The 25-35-35 text limit for Google Adwords has remained constant since the advent of the advertising service. However, when Google eliminated right rail text ads in response to increased mobile internet surfing, the company also freed up more search page real estate.
Now, Google has announced that Adwords will offer what the company is calling Expanded Text Ads, which increases the current character allotment by fifty percent.
Testing by Google also indicates that these new ads could prompt a 20 percent click-through-rate. Experts believe that these estimates will easily be replicable in real-world advertising.
1. Changes From Current Ads to Expanded Text Ads
Current Adwords formats allow companies one 25-character headline and two 35-character description lines. The Expanded Text Ads offer two 30-character headlines and a single 80-character description.
Google also changed how domain submissions work: Adwords now automatically extracts domains from the URL and allows businesses the ability to customize the URL path.
2. Heightened Call-to-Action Opportunities
With the additional character allotment, industry watchers expect that marketers will expand their use of calls to action in the headlines. At the very least, experts recommend that businesses include a call to action in their description, which also received a 20-character bump.
3. Bid by Device Allow Opportunities for Custom Ads
Google is also allowing businesses to bid by device when launching ad campaigns for the first time. This feature allows marketers to launch device-specific ad campaigns, in addition to hybrid advertisements that work for mobile and desktop consumers.
4. Local Search Ads Can Target Mobile Users
Research indicates that one third of mobile users are using their smartphones to conduct local searches.
Changes to Adwords will allow marketers the ability to purchase local-targeted ads on search pages and within Google Maps to immediately drive customers to their brick-and-mortar businesses. Negative local targeting is also essential for certain businesses that need to trim their advertising budget.
5. Possible Drawbacks of Expanded Text Ads
Although current CTR tests are encouraging, businesses should also understand the possible disadvantages of larger ads.
First, copywriters must adjust to the character increase and work to craft messages that offer the same clarity. Second, users will adjust to the sight of larger ads, which may lead to decreased CTR results over time. Finally, there may be some user backlash for these larger text ads.
6. Quality Scores Affect Expanded Text Ads
Quality scores are already essential for most businesses, but Expanded Text Ads are going to make them even more important. Marketers must work to increase their scores to decrease their CPC, lower bid estimates and gain entry into exclusive extensions.
While there’s plenty of advice for increasing these quality scores, Google remains fairly savvy in identifying true quality from companies. Therefore, most businesses can commit to producing the best possible content and expect that Google will reward them.