may make multimedia ad Recommendations for you

Microsoft Advertising may create suggested additional ads for ad groups that appear to be underperforming. Learn about Recommendations, how you can apply them, and how to opt out.

Bid adjustments

You can adjust your bids for multimedia ads by specifying a multimedia ad bid adjustment at the campaign or ad group level. Any bid adjustment set for an ad group will take precedence over the campaign bid adjustment. Multimedia ad bid adjustments work the same way as other bid adjustments for Microsoft Advertising campaigns and is a percentage (%) increase on your ad group bids. Multimedia ad bid adjustments can be +20% to +900%. Because multimedia ads don't compete with other ad types, we recommend a minimum default value bid.

About product offers in multimedia ads

Note

Not everyone has this feature yet. If you don't, don't worry—it's coming soon!

Showcase your brand and products from your Microsoft Merchant Center store's catalog by enabling product offers in multimedia ads. Product offers in multimedia ads use large visual imagery to increase brand recognition and provide potential customers with more information about your business and the products you sell, which can lead to more clicks and sales on your website. All multimedia ads are eligible for this experience.

Get started with product offers in multimedia ads

First, you must set up your Merchant Center store and upload a catalog feed if you have not done so yet.
From the collapsible menu on the left, select All campaigns > Settings > Settings. Then, select the appropriate search campaign for which you would like to enable product offers in multimedia ads.
Under Store, use the dropdown menu to select the Merchant Center store that contains your product offers for this campaign. Note: Once you select your store for this campaign, you can't change it.
Under Products, select All products or Filtered products. If you choose to filter your products, you can select a maximum of seven filter criteria. Note: Once you select your product offers for this campaign, you can't change them.
Under Country/region of sale, select from the preset list of country/region options. Note: Once you select your country/region of sale for this campaign, you can't change it.
Select Save.
Follow the steps above to Create a new multimedia ad. Make sure that you have linked the campaign to your Merchant Center store.

About multimedia ads in dynamic ad groups

Note

Not everyone has this feature yet. If you don't, don't worry—it's coming soon!

Note

Enable dynamic search ads in your campaign settings for multimedia ads in dynamic ad groups eligibility. For more information, please see About dynamic search ads.

Multimedia ads in dynamic ad groups provide a streamlined, low-touch way to make sure customers find your products or services using large visual imagery. After you enable multimedia ads in dynamic ad groups in your Account level options, we'll automatically generate one placeholder multimedia ad for each dynamic ad group you create based on your website and campaign information. This means that you don't need to do anything on your end to create your ads. Our optimization will dynamically populate your multimedia ads during ad delivery with visual imagery from your website. Your multimedia ads will be eligible to serve unless you pause or delete them.

The ad creation process is different whether you want to create multimedia ads for new or existing dynamic ad groups. To create multimedia ads for new dynamic ad groups after opting into multimedia ads in dynamic ad groups, see Get started with multimedia ads in dynamic ad groups. To create multimedia ads for existing dynamic ad groups—e.g., dynamic ad groups you created before opting in to multimedia ads in dynamic ad groups—see Create multimedia ads for existing dynamic ad groups.

Get started with multimedia ads in dynamic ad groups

From the collapsible menu on the left, select All campaigns > Settings > Account level options.
Select the checkbox under Enable multimedia ads in dynamic ad groups.
From the collapsible menu on the left, select All campaigns > Ad groups > Ad groups. to create a dynamic ad group.
Select Create.
Choose your campaign from the dropdown menu.
Select Continue.
Under Ad group type, select Dynamic.
Enter the appropriate information for this ad group.
Under Create dynamic ad target, choose whether you want to target categories of webpages, all webpages, or specific webpages.
Enter your bid amount for your selected dynamic ad targets.
Select Create ad.
Note: You must create at least one dynamic search ad for this ad group.
Enter your appropriate ad information. See About dynamic search ads for more information about creating dynamic search ads and what you need to know about ad content.
Select Save.
Enter your bids and targets, advanced ad group settings, and ad group targets.
Select Save.

Notes

After you create your new dynamic ad group, we'll automatically create a placeholder multimedia ad. No further action is required on your end. Our optimization will dynamically populate your placeholder ad during ad delivery.
See About dynamic search ads to learn more about dynamic ad groups.

Create multimedia ads for existing dynamic ad groups

From the collapsible menu on the left, select All campaigns > Settings > Account level options.
Select the checkbox under Enable multimedia ads in dynamic ad groups.
From the collapsible menu on the left, select All campaigns > Ads & extensions > Ads.
Select Create.
Select the appropriate existing dynamic ad group.
Under Ad type, select Multimedia ad.
Select Save.

