What happened to expanded text ads in Google Ads?

An expanded text ad was Google’s standard Search ad: three headlines of up to 30 characters, two descriptions of up to 90, and a display path, shown above or below Google’s search results. Since June 30, 2022, nobody can create or edit one, and the text ad you write for a Search campaign is a responsive search ad.

The expanded text ads already running weren’t switched off. Google says they continue to serve and report, and you can still pause, resume or remove them; its pages name no date for that to end. So an old one is still showing on searches, in words nobody can change: an offer that has ended, a price that has moved, a product you no longer sell, until you pause it.

A responsive search ad takes more lines, and Google assembles them into combinations for each search, learning over time which perform best. An expanded text ad shows the one ad you wrote.

When Google announced the change, it reported that advertisers who switched from expanded text ads to responsive search ads with the same lines saw 7% more conversions on average, at a similar cost per conversion. Today it asks for at least two responsive search ads rated Good or Excellent for ad strength in every ad group.

1. 01Go to Campaigns › Ads.
2. 02Select the bar above the table to add a filter, choose Attributes, then Ad type, and check the expanded text ad type.
3. 03Add a filter for Ad status so only enabled ads show, and add the Ad group column if it isn’t there.
4. 04For each ad group listed, clear the ad type filter and read what runs beside it. An ad group whose only text ads are expanded text ads has nothing anyone can edit.

You can’t edit an expanded text ad into a responsive one, so write a new ad beside it and keep what worked. Google’s own advice for the switch is to reuse the old ad’s best lines, and where a responsive search ad is missing lines a text ad in the same ad group uses, its Recommendations page offers to add them.

1. 01In Campaigns › Ads, select the plus button and choose Responsive search ad, in the expanded text ad’s ad group.
2. 02Enter the final URL and display path the old ad uses.
3. 03Enter its headlines and descriptions, then add your own, up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions, each saying something the others don’t, with your keywords in the headlines.
4. 04Pin only a line that must show in every ad, to Headline position 1, Headline position 2 or Description position 1, which always show. Then select Save.

Run both for a few weeks, then read them side by side in the Ads table over the same dates. Google warns that a responsive search ad competes in more auctions, so one ad’s click-through rate or conversion rate doesn’t show the whole picture: judge the switch by the impressions, clicks and conversions the ad group gets.

Then pause it: in Campaigns › Ads, select the green dot beside the ad and choose Pause. Don’t remove it. Google says a removed ad can’t be enabled again, and since nobody can write a new expanded text ad, a paused one is the only way back if the responsive ad falls behind.

Every day Goldbeater reads every enabled ad in an enabled ad group and campaign, and raises each ad group still running an expanded text ad, or one of the older text ads before them:

• Medium where no responsive search ad runs beside it, since none of the ad group’s text can change. The advice is to write one from the old ad’s best lines, run both, and pause the old ad if the new one converts as well.
• Low beside a responsive search ad, with each ad’s last 8 weeks of impressions, clicks and conversions side by side, so you can see whether the responsive ad is doing as well.

It drafts no change: pausing is right once the responsive ad does as well, and that comparison is yours to make.

Once the responsive search ad runs, the ad strength guide covers what raises its rating, and the audit checklist has every ad line with where to find it in Google Ads.

Can I still create expanded text ads in Google Ads?

No. Since June 30, 2022, nobody can create or edit an expanded text ad. The text ad you write for a Search campaign is a responsive search ad, which takes up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions.

Do expanded text ads still show?

Yes. Google says the ones already running continue to serve and report, and you can still pause, resume or remove them. Its pages name no date for that to end.

Can I convert an expanded text ad into a responsive search ad?

Not by editing it. Write a responsive search ad in the same ad group with the old ad’s best lines and your new ones; where a responsive search ad lacks lines a text ad beside it uses, Google’s Recommendations page offers to add them.

Should I pause or remove my expanded text ads?

Pause them, once a responsive search ad in the same ad group does as well. Google says a removed ad can’t be enabled again, and a new expanded text ad can’t be written, so a paused one is the only way back.

Are responsive search ads better than expanded text ads?

Google reported 7% more conversions on average, at a similar cost per conversion, for advertisers who switched with the same lines. Judge yours by the ad group’s impressions, clicks and conversions rather than one ad’s rates, since a responsive search ad competes in more auctions.