Responsive Ads Will Then Be the Only Ad Type Available for Search Campaigns
On August 31, Google Ads posted the following announcement on Twitter sharing with their followers the big announcement:
In their announcement, they note that responsive ads, a subset of ads that allow Google to automatically test different combinations of text and learn what performs best, will be the only ad type that can be created or edited as of June 30, 2022.
Thankfully, this does not mean that existing expanded text ads are going away completely. However, given that you will not be able to edit them after the switch, it incentivizes you to switch over to responsive ads in advance.
Also included in their tweet was this photo that shows a statistic that could have led to this decision:
The News Is Not Shocking to PPC Experts
In the responses to the tweet with the announcement, many advertisers said they “saw this coming” and are “not shocked” that Google will be making this switch to RSAs (responsive search ads).
Here is what our in-house PPC Director Andrea Ozello had to say about the news:
“This isn’t surprising since Responsive Search Ads became the primary option within the Google Ads interface as of early 2021. Knowing Google makes similar changes every few years, as previously seen with the change from Text Ads to Expanded Text Ads, Responsive Search Ads have been on our radar for quite a while now. We have already started to include this ad option in some campaigns and will be making this a focus for our paid clients early next year to be sure that all accounts are set for the June 2022 transition.”
Outside of the shock, there have also been some concerns. Here are a few points various experts made in the replies to the tweet by Google:
- Currently, there are not a lot of data given with RSAs, and the community is hoping that this change will push them to give more for reporting
- It could be problematic for regulated industries, such as legal, where copy has strict rules to abide by
- This push for increased automation is making some wonder what else down the line Google will take away in terms of control
