Learn with Respage

Your apartment PPC ads might look different in the coming months. But don’t worry. This change is for the better.

Earlier this year, Google rolled out a new AdWords format dubbed Expanded Text Ads. This format was experimental at first and served as a compliment to the original Standard Text Ads format. But according to a statement issued by the search company, Expanded Text Ads will replace Standard Text Ads in January 2017.

As a result, Respage can no longer produce apartment PPC ads in the old format.

Here’s a quick look at how these changes will affect current and future Respage users.

#1: More Room to Experiment

Expanded Text Ads give our apartment PPC specialists higher character count limits. Previous limits for Standard Text were set at 25 characters per headline, 35 characters per display URL, and 35 character for each ad description. (Note: You could have two descriptions.) Limits for Expanded Text are set at 30 characters per headline, 35 character per display URL with two additional “path” fields each set at an additional 15 characters, and 80 characters for a description. (Note: Expanded Text Ads provide you with two headlines and one description.)

#2: Higher Click Through Rates for Apartment PPC

Highly descriptive ads tend to create higher click through rates. When your ad explicitly states that your apartment has all the features that a search user is looking for, that user will want to click on the ad to learn more. And when you can fit more characters into your ad, you can be more descriptive with your messaging.

#3: Ads With Old Formatting Don’t Need to Change

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Google’s update will only affect new ad creation and old ad editing. So if you have an ad that follows the old format and it’s performing well, and you don’t want to edit it, it doesn’t have to change. However, as noted above, it’s highly likely that Expanded Text Ads will perform better than their predecessors. And if we notice that a Standard Text Ad is the lowest performing ad in a group, we will upgrade it to the old format in order to better serve your campaign.

A Final Word…

In an effort to bring our clients the highest possible ROI, Respage began experimenting with Expanded Text Ads upon their release earlier this year. The experiments proved highly successful, and a majority of our apartment PPC ads currently use the new format. For this reason, it’s possible that you may not see any changes as a result of this update. If you want to discuss these changes or how how Respage can assist in your PPC advertising initiatives, contact us!