The times, they are a-changing – that’s a statement we could apply to Google Ads almost every day. Google is constantly adding new features and making updates to its extremely popular advertising platform.
If you aren’t on Google Ads yet, it’s time to consider it – search ads typically have the highest clickthrough and conversion rates of all digital advertising. If you’ve never used Google Ads, or you’ve been using other platforms in the meantime, there are a number of key changes that have been made already or that are coming in this year that will make the difference between search success and display disaster.
Responsive search ads become the standard in June 2022
For many years, the search element of Google Ads was based around expanded text ads. These inflexible ads have long been the go-to for search marketers, allowing you to define your ads exactly. However, Google Ads will be sunsetting expanded text ads in June 2022, and you’ll soon need to create responsive search ads instead.
Responsive search ads do what they say on the tin – they respond to an individual’s query more flexibly. Google will decide which of your headlines and descriptions are most relevant and will display those to the user, rather than the exact ad you defined. On the one hand, this can help you make sure your ads are as relevant as possible to a wider subset of searchers, but on the other, it means that you have less control over what people will see.
Even though you won’t be able to make any more expanded text ads from June 2022, existing ones will still be able to run, so if you have a set that’s working well, you don’t necessarily need to get rid of it. However, it’s a good idea to get familiar with responsive text ads and start incorporating them into your Google Ads strategy if you haven’t already.
Improvements to ad extensions
Did you know that ad extensions can improve your clickthrough rate by up to 20%? Google have been busy improving ad extensions for search ads to make them work even harder. You can now add automated extensions to your ads – this means that Google will create extensions based on your content and show them when it thinks they will improve your performance.
Also, if you’ve made extensions that sit on the ad level, but think they’ll work across a wider group of ads, these can now be eligible to be shown at ad group and campaign level, meaning you won’t need to make them twice.
Performance Max gives you an all-in-one solution
If you want to create a wide-reaching campaign that works across all the Google network (and it’s a big network!), then the new Performance Max strategy can help! This all-in-one solution allows you to create a campaign that works across Search, Display, YouTube, Maps, Discover and Gmail, using Google’s updated Smart Bidding automation techniques to help you achieve your advertising goal.
Performance Max works best when you have a specific goal in mind, such as sales, leads or local visits. If you haven’t selected one of these options, Performance Max won’t be an option. We’ve found that it’s a good option for reaching out to different networks, and even though it covers Search as well, it can work alongside existing search campaigns to show the most relevant ads to your audience.
Enhanced quality assurance features
To help users feel more confident about the ads they’re clicking on, Google have introduced a new ‘About this ad’ feature that sits alongside Search ads in the main Google results page and next to Video and Display ads as well. When clicked on, they’ll tell you more about the advertiser, and in some cases, will also show you other ads put out by that account.
This feature has been present on Facebook and Instagram for some time now, and anything that ensures trust with users is alright in our book. So if you’re asked to verify your business, don’t put it off – after all, if you don’t complete the verification in time, your ads will be paused anyway.
Don’t fancy setting up your own PPC campaign? Luckily for you, we know some people who love getting stuck in to Google Ads. To find out more about our Google Ads services, visit our services page or contact us on hello@digitaladvertagency.co.uk
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