Announced at the Google performance summit in May 2016, Expanded Text Ads have been on the cards for some time and we’re really excited to see that Google have begun rolling them out this week.
This an opportunity for AdWords advertisers to refresh tired ad copy with more descriptive messaging with a particular focus on a longer, more compelling headline. This new format will help prepare your customers for what they will find if they click your ad and visit your site.
As a Google Partner our primary goal is to generate relevant and motivated traffic to your website that converts and these new ads will help us do just that.
Previously, text ads were limited to one 25 character headline and two rows of 35 characters that made up the body of the ad. New ads boast two lengthy 30 character headlines and one long description line of 80 characters.
Google’s moving towards mobile
Extended Text Ads provide a larger ad space in which to showcase information on your products and services and attract attention of users across all devices. In particular mobile users on the go, who want to know exactly what you offer before clicking through to your website.
Ads at the top of the SERP (search engine results page) will take up a large majority of the space available. Anything below position 2 or 3 on a mobile device could become irrelevant, perhaps another move to further monetise the search engine? It is therefore essential, to ensure that your ad copy is rewritten to take advantage of the new format, and to keep working on improving your Quality Score to aim for those coveted top spots where possible.
Benefits of the new expanded text ads
- Stand out more over organic listings – longer ads increase the clickable space
- Prime opportunity to refresh your ad creative
- Provide more detailed information in your adverts
- Reduce unwanted clicks by providing a more detailed description
- Increase click through rate
How to update your ad creative
Google have specified that when you make the transition in your account to longer ads to keep these guidelines in mind.
As for updating the ads, it’s simple. Login to your account and navigate to an ad group, click on the +new ad button and you’ll be able to create a new ad from there. You will have the option to revert back to the standard text ads if you prefer – but just bear in mind these will be phased out eventually, Google have not confirmed a date yet but we anticipate it will be no more than 6 months.
Key information for our clients
- You can still run existing ads as they are so no immediate change is necessary for your account
- You will no longer be able to add new standard text ads from 26th October this year
- Google advise us to test new expanded text ads alongside standard ads. We will be contacting all of our clients to discuss these changes over the coming weeks
In the meantime if you have any questions about the new ad creative contact our Google AdWord Professional [email protected]
Article update – Google have announced that as of 31st January 2017 AdWords advertisers will no longer be able to create or edit standard text ads.