Google makes changes to Responsive Search Ads and PMax

Google has recently announced major changes to how it will use Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) in search campaigns and branding in PMax campaigns – both of which could impact your paid search campaigns and their performance.

What are Responsive Search Ads?

Responsive Search Ads – or RSAs – are now the standard format used in all search campaigns. You have space for 15 headlines and four description lines.

Google then uses its automated system to test up to three headlines and two description lines per ad, in different variations and combinations, to try and find the best possible performance.

Advertisers also have the option of adding sitelinks to their ad groups, campaigns or accounts – this gives Google the opportunity of adding further links to the bottom of a search ad, often taking visitors to alternative destinations as opposed to the landing page of the main ad.

Changes to RSAs

Google has revealed that it is going to change this by potentially using some of the unused headlines from the RSA as sitelinks under the ad. These sitelinks will take the visitor to the main ad destination.

This is an exciting opportunity to improve the quality of the advert while automatically building out sitelinks for advertisers who haven’t built their own links.

It also provides Google with an increased number of combinations of ad assets to test.

Risks and Challenges

These changes to RSAs do present some risks and challenges to advertisers.

Although regularly updating and refreshing ad content is very much recommended, many small companies won’t do this as a priority. Some advertisers may change the top headlines for their ads on a regular basis, but those ad headlines that are used to showcase business messaging may have been kept across accounts for a considerable amount of time.

So, while Google is starting to rethink its ideas on what to do with your ad text, perhaps now is the time for advertisers to do a rethink on the content.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do all your headlines contain relevant and up-to-date messaging?
• Does the text make sense as a stand-alone message?
• Are existing sitelinks of sufficient quality to make them more appealing to Google as an alternative?

Branding Changes to PMax

There is also another change that’s been made across all accounts that use PMax campaigns – the need for brand guidelines within your accounts for PMax ads.

If your preferred business name and logo aren’t in the brand guidelines by March 2025, then Google will automatically use the business name and logo from your top performing asset group.

Now is the perfect time to not just assess your ad text, but also to make sure your brand assets within your PMax campaigns are up-to-date.

If you need any support with either of these changes, contact Edge45’s PPC team.