Expanded text ads Changes January 2017
As of the 31’st January 2017, Google Ads will be changing its advertisement formatting. You will no longer be able to create Standard text ads and will now only be able to create Expanded Text Ads (ETAs). The idea of these new adverts is to get more information into the same place so that people can learn a bit more about your company before visiting your website. The Expanded text ads have been designed specifically to look better on mobile phones which could benefit many businesses’ as they could be targeting people who are always on to go. PPC can be one of the best promotional techniques to get your business out there either locally or worldwide. Google Ads can be extremely expensive so you want to make sure you’re getting value for your money, and one of the easiest ways to do this is to design an ad that speaks to your target audience and brings them to your website.
So whats going to change?
The main question on most people’s mind is what is the difference between a standard text ad and an expanded text ad? Well, the title gives it away really, the amount of space available for text has been expanded. In other words, you have more space to promote your business or offer; instead of the normal two 35 character text boxes that you would’ve been given when creating a standard text ad, you will now be given one 80 character text box which means you have a bit more space to get your message across. Headlines have also been updated. Now instead of just being able to have one 25 character headline, there are two lines available, both of which allowing up to 35 characters! This is the first thing somebody will look at when they see your ad, so make sure your title is gripping and draws the reader in. This has been specifically designed for smartphones and will therefore, change a number of lines your title is spread across depending on a person’s screen size. Google is definitely trying to make adverts better for people who are on a mobile device.
The URL which is shown on your add has also changed. Instead of showing your display URL you can add path fields; for example, if you owned a music website and wanted to advertise your Rock Music band page instead of just www.music.com appearing you can now have www.music.com/rock-music/bands. Not only will this help your adverts relevancy, but it might also persuade people to click on the advert as they know what the page will be about!
Conclusion
This update from Google will make a huge difference when it comes to viewing adverts from a mobile device, while making it easier to get your messaging across in the adverts at the same time. Any Standard text adds created before the 31st January will still be available after, however, you will not be able to edit them or create any more. If you haven’t already, start making the most of the extra character limit and get your ads moved over to ETAs.
Thanks for reading and feel free to get in touch if you want any advice around your PPC campaigns.
