On February 18, 2021, Google Ads announced that the Expanded Text Ad format would be getting retired on June 30th, 2022. Well, here we are. After June 30th, you will not be able to create or deploy ETAs, you will only be able to use Responsive Search Ads (RSAs). If you have enabled ETAs in place, you will still be able to use those moving forward, but if you pause or make edit to them, they will no longer be eligible. While Google gave us ample time to make the appropriate changes, you may still be in that pulling and all-nighter in college mode making sure you are set. I already wrote about this in January. However a few more reminders:
Beating the System
If you like ETAs and don’t want to let go, I get it. You don’t have to. Simply write your new RSAs and pin each headline in the position that you want it to show. Not a problem. This freezes the text, so it is like the old format.
Seasonal Themes
If you had old ETA copy that you had seasonality, make sure to have your ads correct and in the theme you wanted. For example if you had holiday ads saying “hottest gift of 2021” you will not be able to edit those after June 30th. Get those ads in place and enabled, even if the ad group or campaign that they are in is paused. If the ads are paused, they will not be able to be re-enabled. They will be frozen in time forever.
Keep Testing
While this has been coming for a long time, the time is now. You must make sure that you have your ads in place and ready for be frozen. Review all of your ads and make sure you are ready for the switch. As I had mentioned in my January blog post, I have actually indeed seen good click through rate activity from RSAs. Headlines generally do drive clicks, so writing effective headlines and having those rotate with Google’s AI can generate success. But like the traditional text ads, it is essential to keep testing and to keep utilizing extensions to gobble up screen share and get effective clicks.