Digital Advertising: Ad Templates

Chaya David
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Digital Advertising Templates

Every Digital Advertising ad is built from a Template. Templates live under each advertising channel and are organized by Objective, so Fullpath can run ads at scale, dynamically swapping in the right vehicle, offer, or dealership data for each ad using merge tags.

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System Templates vs Custom Templates

There are two types of templates:

  • System Templates are generated automatically. They can be enabled or disabled, but their content cannot be edited.
     
  • Custom Templates are created by duplicating a System Template and editing the copy. If only the new version should run, disable the original System Template so the two don't run at the same time.

 

Navigating to the Templates page

Activation > Digital Advertising > Templates: https://dashboard.fullpath.com/acquire/templates/search 
 

 

The Templates Page

The Templates page is organized as follows:

  • Channel tabs across the top let you switch between advertising channels (for example, Search and Social).

     
  • Objective tabs on the left filter templates by advertising objective.

     
  • Within an Objective, templates are grouped into expandable Ad Bundle panels (organized by Google Micro-Moment where applicable). Each panel header shows the bundle name and how many templates it contains; click a panel to expand it and load its templates.
     
  • A Search field in the page header lets you filter templates by name.
     
  • A date range selector controls the performance window reflected in the metrics columns (Clicks, Impressions, Click-Through Rate, Conversion Rate, Leads, and Running Ads). Changing the date range refreshes the metrics for every template on the page.

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Managing a Template

Each template row includes:

  • An enable/disable toggle for quickly turning a template on or off.
  • A preview icon (eye icon) next to the template name that opens a preview of an ad built from that template.
  • A three-dot menu at the end of the row with the following options:
    • View (for System Templates) or Edit (for Custom Templates) — opens the template.
    • Enable / Disable — mirrors the row toggle.
    • Duplicate — creates a copy of the template as a new Custom Template.
    • Duplicate and Edit — creates a copy and opens it directly for editing.

      Screenshot 2026-07-05 at 5.29.47 PM.png
       

Disabling a Template also pauses every ad running under it. The dashboard will warn you before disabling and show how many live ads will be paused. A disabled Template can always be reactivated from the Templates page.

Prioritizing Templates

Templates can be prioritized in two ways: manually, per Channel/Objective combination, or automatically, for Offer-based Templates in Search.
 

Manual Priority (Channel/Objective)

You can mark up to three Templates as priority for each Channel/Objective combination, using the Priority column (a star/checkbox).
 

Note: Given there are no errors, and the relevant source and budget exist, each priority Template will be promoted — but not necessarily throughout the entire month, since this depends on performance. Non-priority Templates may still be promoted alongside priority ones; a specific spend level or share of promotion isn't guaranteed for any priority Template.
 
  • Priority Templates for the current Channel/Objective combination are surfaced in a summary section at the top of the view.
     
  • Only active Templates can be marked as priority. Disabling a Template automatically removes its priority status.
     
  • Custom Templates can be marked as priority. Duplicating a priority Template does not carry the priority over to the copy.
     
  • Every priority change is recorded in the Change Log, along with the name of the user who made the change.
     
  • For Social, we recommend limiting how often priority is assigned, to ensure optimal performance.
     
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Automatic Priority for Offer-Based Templates (Search)

In Search, any Template sourced from an Offer (Off MSRP, Lease, Finance, or Cash Back) is automatically treated as top priority for promotion — no manual marking needed.
 

Note: Each Search ad group can only run a limited number of ads. Without this automatic priority, a dealer with an active offer could end up running only generic Car or Model ads instead of the more relevant Offer-based ones. This works independently of the manual Priority column above.

 

Viewing Template Details

Click a Template name, or select View/Edit from the three-dot menu, to open it. The Template screen has two tabs:

  • Details — shows the Template's data source, targeting, and performance metrics.
     

  • Content — shows the actual ad content (headlines, descriptions, images, and merge tags) used to build the ad.
     

     

Data Sources

Every Template pulls information dynamically from a data source using merge tags:

Data Source Description
Dealership City, state, dealership links, and other info from Dealership Settings
New Car VIN-specific data where condition is new
New Model Model-specific data where condition is new
Used Car Model-specific data where condition is used
Offers Off MSRP, Lease, Finance, or Cash Back offers from the dealer or manufacturer
OEM The dealership's brand

 

Creating and Editing a Custom Template

To create a Custom Template, duplicate a System Template (or an existing Custom Template) using Duplicate or Duplicate and Edit from the three-dot menu, then edit the copy from the Content tab - which includes an FTC compliance content checker. New Custom Templates are labeled accordingly on the Templates page; it is recommend to rename them to something more descriptive.

 

Note: Whenever a user creates or edits a Custom Template, a persistent compliance message appears reminding them that ad copy is subject to FTC advertising rules. From the Content tab, users can run the copy through an FTC compliance check — the checker flags language that may raise Section 5 concerns (for example, undisclosed pricing or offer conditions).

This is an AI-generated review and does not constitute legal advice. Flags are only intended to identify potential FTC compliance risks. Absence of a flag does not mean an ad is compliant. State and local laws may impose additional or stricter requirements. Consult your legal counsel before publishing.

 

 

 

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Only three ads can run per ad group in Search. Adding five Templates without disabling existing ones means the newest Templates won't run.

For Search ads, each Headline within a single ad must be unique — a minimum of 3 and up to 15 unique Headlines is required per ad, or the ad will not run. It's fine for a duplicated ad to share the same or similar Headlines as the original, as long as there's no duplication within that single ad.

 

Merge Tags

Merge Tags are placeholders that get replaced with real values when the ad runs (for example, a "Car Year" merge tag is replaced with an actual year like 2010). 

  • Available merge tags vary by Template type and Objective, and are listed inside the relevant field by clicking the "+" icon. 

  • Merge tags fall into two groups: Dealership tags and inventory tags.
     

Merge tags cannot be edited or altered once selected. They can be removed, but not changed.

Images

Display and Social Templates support images either through merge tags (pulling images uploaded in Settings) or by uploading a custom image directly in the Template editor. Read more about images in Digital Advertising here.