Google AdWords Expanded Text Ads: 6 Steps to Take Right Now

On July 26, Google made one of its biggest updates to date by rolling out expanded text ads (ETAs) for all AdWords users. The update includes a second headline, more characters for your description and the option to include multiple URL paths.

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Google has been testing these new ad formats for a while and seeing significant lifts in click-through-rate (CTR). We had the opportunity to employ the beta over the last few months in many of our accounts, and we’ve seen CTRs more than double in some campaigns.

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Don’t know where to start? Here are 6 steps you can take right now to start using one of Google AdWords’ biggest updates:

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Make use of the two headlines.

Continue to include high-traffic keywords in the first headline, but use the second headline to highlight top completive advantages.

Note: Some advertisers have seen ad headlines truncated. On Twitter, Google recommend a max of 33 characters between headlines to avoid this, as characters like ‘M’ take up more space than an ‘i.’Expanded-Text-Ads-Headlines

Limit abbreviations and be more conversational.

With longer headlines and descriptions and the newly green ‘ad’ icon, we can assume Google wants ads to blend in with the organic results. Minimize abbreviations and make descriptions more conversational.

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Focus on your top performing ad groups first.

Manage multiple accounts or have campaigns with 50+ ad groups? Implementing ETAs might seem daunting. Create specific messaging for ad groups that receive the top 10-20 percent of your traffic and implement templates and/or ad customizers throughout the rest of the ad groups.

Include keywords in the URL path fields.

This feature allows you to be more descriptive with your URL paths and showcase a specific page you want the user to visit. Just like standard ads, URL paths don’t necessarily need to match your exact URL as long as you are using the actual root domain (i.e. convergeconsulting.org/blogs/etas).

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Update your ad extensions.

Your new messaging might include messaging you highlight in your sitelinks, callout or structured snippet extensions. Update ad extensions accordingly so you aren’t being repetitive in your ad.

Take advantage of tools to save time.

AdWords Editor was updated to support building and editing ETAs offline and for making bulk edits. You can also build your ETAs in an Excel document and upload changes directly in the AdWords platform. Download the excel template here.

You should still continue to run standard ads as Google showcases both ad formats. However, standard text ads will no longer be eligible to run on AdWords starting October 26, 2016.

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Interested in learning more about Google’s recent updates? Register for our upcoming webinar, where Hayley Warack, Vice President of Digital Strategy at Converge, and Becky Bush, Agency Development Manager at Google, recap the biggest updates from the Google Performance Summit.

Hayley Warack
Hayley Warack
August 10, 2016