Google has released expanded text ad (ETA) formats in lieu of the standard formatting that most marketers have been familiar with using. As of right now, standard format ads are still running, however, they will be discontinued on October 26. Marketers should take advantage of the leeway period in order to compare standard ad performance to expanded ads. We took the time to highlight some of the changes for you.
Headlines
Headlines can be truncated. Content is now limited by pixel width instead of character length. Google’s recommendation is that the combined count of headlines should be 33 characters. Headlines drive clicks and the increased character count provides a more eye-catching ad. Dynamic Keyword Insertion can be utilized in headlines.
Descriptions
Descriptions can also be truncated. Google has increased the character count to 80. This will help you connect with your audience and include a CTA.
Display URL
The display URL has two optional path fields to offer more landing page context. The path fields have a 15-character limit.
Mobile
The reason behind the change is to accommodate the multi-screen world we are living in. With that being said, advertisers no longer have the capability to create a mobile preferred ad.
Google shared that marketers should rethink their ad messaging to fit with the ETA format. It recognizes that restructuring ad campaigns can’t happen overnight, so the expectation is for advertisers to run A/B tests.
It will be interesting to see how the ETA format compares to the standard text format. Some preliminary results revealed that there has been a higher CTR with mobile ETAs.
Need help navigating the changes? Kraus Marketing is a Branding and Social Media marketing company servicing businesses in the NJ & NYC area. To inquire about our services, call us at (973) 990-5742 or contact us at www.KrausMarketing.com.