Earlier this year, Google announced expanded text ads that would change the way PPC advertising would work. The main change is that instead of having a 25-character headline with two 35-character descriptions, you’d have two 30-character headlines and an 80-character description to play with.

So what effect does this have on PPC advertising? There are a few things that you’ll need to keep in mind.

Uniformity Across Devices

One of the goals of expanded text ads is to make advertising more uniform across devices. Previously this year, Google cut out side ads on desktop, removing some of the distinction between mobile and desktop devices and—incidentally—allowing more space for ads. This was a natural lead in for expanded text ads.

More Words, More Freedom

Ultimately, expanded text ads allow for nearly 50% more text, and the structure changes somewhat. This doesn’t just mean you’ll have more room to convey your message—you’ll also need to restructure your ads to make the best possible use of the new format.

Some of the rules remain the same. Your headline will most likely be read first, and the description last (if at all), just as before. But now that you have two headlines, you’ll be able to incorporate more information, a stronger call to action, more engaging wording, etc.

You’ll also need to prioritize what goes where, since the first headline will almost certainly be noticed, but the second headline (depending on the device and the length) may appear on a second line or even be truncated.

Mind Your URL

Another change that has been made is the way your URL is displayed in the ad. Expanded text ads extract the display URL from the final URL, which you can then customize with up to two paths tacked on to the end. It’s best to match these paths to your ad’s keywords to make it more relevant—and thus more likely to be clicked.

For more information on PPC services, call or contact the office of Accelerate Online Marketing today.

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