Note: By selecting Save, you are creating a placeholder multimedia ad for your existing dynamic ad group. We'll dynamically populate your placeholder ad during ad delivery.

Opt out of multimedia ads in dynamic ad groups

From the collapsible menu on the left, select All campaigns > Settings > Account level options.
Under Enable multimedia ads in dynamic ad groups, clear the checkbox.

Note

When you opt out, we will not create any new placeholder ads. However, your existing placeholder ads will continue running unless you pause or delete them. You won't be able to edit or update existing placeholder ads after opting out. To pause or delete your multimedia ads, please see below.

Pause or delete your multimedia ads in dynamic ad groups

From the collapsible menu on the left, select All campaigns > Ads & extensions > Ads.
Select the checkbox next to the appropriate ad.
Select Edit > Enable, Pause, or Delete.

Copy responsive search ads to multimedia ads

Note

Not everyone has this feature yet. If you don't, don't worry—it's coming soon!

You can easily create multimedia ads by copying individual or multiple responsive search ads to multimedia ads. We'll take your existing responsive search ad assets and use them to convert your ads to multimedia ads—all you need is to add Images.

From the collapsible menu on the left, select All campaigns > Ads & extensions > Ads.
Select the ad(s) you want to copy to multimedia ads.
Select Edit > Copy responsive search ads to multimedia ads.
Add Images to your ad(s).
Optional: Add Logos to your ad(s).
Select Save.

Note: Your existing responsive search ads will remain active and continue to serve after you copy them.

Frequently asked questions about multimedia ads

Will multimedia ads compete with my expanded text ads or responsive search ads?

No, multimedia ads don't compete with other ad types. Multimedia ads serve in their own ad positions on the right rail in their own ad auction. For more information about ad position, please see What is "ad position"?

Can multimedia ads appear next to text ads?

Since text ads and multimedia ads serve through two different ad auctions, it's possible for both ads to appear next to each other on the search engine results page. If you have a strategy for bidding on mainline 1 or mainline 2 ad positions and you're currently running multimedia ads with low competition, potential customers are more likely to see your ads next to each other. Over time, as the competition increases for multimedia ads, this scenario is less likely.

Do multimedia ads replace an advertiser's existing text ads in the same campaign?

No, multimedia ads appear in a different ad position on the search engine results page and won't replace existing text ads.

Do tool providers support multimedia ads?

No.

Note: Multimedia ads are created within search campaigns with keywords that you bid on for your ad to display. For tracking clicks, impressions, and conversions, you can always create a report at the keyword level without the use of tool providers. For more information about creating a report, see Create a report. If you want to understand multimedia ads' performance, you will need to set up a separate campaign containing only multimedia ads.

Can I see what search queries triggered my multimedia ads?

Yes, you can view the search queries (brand and non-brand) in the campaigns/ad groups for which the multimedia ads are created and serve in. To view these search queries, from the collapsible menu on the left, select All campaigns > Keywords > Search terms.

Are advertisers able to show their multimedia ads on search queries for competing brands or businesses?

Yes.

What factors determine what ad position multimedia ads serve in?

Bid amount and ad relevance are the main determining factors for ad placement. Please see Best practices for multimedia ads for information on optimizing your ad relevancy and be sure to use the multimedia ad bid adjustment setting in your campaign or ad group settings to positively boost your ad position.

Are logos available for multimedia ads, and can I use my business's logo for my multimedia ad's image?

Yes.

Note

Not everyone has the option to add Logos yet. If you don't, don't worry—they're coming soon!

Are the images I use for my multimedia ads available for use as image extensions in the same ad group?

Yes. The text and images will be from the ads in the same ad group.

Can multimedia ads with short and long headlines serve together? How many headlines can appear at a time?

Yes, multimedia ads with short and long headlines can serve together, depending on the ad placement.

Can multimedia ads' ad text or headlines be pinned like with responsive search ads? Or is auto-rotation enforced?

No, auto-rotation is enforced for multimedia ads.

If I opted out of auto-apply recommendations at the account-level (and haven't yet created any multimedia ads), will Microsoft Advertising still serve multimedia ads for my campaigns and ad groups?

No, if you've opted out of auto-apply recommendations and haven't manually created any multimedia ads, no multimedia ads will serve.

With multimedia ads serving alongside text and product ads do we understand the impact/incrementality?

Multimedia ads will not show up when there are product ads shown, only next to the text ads. Since text ads and multimedia ads are serving through two different ad auctions, it's possible to see both ads next to each other on the search engine results page. If you have a strategy for bidding on the mainline placement for text ads and are currently running multimedia ads, you're more likely to see your ads next to each other. While we don't have any data to share at this time on the impact of multimedia ads on text ads, we've seen other vertical ads in the right rail drive incremental clicks for participating advertisers.