What could be better news for AdWords advertisers than the option to set device-level bids? Expanded text ads will come close for some.
Having recently dispensed with right column AdWords ads, Google is adjusting its text ad requirements to allow advertisers more promotional space (on all devices, not just mobile).
From later this year (July according to some reports), expanded ads will include two longer headlines (both 30 characters in length, up from 25) and a consolidated 80-character description line (instead of two 35-character description lines).
Additionally, display URLs will soon be able to include up to two directory paths (up to 15 characters). AdWords will automatically preface the display URL with the domain used in the final URL.
Come September, and the old format ads we’ve been used to for so long will be gone. Nada. No more. Dead; not sleeping.
Why should you care?
Holy heart failure, Batman! We’ve got work to do.
Truth to tell, we’ve been finding the current character limitations a bit limiting recently, particularly when trying to incorporate reallylongproductnames and don’t forget the fine print service guarantees. The additional space will no doubt help, but will also require a radical rethink as we adjust to a world in which we can have not one but two headlines.
This is good news for AdWords advertisers (and Bing will follow suit soon, if only to ensure that Google campaigns can be easily imported). But it’s not so good for anyone already struggling with the Organic Search side of things, as more space in search results is given over to ads.
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Jeremy is a Partner and Senior Consultant at SureFire. Jeremy has been working in search since 1996, when he joined the Australian search engine, LookSmart. After relocating to San Francisco, he was instrumental in the development of the company’s paid search ad platform. At analytics company Coremetrics (now owned by IBM) he established an in-house search agency managing campaigns for Coremetrics clients such as Macy’s, Bass Pro and Lands End. At Acxiom he managed members of the pioneering SEO firm Marketleap and worked with clients such as Capital One, American General Finance and Kaiser Health. Joining SureFire in 2009, he is the head of Paid Search Advertising and oversees the delivery of AdWords and other PPC campaigns. He also helps clients make sense of their website data.
