The biggest mistakes with the new Expanded Text Ads
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2025 8:09 am
Google is constantly coming up with new ideas for advertisers. The first half of 2016 was dominated by the removal of right-column ads. The second half of 2016 saw the introduction of the new Expanded Text Ads (ETA) causing a stir.
Upon closer inspection, one innovation is also related to the other. According to official statements from the search engine giant, the aim is to improve the display of ads on smartphones. Of course, Google has other interests in mind as well. With the changes – especially the length of the text – paid ads are becoming more and more similar to organic ones. Companies that previously focused more on organic traffic and their SEO measures must now start to rethink things. Slowly but surely, paid ads are taking up so much space that users who search on the screen are presented with no results, or at best only one organic result. They would have to scroll to ukraine phone number data/ find more. And how many users already do that? Google is also experimenting with the display of its ads (font color, colored background, etc.). The goal is to make the advertising environment more attractive and efficient.
What are Expanded Text Ads?
Translated into German, this term means "expanded text ads." With this update, Google wants to change the characteristics of its ads for the first time since the introduction of AdWords. While for years the same requirements (25 characters for the title, 70 characters for the description – two lines across – and a freely selectable URL) were applied, advertisers now have much more freedom. In addition to a 60-character headline separated by a hyphen, a description with a maximum of 80 characters is available. This gives ads 50 percent more space for text than before. The only thing that's less flexible is the choice of URL. You'll learn more about that later in the article. Information and questions and answers about Expanded Text Ads can also be found directly
Another change: the same ad is displayed the same way on all devices. This now leads to a standardization of advertisements and thus also of the user experience. Many searches today already occur on two different devices: people are browsing on their laptop and also have their smartphone with them. Now, the same advertising content can be found on both devices.
Initially, Google announced a longer transition period to allow users enough time to experiment with the new formats. After all, a changeover could, in the worst case, mean a drop in traffic. Many advertisers took advantage of this test period, but unfortunately not all.
A popular strategy during the transition phase was to simply artificially lengthen existing ads: a few more characters here, another keyword there, and the new Expanded Text Ads were ready.
Upon closer inspection, one innovation is also related to the other. According to official statements from the search engine giant, the aim is to improve the display of ads on smartphones. Of course, Google has other interests in mind as well. With the changes – especially the length of the text – paid ads are becoming more and more similar to organic ones. Companies that previously focused more on organic traffic and their SEO measures must now start to rethink things. Slowly but surely, paid ads are taking up so much space that users who search on the screen are presented with no results, or at best only one organic result. They would have to scroll to ukraine phone number data/ find more. And how many users already do that? Google is also experimenting with the display of its ads (font color, colored background, etc.). The goal is to make the advertising environment more attractive and efficient.
What are Expanded Text Ads?
Translated into German, this term means "expanded text ads." With this update, Google wants to change the characteristics of its ads for the first time since the introduction of AdWords. While for years the same requirements (25 characters for the title, 70 characters for the description – two lines across – and a freely selectable URL) were applied, advertisers now have much more freedom. In addition to a 60-character headline separated by a hyphen, a description with a maximum of 80 characters is available. This gives ads 50 percent more space for text than before. The only thing that's less flexible is the choice of URL. You'll learn more about that later in the article. Information and questions and answers about Expanded Text Ads can also be found directly
Another change: the same ad is displayed the same way on all devices. This now leads to a standardization of advertisements and thus also of the user experience. Many searches today already occur on two different devices: people are browsing on their laptop and also have their smartphone with them. Now, the same advertising content can be found on both devices.
Initially, Google announced a longer transition period to allow users enough time to experiment with the new formats. After all, a changeover could, in the worst case, mean a drop in traffic. Many advertisers took advantage of this test period, but unfortunately not all.
A popular strategy during the transition phase was to simply artificially lengthen existing ads: a few more characters here, another keyword there, and the new Expanded Text Ads were ready.