Following the tech giant’s announcement, Google Ads expanded text ads will no longer exist after 30 June 2022. That takes an important tool away from many marketing specialists for shaping their own ads individually. Google recommends switching to responsive search ads, which assemble relevant ads from the headlines and descriptions you supply.
The deadline is approaching. Here is how best to handle the end of expanded text ads in Google Ads, and what you should pay attention to in future.
No further support for expanded text ads
With many of Google’s motives one can only speculate. But on this change Google has already stated that it wants customers to always receive the right message. That is meant to work by assembling ads dynamically at auction time, so users are always presented with the perfect advertising message for their own search intent.
At the same time, Google is taking control of the ads away from its advertising customers and into its own hands. Several users report that many metrics improve durably through the use of responsive ads. Marketing teams, however, may now lack the tools to assess and correct their own performance. It becomes harder for companies to keep an overview and to improve and optimise ads according to their own wishes or analyses.
Get familiar with responsive search ads
Responsive search ads have been standard in Google Ads for some time. But what do they actually offer, and how do you benefit from the automation?
What responsive search ads give you
- One URL with two path fields of up to 15 characters
- A maximum of 15 headlines with a 30-character limit
- A maximum of 4 descriptions with up to 90 characters
- Ads with a minimum of 2 headlines and one description, and a maximum of 3 headlines and 2 descriptions
- Ads are adapted automatically to the screen size of the device
- Google’s algorithms assist with ad creation and delivery
- Text elements can be pinned to particular positions
Existing expanded text ads stay active
Even though Google will no longer allow new expanded text ads to be created after the cut-off date, ads that were already built with the feature remain in place for now. That also means there is as yet no reliable data on whether Google intends to switch them off at all. Anyone who has already linked ads of this kind to their campaigns will be able to keep using them. It does, however, mean you may now be under time pressure.
The strong comparability of performance made these ads a very good indicator. If you want to use the remaining time well, you should start creating expanded text ads immediately where possible. They can bring considerable advantages and ensure that your ads are not entirely dependent on Google and its algorithms.
Use the short deadline as effectively as possible
Creating expanded text ads now is sensible and advisable. Beyond the reporting that gives you a good picture of how different combinations perform, you should also keep the continued use of those ads in mind. Where possible, build up a set of evergreen ads that you will keep using and whose effect you trust.
It is equally important to engage with the possibilities of the new automation. Google’s algorithm only delivers good results if you feed it with fitting headlines and text passages. Shaping those individual elements therefore remains a real challenge you will have to face.
Conclusion: if Google’s idea works, you benefit clearly from the change
At present it looks as though the change will be permanent. And looking at how well Google’s algorithm works in most cases, companies may even benefit from it. Even so, you should not do without expanded text ads where you can still have them, and should ideally add to them. A few all-time classics should stay in reserve so that you do not have to rely entirely on the search engine’s algorithm.
Since the change affects all marketing departments and companies, any negative effects will hit competitors as well. Experts expect Google to be right with its own forecast, and that there will even be a noticeable, measurable improvement in conversions through the almost exclusively responsive text ads.
