Chloe Parker reveals everything you need to know about Google Ads:
- Find out whether you or your marketing agency are using redundant ad formats
- Get a free template to help you convert your Google Ads to the right format
- Find out if you’re eligible for £400 to spend on Google Ads.
Are you still using expanded text ads?
By the time you read this, expanded text ads should very much be a thing of the past. Since 30th June 2022, Google Ads has no longer allowed users to create or edit expanded text ads. So, why am I writing about them today?
Well, at least two months after these ads had ended, I was surprised to find out that some companies are still using them. This is a waste of money.
What are expanded text ads?
Taking it back a step, let’s explore what expanded text ads are.
Google search ads was previously made up of expanded text ads. The requirements for these ads were three headlines and two descriptions. You would have multiple expanded text ads within an ad group. Google recommended at least three to five per ad group.
If expanded text ads are still part of your account, you can continue to run and report on them. But you will no longer be able to amend them. You can only pause, resume or remove them.
This means you can’t optimise them to get the most from your advertising investment. Google will also prioritise another ad format over expanded text ads.
So, what kinds of ads should you be using? Introduced in 2018, responsive text ads are now the only type of search ad you can create in Google Ads.
What are responsive text ads?
Responsive text ads are made up of 15 headlines and four descriptions per ad. You only need one responsive text ad per ad group.
There are plenty of benefits to responsive text ads.
For starters, you no longer have to manage multiple ads. This saves you time. Now Google has to do the hard work of picking the most relevant ad combinations and competing in more auctions. This ensures your ads are shown to potential customers.
Responsive text ads are flexible and will adapt to different device widths. This means they will be seen across mobile, tablet and computer screens.
They have a useful feature called ‘ad strength’, which helps to identify how well your ad follows best practice. The higher the score, the more likely your ad is to perform.
The other benefit of these ads is that because they have more headline and description options, you can appear for more search queries. Ultimately, this will result in more clicks and conversions.
How to find out if you’re making the most of Google Ads
Google search ads are a type of pay per click (PPC) advertising. They try to influence or encourage users searching for related queries to use your services. As you or your company are actively investing in these ads, you want to get the most out of your money.
Some things we recommend that you do:
- If you manage your account yourself – just check what ads you are running. If you have some expanded text ads in your account, then we recommend converting them to responsive text ads. You can use our handy responsive text ad template to write your ads – just fill out the form at the bottom of this article!
- If an agency manages your account – get them to send you an account review and check that they are not running expanded text ads anymore. If you are still running with expanded ads, you should ask for these to be changed over as soon as possible. And a side note – your agency should be writing and implementing these ads for you.
We’re here to help!
If you have any questions about Google Ads, our digital marketing team are here to help. We will happily do an audit of your account for you. Just drop us a message.
Wondering if Google Ads are worth it? Get £400 to try them!
If you’re not yet using Google Ads but considering if they are right for your business, ask yourself these questions:
- Do I want increase traffic to my website?
- Do I want to appear on page one of the search engine results page (SERP)?
- Do I have room in my marketing budget for search ads each month for at least three months?
If you answered yes to any of these, get in touch today. We can help with setting up your Google search ads and managing your account.
As a Google Partner, we are currently able to offer new Google search ad accounts £400 in credit if you invest £400 in your own ads with us within a 60-day period*. So, you can benefit from our experienced team and an amplified Google search ads budget.
Read more about our PPC services
*Terms apply