Google is always making changes and announcing new features, and one of the latest that we’ve had our eye on is expanded text ads. In case you aren’t familiar with this new terminology, essentially what Google did was offer businesses more space to showcase information about their products and/or services in their ads. Below, we break down how expanded text ads differ from standard text ads:

• Through expanded text ads, businesses can utilize two headlines and one description line. 30 characters are available in headline one (up from 25), and 30 characters are available in headline 2 (which didn’t exist before). 80 characters are available for use in the description line, which is an increase from two lines of 35 characters seen previously.
• The display URL field now auto extracts from the final URL.
• There are up to 2 path fields, each with 15 characters available for use.
• These ads are designed with all device types in mind, whereas previously a best practice was to have your desktop and mobile preference ads be separate.

Most importantly – the biggest takeaway in our eyes is that expanded text ads offer 50% more ad space for advertisers to promote their business!

Note: you will not be able to edit or add new standard text ads after January 31, 2017.

So what does this mean for you and your business?

Ultimately, you now have the chance to display a longer message to potential customers, which also gives you the opportunity to be more creative – take advantage of this! Now is the time to rethink your ad copy to make sure you’re appealing to your searchers’ needs while promoting your business’ key selling points at the same time. And since this update is still relatively new, the sooner you get started, the better – you’ll certainly stand out amongst competitors who haven’t started utilizing expanded text ads yet.

Best Practices for Expanded Text Ads

The SEM experts here at Ferocious Media have been following and testing expanded text ads closely, and here’s what they suggest doing:

• Avoid generic language in your ad text. Remember, your ads should always be highly specific to your business and the keywords you’re going after, so take the time to craft your ad copy appropriately.

• Be smart with your ads. Regardless of the type of ads you’re running, it’s so important to have a strategy behind what you’re doing. Where expanded text ads are concerned, we recommend prioritizing high volume, high value ad groups when it comes to choosing when and where you’ll utilize this new feature.

Our third and final best practice tip of the day for expanded text ads (and search engine marketing as a whole) is…leave it to the pros! After all, a professional is your best bet for developing campaigns and ads that work.

Here at Ferocious Media, we don’t take a cookie cutter approach to any of our digital campaigns, and we certainly don’t set them and forget them! Our dedicated analysts custom build all campaigns and then consistently monitor performance to help you achieve your business’ goals.

For more information about our search engine marketing services, as well as the rest of our digital marketing services, contact us, today!