Dynamic keyword insertion is widely touted as the greatest thing to happen to AdWords in the last two years. The biggest benefit may be to your CTR. When a consumer sees the exact search term in your ad, it can be very compelling. CTRs will often rise when using it.

However, dynamic keyword insertion is not for every situation. You must be careful not to over use or abuse it. The following problems can arise when using dynamic keyword insertion.

1) DKI doesn't increase the relevancy of your ad.

AdWords likes to see the keyword you are targeting in the headline or ad description. It will increase your quality score if the keyword is part of the ad. However, it doesn't consider dynamic keyword insertion to be the keyword. So you miss an opportunity to improve your quality score.

2) DKI can lead to poorly written ads.

You've seen ads that don't seem to make sense when your read them. You can be sure that such ads are using dynamic keyword insertion and that accounts for the poor sales copy. When you use a large keyword list, it's practically impossible to write a single ad that will make sense and be compelling.

3) DKI can't help your landing page.

You may have read that your landing page can benefit from it. It can't. Your landing page is outside AdWords. Dynamic keyword insertion only occurs within AdWords. Want proof? Stick the token {KeyWord} on your landing page and view it a browser. The token will not be replaced.

4) DKI may make it difficult to track ad performance

Split testing your ads and sales copy is a proven method to improve your ads. However since you won't know exactly what you ad said at any given time, it makes if difficult to test changes to your sales copy.

You must be aware of the advantages and drawbacks before you use dynamic keyword insertion. You must then make an informed decision if it is right for your situation. You are generally better off without it if you customize your ads and landing pages.