Soon, the expanded text ad format will be no more.
Google Expanded Text Ads Get the Boot
At the end of June 2022, Google says you’ll no longer be able to create or edit expanded text ads. In fact, according to the announcement, responsive search ads will be the only Search ad type that can be created or edited in standard Search campaigns. (Though existing expanded text ads will continue to serve alongside responsive ads, and you’ll still be able to monitor performance.)
If you currently run expanded text ads, you’ll want to start preparing for the change by creating at least one responsive search ad per campaign. This gives you time to test and optimize responsive ads with various creative. If you are not sure what this entails, here’s a little information to get you started.
What Are Responsive Search Ads?
Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) are a type of ad in Google Search that relies on machine learning to show the most effective ads to users. Google mixes and matches headlines and descriptions you provide to serve RSAs based on search queries and other first-party data.
Whereas expanded text ads contain 3 headlines and 2 descriptions, responsive search ads can work with up to 10 different headlines and 5 descriptions to serve the best ads to users. The best part is, Google finds the best performing ads this way, so you can continue to refine your campaigns based on this data.
What to Do Now
At this moment, you may want to start switching over any of your expanded text ads to responsive search ads. Or, at the very least, add just one responsive search ad to each active campaign. That way, you can start learning about what to expect from responsive ads, and you will be ready to embrace the inevitable change.
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