Google Unveils “Expanded Text Ads”
Translation of an article previously published on Infopresse on June 3, 2016
Google surprised the entire industry with their announcement at the recent annual Performance Summit. Over the next few months, the undisputed giant will revolutionize the look of ads with the rollout of Expanded Text Ads.
In short, Google is expanding text ads from 95 to 140 characters in order to optimize display on mobile devices. But the impact will be even more profound. Advertisers everywhere will have to update their creatives if they want to stand out.
Tens of billions of searches happen on Google every day. AdWords Search (that is, text ads at the top and bottom of the search engine) is a cash cow that earns Google $65 billion a year. Some may say this change is a very risky move, but, according to Google, it’s necessary. Google itself is saying this is the biggest change to its platform in 15 years.
Today, in 2016, keyword buying is an essential tool for professionals in marketing and communications to reach consumers. Here’s a rundown of the upcoming changes and how you can prepare yourself for them.
What is changing?
A vestige of the premobile era, and the only constant through the years, Google Text Ads have always been associated with a teaser headline of 25 characters followed by two lines of description of 35 characters each.
To maximize space in mobile search results, Google will increase the space allocated to its ads by 47% in the following ways:
- Two headlines of 30 characters each
- One line of description of 80 characters
A total of 140 characters will allow more space to present a product and influence consumer behavior.
This change comes as a result of the elimination of right side ads on desktop and the new formats for organic results (70 characters for the title, 280 for description). After tests conducted last April, few experts would have predicted that Google – leading authority on data analysis – would roll out this radical change so quickly.
How to prepare for the change and why?
Are you ready?
The expanded text space has already had a positive effect. Several sources have reported a 12 to 20% increase in conversions following implementation of Expanded Text Ads. This is a significant increase, which, by itself, could revolutionize the profitability of a campaign.
Advertisers will need to optimize to the fullest the appearance of ads and the techniques they use in order to create powerful emotional messages. A change is also expected for the Display URL, with a resulting increase in transparency for the user.
As a result, brands will need to redouble their efforts to ensure that their bids land a top spot. In effect, it will be more expensive to advertise on Google.ca!
Availability to everyone is a few months away, according to Google, but you can start today even though Expanded Text Ads is in beta! To take advantage of the changes right away, advertisers should contact their dedicated team at Google or a Google Partners agency.
Other significant changes
At the summit, Google also took the opportunity to announce other important innovations:
- A new interface for the AdWords web management tool
- Local search will now be powered by AdWords Search advertising
- Advanced bid adjustment options for tablet and desktop
- Automatically responsive display advertising
- New reporting tools – Voice Query and Data Studio
We need to pay attention when a business giant puts billions of dollars in revenue on the line because 50% of searches are conducted on mobile.
If recent years could be considered the advent of mobile, then 2016 is the year mobile has arrived. Other search engines, such as Microsoft Bing, will no doubt follow Google’s lead.
Here in Quebec, it is urgent for web marketing experts, consultants, and agencies to adjust their copywriting techniques to face this new reality.
Translation of an article previously published on Infopresse on June 3, 2016
Google surprised the entire industry with their announcement at the recent annual Performance Summit. Over the next few months, the undisputed giant will revolutionize the look of ads with the rollout of Expanded Text Ads.
In short, Google is expanding text ads from 95 to 140 characters in order to optimize display on mobile devices. But the impact will be even more profound. Advertisers everywhere will have to update their creatives if they want to stand out.
Tens of billions of searches happen on Google every day. AdWords Search (that is, text ads at the top and bottom of the search engine) is a cash cow that earns Google $65 billion a year. Some may say this change is a very risky move, but, according to Google, it’s necessary. Google itself is saying this is the biggest change to its platform in 15 years.
Today, in 2016, keyword buying is an essential tool for professionals in marketing and communications to reach consumers. Here’s a rundown of the upcoming changes and how you can prepare yourself for them.
What is changing?
A vestige of the premobile era, and the only constant through the years, Google Text Ads have always been associated with a teaser headline of 25 characters followed by two lines of description of 35 characters each.
To maximize space in mobile search results, Google will increase the space allocated to its ads by 47% in the following ways:
- Two headlines of 30 characters each
- One line of description of 80 characters
A total of 140 characters will allow more space to present a product and influence consumer behavior.
This change comes as a result of the elimination of right side ads on desktop and the new formats for organic results (70 characters for the title, 280 for description). After tests conducted last April, few experts would have predicted that Google – leading authority on data analysis – would roll out this radical change so quickly.
How to prepare for the change and why?
Are you ready?
The expanded text space has already had a positive effect. Several sources have reported a 12 to 20% increase in conversions following implementation of Expanded Text Ads. This is a significant increase, which, by itself, could revolutionize the profitability of a campaign.
Advertisers will need to optimize to the fullest the appearance of ads and the techniques they use in order to create powerful emotional messages. A change is also expected for the Display URL, with a resulting increase in transparency for the user.
As a result, brands will need to redouble their efforts to ensure that their bids land a top spot. In effect, it will be more expensive to advertise on Google.ca!
Availability to everyone is a few months away, according to Google, but you can start today even though Expanded Text Ads is in beta! To take advantage of the changes right away, advertisers should contact their dedicated team at Google or a Google Partners agency.
Other significant changes
At the summit, Google also took the opportunity to announce other important innovations:
- A new interface for the AdWords web management tool
- Local search will now be powered by AdWords Search advertising
- Advanced bid adjustment options for tablet and desktop
- Automatically responsive display advertising
- New reporting tools – Voice Query and Data Studio
We need to pay attention when a business giant puts billions of dollars in revenue on the line because 50% of searches are conducted on mobile.
If recent years could be considered the advent of mobile, then 2016 is the year mobile has arrived. Other search engines, such as Microsoft Bing, will no doubt follow Google’s lead.
Here in Quebec, it is urgent for web marketing experts, consultants, and agencies to adjust their copywriting techniques to face this new reality.