Google Ads' Expanded Text Ads Now Have 3 Headlines & 2 Descriptions

As of August 16, 2018, Google Ads now allow 3 headlines and 2 descriptions (rather than 2 headlines and 1 description). Google says:

We recently made changes to text ads so that you have more room to convey your message to customers. Now, you can:

• Add a third headline
• Add a second description
• Use up to 90 characters for each description

The additional headline and description fields are optional, not required. Both descriptions have been extended to 90 characters instead of the previous 80-character limit.

We do recommend taking advantage of this new real estate to include more information about the benefits of your product or service, or adding a call-to-action if you don't have one. Generally, the more information you can provide in your ad, the better!

What advertisers need to know about the third headline & second description in Google Ads:

• They're entirely optional fields
• The third headline provides an extra 30 characters
• The second description provides an extra 90 characters
• BOTH descriptions have been extended to 90 characters (up from 80 characters)
• They provide additional valuable space to promote your product/service
• Recommended usage of these new fields:
  • Add more information about benefits of your product/service
  • Add a call-to-action if you don't have one in your ads currently
  • Add a branded piece of information (domain URL, phone number, email, etc.) to reinforce your brand's message
• Not all accounts may have access to this capability immediately

Personally, I'm excited to see how this affects our ad performance as well as how users interact with ads. How will this expanded text work with certain extensions that also add text to the ad? Are we going to see changes to how extensions work?

Google Ads changes and SEO search intent

There have been whispers (mostly from HubSpot and its Skill Up podcast) that the new shifts towards user intent, voice search, and conversational search queries are moving Google towards the monetization of information - Google provides all information searchers need, and third party websites become obsolete (see: Google Jobs, Google My Business).

The suggestion is that, sometime in the future, Google listings may no longer be free - businesses will need to pay to show up at all. This shift towards longer-form text ads could certainly support that theory if you put stock in it!

Do you have thoughts about these Google shifts? Speak your mind in the comments!