Can You Use Keyword Insertion in Sitelink Text in Google Ads?

No. Keyword insertion does not work in sitelink extensions (now called sitelink assets) in Google Ads, and ad customizers don’t either, because Google documents both features only for ad text. Its help pages place the {KeyWord:default text} code in an ad’s headlines, description lines and display path, and it says customizers work in “any part of your ad text, except for the URL” for text ads and responsive search ads. Sitelinks are not on either list, so treat sitelink text as fixed: the link text and description lines show as you wrote them, unless Google adds its own descriptions through dynamic sitelinks. To match sitelinks to what people search, write separate sitelinks for each ad group and let your responsive search ad carry the keyword.

Where keyword insertion and customizers work in Google Ads

Keyword insertion replaces a code in your ad text with the keyword from your ad group that triggered the ad. Google’s setup guide describes adding the code “within your ad’s headline, description lines, or vanity URL fields (Display path)”, and it lists the limits the inserted keyword has to fit: 30 characters in each headline, 90 in a description and 15 in a URL path. When the keyword is too long, Google shows your default text instead. Two details catch people out: the code inserts your keyword rather than the person’s exact search term, and Google notes that it isn’t available for Dynamic Search Ads, because those campaigns don’t use keyword targeting.

Ad customizers are the broader version of the same idea. You upload business data, such as a model name, a price or a sale end date, and the ad pulls the right value in at the moment it shows. Google’s help page on customizers states that they “are available for text ads and responsive search ads” and that you can customize any part of the ad text except the URL. A sitelink is a separate asset attached to the ad, with its own fields, so neither feature reaches it. That gives the short answer to both yes-or-no versions of the question: keyword insertion in sitelinks, no, and ad customizers in sitelink assets, no.

Google does not publish a line that says “keyword insertion is not supported in sitelinks”, and it does not describe what happens if you type the code into a sitelink anyway. Whether the system rejects it, disapproves it or shows the braces as written, the result is not keyword-matched text, so the practical rule is simple: leave the code out of sitelinks and put the effort into writing them well.

What you can put in a sitelink

Every sitelink has the same three parts: link text, two optional description lines and a final URL. The link text is limited to 25 characters in most languages, or 12 in double-width languages such as Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Each description line can be up to 35 characters, and the Google Ads API reference adds a rule that can explain a failed upload: if you fill in one description line, the other must be filled in as well. Google Ads Editor and bulk sheets write to the same fields, so a sitelink with one description line left blank is worth checking before you post changes. For the wider picture of how they look and which ones show when you set them at more than one level, there is a separate guide to sitelinks in general.

Google’s policy page also rules out punctuation and symbols whose only job is to grab attention, such as exclamation marks or a ► at the start of the text. On display, Google says an ad needs at least two sitelinks before any can show, and it can show up to six on desktop and up to eight on mobile, where they sit side by side in a carousel. You cannot choose how many appear for a given search, which is one more reason each sitelink has to make sense on its own.

How keyword insertion still helps the ad that carries the sitelinks

The reason people want keyword insertion in sitelinks is usually that it works well in headlines. A headline such as “Buy {KeyWord:Chocolate}” turns into “Buy Dark Chocolate” for one keyword and falls back to “Buy Chocolate” when the keyword is too long, which keeps the ad close to what was searched without writing a new ad for each keyword. In a responsive search ad, a headline or two with the code is a sensible start, because Google is already testing combinations of your other headlines around them. Use it only in ad groups where every keyword would read well in that sentence, since an awkward keyword inserted into a headline looks worse than a fixed headline would.

Google’s sitelink help page also describes a change that matters here. Under what it calls enhanced flexibility, unused responsive search ad headlines and description lines “may serve in the space that previously only sitelinks were eligible for” when Google predicts they will perform better, and only within the same ad or ad group. Google does not say whether a headline with keyword insertion behaves any differently there, so treat this as a reason to keep your spare headlines strong rather than as a way to get keyword-matched sitelinks.

What to do instead

Since the sitelink text is fixed, the way to make it relevant to the search is structure rather than code. These are the options, in the order a practitioner would usually reach for them.

1. Ad group level sitelinks for tightly themed ad groups. Sitelinks can be added at the account, campaign, ad group or asset group level. Google suggests starting with account-level sitelinks that suit every campaign, then adding more specific ones lower down. If you are new to the menus, the walkthrough on how to add assets in Google Ads covers where they live.
2. Responsive search ad headlines for the keyword itself. Let keyword insertion or customizers do their work in the headlines and descriptions, where Google documents them.
3. Scheduled sitelinks for offers that change. Each sitelink can have start and end dates and a schedule, and Google says editing a sitelink does not reset its performance data, so a seasonal offer does not need a new set every few weeks.
4. Other assets for short facts. A claim such as “Licensed and insured” belongs in callouts rather than in a sitelink, because a sitelink is a link and earns its place by sending people to a page about exactly that thing.

Here is an illustrative example, not taken from a real account. A Calgary heating company runs a furnace repair ad group alongside its general campaign. The account-level sitelinks read “About Us”, “Contact” and “Service Areas”, which suit every ad but say nothing about furnaces. At the ad group level it adds four sitelinks of its own:

Every link text fits under 25 characters and every description line under 35, and each one points to a page about that exact thing. “Same-Week Appointments” only belongs there if the business can actually offer it. Someone searching for a furnace that won’t start can now see a sitelink that speaks to their problem, which is what people were hoping keyword insertion would do for them in the first place.

Dynamic sitelinks are not keyword insertion

Google can also add sitelinks on its own. Dynamic sitelinks are created automatically, can come from your landing pages and other sources, and show only when Google expects them to improve the ad’s performance, either alongside your own sitelinks or instead of them. You do not write their text, so they are not a way to insert your keywords either. You are not left without control, though. Google documents that you can find them in the asset report by filtering on “Added by: Google AI”, pause or remove any one you don’t like, or turn the feature off for the whole account in the account-level automated assets settings. Google also notes that it can write sitelink descriptions for you when you are opted in, which is worth reviewing if you care about wording in a regulated field.

Related questions

Are ad customizers supported in sitelink assets?

No, because Google’s help page on ad customizers says they are available for text ads and responsive search ads and can customize any part of the ad text except the URL. Sitelink assets are not listed, so treat sitelink text as fixed text that you write yourself. Expanded text ads, the older format that customizers were first built for, stopped accepting new ads and customizer edits in June 2022.

Does dynamic keyword insertion work with every keyword in the ad group?

It works with all match types, but it inserts the keyword, not the search term, and it falls back to your default text whenever the keyword would push the headline past 30 characters, the description past 90 or the display path past 15. Trademarked terms that are restricted under Google’s trademarks policy will not insert, and misspelled keywords are either corrected or replaced by the default text.

How many sitelinks should I add?

Google recommends at least four sitelinks at the account level that suit every campaign, and an ad needs at least two before any will show. Because up to six can appear on desktop and up to eight on mobile, it is worth adding more at the campaign or ad group level for your main services, each with different link text, since repeated link text is not allowed even when the pages differ.

Getting the ad text and the assets to work together

Keyword insertion belongs in your headlines, and good sitelinks come from a tidy account structure, with tight ad groups whose sitelinks point to pages that answer the next question a searcher has. SEO Company To-The-TOP! is a Calgary-based company founded in 2007 and is Google Ads certified, and its Google Ads management covers ad text, assets and structure together. If you would like a second look at how your sitelinks are set up, call (403) 308-5949 or start from the SEO Company To-The-TOP! home page.