Setting Up Combinations
Combine keyword lists to generate thousands of unique keyword permutations. Write RSA headlines and descriptions with variables that resolve per combination.
What Are Keyword Combinations?
A keyword combination ties two or more keyword lists together. WonderAds generates a cartesian product: every keyword from list 1 combined with every keyword from list 2 (and list 3, and so on). If you have 50 services and 20 locations, that creates 1,000 unique keyword combinations.
The Leading List
The first keyword list in a combination is special: it's the "leading" list. It drives the ad group structure and determines the Final URL via its keywords' landing paths. All additional lists provide extra tokens that are combined with the leading list.
Choose your most important keyword list (usually your core services or products) as the leading list.
Creating a Combination
Navigate to "Combinations" in the sidebar and click "New combination". There is no save button: every change is saved automatically a moment after you stop typing.
- Open the "Keyword lists" tab and add your lists in order. The first one is the leading list.
- As soon as you pick a list, WonderAds fills in a template for headlines, descriptions and display paths. Adjust it on the "Ad copy" tab.
- Write headlines (3 to 15) and descriptions (2 to 4). Use the variable dropdown (chevron) to the right of each text field to insert variables like {{lists.services}} or {{account.name}} as chips.
- Watch the coverage bar under each text. It tells you in how many ad groups the text fits.
- Optionally pin headlines or descriptions to a position and set display paths (Path 1, Path 2).
- Give the combination a name at the top, or keep the list names as its name.
Autosave and Drafts
The status next to the name and in the bar at the bottom of the editor shows "Saving…", then "Saved". If the connection drops, WonderAds keeps retrying and also keeps a copy in your browser, so reloading the page doesn't lose your edits.
A combination stays a Draft until it has at least one keyword list, 3 headlines and 2 descriptions. The Draft badge says what is still missing. Drafts are not offered on the Generation page, so an unfinished combination never ends up in an export by accident.
Use the "Drafts" filter on the Combinations overview to finish or clean up drafts.
Inserting Variables
Every headline, description, and display path field has a dropdown on the right (chevron icon) that lists all available variables. Click the chevron to open it, then click a variable to insert it into the field as a chip. Variables are grouped into "Account" (name, domain, phone, infos, ctas) and "Keyword lists" (one entry per selected list, using the list name as slug). You can also type variable syntax manually, e.g. {{ account.name }}. Chips can be removed using the small × on the chip or by placing the cursor before the chip and pressing Backspace.
Coverage and Fallbacks
A text with variables has a different length in every ad group. "{{lists.services}} in {{lists.locations}}" fits for "plumber in Austin" but may be too long for "water heater repair in Pflugerville". The coverage bar under each text checks every ad group of the combination: green means the text fits, amber means a fallback is used, red means the text would be cut off.
Every headline and description has three fields: the main text, a shorter version and a default text. Fill in all three from the start, even when the main text fits today: if you later add a longer keyword to a list, the fallbacks are already there and nothing gets cut off. When ad groups need a fallback, its field turns amber (shorter version) or red (default) and shows an example of an ad group that needs it. A default without variables always fits. WonderAds always picks the longest version that fits: the main text first, then the shorter version, then the default.
Variables that don't exist are marked red, for example {{account.ctas[1]}} when the account has only one call to action, or a list variable after the list was renamed. They would appear as plain text in your ads, so pick a variable from the menu or remove them. Also fix red bars before generating. Texts that fit no version are cut at the character limit (30 for headlines, 90 for descriptions, 15 for paths), and the Generation page asks you to confirm that.
Preview: Shortest, Longest, Random
The preview on the right shows a full search ad for one ad group. Switch between "Shortest" and "Longest" to see the ad for the ad group with the shortest and the longest first headline, or pick "Random" and shuffle through ad groups. A "uses fallback" badge tells you when the preview shows a shorter version. Below the preview you see how many headlines fit everywhere and how many texts use a fallback or would be cut off.
Template
A new combination gets a template as soon as you pick the first keyword list, as long as you haven't written anything yet. To start over from the template later, open the "…" menu at the top right and choose "Re-apply template". It replaces headlines, descriptions and paths, and you can undo it for 10 seconds.
- Headline 1 (pinned position 1). Contains all selected keyword list variables in order (e.g. {{lists.services}} {{lists.locations}}).
- Additional headlines. One per account info (unpinned) and one per account CTA (pinned position 3).
- Description 1 (pinned position 1). Keyword expression followed by your first account infos, separated by dashes.
- Description 2 (pinned position 2). Remaining account infos and first CTA, separated by dashes.
- Path 1: first keyword list variable. Path 2: second keyword list variable (if available).
- Shorter versions and defaults are filled in where the template can build them.
Screenshot of the editor menu with the Re-apply template option
Screenshot Instructions
What to Capture
Specific area: capture the top of the combination editor with the "…" menu open, showing "Re-apply template"
Filename
apply-template.png
Save to Folder
public/help/combinations/
Changing Keyword Lists and Duplicating
You can add, remove and reorder the keyword lists of a combination until you export it for the first time. After the first export the lists are fixed, so the campaigns in your Google Ads account and the combination stay in sync. To use different lists after that, open the "…" menu and choose "Duplicate", or use the copy icon on the Combinations overview. The duplicate keeps the lists, paths and texts; changing its lists is possible until its own first export.