At the end of August, Google Ads announced that it was planning to remove Expanded Text Ads on 30 June 2022.

Expanded Text Ads have been a significant part of Google Ads since 2016, but Google will now be encouraging users to use Responsive Search Ads instead.

Here’s what you should know about the upcoming changes, and how they may affect your Google Ads account.

A summary of the Expanded Text Ad changes

·       After 30 June, you will no longer be able to create or edit Expanded Text Ads. Google has confirmed that any existing Expanded Text Ads you have will continue to be served, and you’ll still be able to receive performance statistics

·       Before 30 June, you will still be able to create Expanded Text Ads, but the option will not be as obvious as it was before. You have to click to create a Responsive Search Ad, and then click the blue text at the top of the page to convert to an Expanded Text Ad

·       Dynamic Ads and Call Ads are not affected by the changes; you will be able to create and amend them as normal

·       Responsive Search Ads will now be the default ad type for all search campaigns

Google has always recommended that all ad groups have at least one Responsive Search Ad. They now advise that all Google Ad users repurpose their best-performing Expanded Text Ads content into brand new responsive ads.

Why is Google making the changes?

Google says that the way that people search for things online is changing. The rise of mobile technology and voice search means that ads need to evolve in order to keep up with customers.

Google claims that responsive ads let customers compete in a broader range of auctions and show ads that are more appealing to customers. Google also claims that responsive ads see an average of 7% more conversions than Expanded Text Ads.

Is there a way around the changes?

Many Google Ads users have expressed concern about the removal of Expanded Text Ads.

Responsive Search Ads take longer to set up as they have more assets attached to them than Expanded Text Ads. There is also the risk that the assets that Google selects do not make sense when combined together, leading to a lower clickthrough rate.

If you want to replicate Expanded Text Ads in responsive text ads, you can pin assets in a specific order, so you have more control. Google doesn’t like advertisers doing this though, so time will tell if Google removes or limits this functionality.

In conclusion

Google Ads has made many changes recently. Broad Match Modified keywords were retired earlier this year, and even though the removal of third party cookies from Chrome has been pushed back, the issue of how it will affect retargeting ads remains.

As always, we’ll keep you up to date with all of the latest Google Ads developments and how they may affect you.