Google has done it again and as you’re probably aware, Google loves to update Google ads all the time with some updates being bigger and better than others…
Search Text Ads, What’s New?
Exciting News for paid search enthusiasts! You can now have another extra headline in your text ads and one extra description, meaning you’ll have even more space when writing ads. Furthermore, the additional headline and description allows businesses to take up even more space on the Google Search results suggesting that your ad will take up even more real-estate at the top position; meaning more ad recognition by the viewer.
As you can see in the screenshot Google has now added a third headline option and second description. These are not mandatory, but for the majority ads, we would recommend using this feature; as it will give you the most real-estate possible when showing your ad.
What Are The Downsides To The Change in Search Ads?
There are a couple of downsides to the new addition. For example, if you have older campaigns which may have been running for a long time, it’s probably worth updating them to this new format, otherwise, competitors who have implemented these new improvements will have an advantage over you and from this, you may find yourself falling behind. This could lead to a reduction in Click through rate (CTR) which could then go on to affect your conversion rates.
In addition, it’s important to note that you will not always be able to show all three headlines and both descriptions. Only when you’re the top-ranking ad will all three show. So, when writing the ad copy, you should always be aware of the fact the final headline and description might not show, meaning the ad has to be as exciting as possible and make sense even without the additional headline and description.
What's New For Display Ads?
Google is opting for the implementation of AI in their platforms. Due to this, Google has now added ‘Responsive Search Ads’ which aim to reduce a lot of the manual changes advertisers have to make in order to optimise their ads, hoping to improve performance through Machine Learning.
Previously the last huge step forward towards automating ads came in 2016 when automatic resizing was added, and a second headline was also implemented; leading to an increase at the time of 15% more clicks. Now we are seeing more and more automation, but what does this mean for the future of search advertising?
As you can see in the screenshot you are now able to add up to 15 images, 5 headlines, 5 descriptions and 5 logos. Meaning you can try different variations with a reduction in the time to implement these on the account; which would otherwise have to be done individually.
How Do Responsive Display Ads Work?
Responsive Display Ads work through Google’s AI software which will change and order the headline, image, description, and logo to best optimise the ad or the viewer based on the options you give; which will most likely lead to conversions.
What Are The Downsides To This Change?
Although the idea of Responsive Display Ads sounds brilliant and could lead to many hours of time being saved in optimising your ads, there is always a risk involved when you hand all the controls over to Google.
The AI involved to create this is still developing and in its fairly early stages which means not only could it make mistakes early on, there is also the possibility the AI might not account for every aspect of the ad. One example of this could be through the re-ordering of the headlines and descriptions. In some circumstances, headlines and descriptions will not make sense if re-ordered. Annoyingly this is something you will have to be aware of when you write the copy.
However, when the AI works, the principle and idea is brilliant and could be one of the first steps toward fully automating many of the processes which take a huge amount of time if done manually.
It’s important to note, however, that this feature is slowing rolling out, so, not everyone will have access to this straight away. You may have to be a little patient if you’re wanting to use these new Responsive Display Ads now.
Should You Be Using These New Features?
For most advertisers, these new features will be incredibly useful in the long-run, however, it all depends on what is important to you as a business:
- Do you have the budget to risk a new feature which could possibly cause some possible clients to ignore or see your ad in a bad light?
- Do you trust Google’s AI?
- Do you have enough time to A/B Test your ads and try our new variations in copy/images?
- Do you have time to go over old campaigns and add new headlines and descriptions?
- Will you always see the benefits to additional headlines if you are often not ranking high enough?
A lot of the considerations you need to make are around time and trust, all of these new features have the possibility to do great things, however, some require extra time being budgeted and/or risking using a feature which we are yet to see the benefits of in the long-run.
Lastly, with the importance of AI growing more and more in advertising it’s important to be aware of these changes as in the future we might be even more dependent on these services than ever; no matter whether you implement them or not now!
All a bit Confusing? Call Us!
Hopefully, you have found this article useful, if you are struggling to manage your PPC accounts or need some expert advice, get in touch with the Innovation Visual team who will be happy to help.
