Google replaced standard text ads with expanded text ads (ETAs) last month. This change has been regarded as their largest since AdWords launched with expanded text ads visible across all devices.

Expanded text ads are designed to maximise web presence and mobile search results as they have a longer headline and description. They offer more prominent headlines with two 30-character fields instead of one. It’s worth highlighting headline one is more important the second headline but the two need to work together.

Descriptions have been merged into an 80-character field, previously there were two 35-character description lines. In addition, AdWords now automatically extracts the domain of your final URL and shows it as your ad’s display URL. This can also include two “path” fields where you can add copy to show visitors what they can expect when they click on your ad.

With these changes comes an opportunity to create much more eye-catching ads, resulting in greater visibility. Expanded text ads are mobile-optimised too so there’s no need to alter the settings when creating or editing. They’re also supported by the same AdWords tools as standard text ads were.

Do take advantage of the additional characters as longer headlines increase your clickable space. You must, however, ensure you review your entire ad creative when devising your expanded text ads. Write compelling and relevant copy that outlines your key point of difference while not forgetting about keywords, which feature in the path fields. The quality of your ads matters to Google, so don’t rely on the additional characters doing the leg-work for you!

Test and optimise your expanded text ads ensuring each works well on mobile and do experiment with different variations to see what performs best. You should test both new and old format ads next to each other, evolving your expanded text ads until they surpass the standard ads. Standard ads should continue running alongside expanded text ads up to this point.

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Need to get more out of your text ads? Contact Paul Mackenzie Ross, our Digital Marketing Manager at Clever Marketing, on 020 3146 4341.