Bing Expanded Text Ads to Become Widely Available by December
October 3, 2016Shortly after Google announced bringing Expanded Text Ads (ETAs) to AdWords, Bing quickly jumped on the bandwagon announcing they too will eventually support this new, longer form of text ads. For a refresher on Google ETAs, see our previous blog post. While Google ETAs are now available to all advertisers, Bing ETAs are currently in beta and are expected to become widely available by December 2016. Here is what we know about Bing ETAs so far:
Bing ETAs Are Very Similar to Google ETAs
The new Bing ETAs will have identical specifications to Google ETAs. The format of the ads will be as follows:
Not only will Bing ETAs follow the exact same format as Google ETAs, but Bing also announced a new import feature that will easily copy existing Google ETAs from AdWords straight into Bing Ads. Since Bing is making it easy to copy existing Google ETAs into Bing, this encourages more advertisers to run Bing ETAs with the added advantage of Bing’s lower CPCs.
Bing ETAs Are Also Different From Google ETAs
So how are they different? Google is planning to fully shift to ETAs in 2017. They originally announced that after October 26, 2016, advertisers will no longer have the capability to upload new standard text ads or edit existing standard text ads. However, earlier this week, Google announced that they are extending the deadline to January 31, 2017. This delayed timeline accommodates Bing’s slightly slower timeline for releasing ETA capabilities as Google will still support standard text ads while Bing prepares for ETAs. Google plans to completely retire standard text ads in 2017, but Bing has yet to announce if they share the same vision as Google. We should expect to hear more on what Bing decides to do once they fully roll out ETAs.
What Does This Mean for Advertisers?
The benefits of ETAs are already apparent across campaigns on the Google platform. Advertisers are expected to see similar results from Bing ETAs including:
- Stronger call to action: The 49% increase in real estate on the SERP and more prominent headlines produces a stronger call to action.
- Increased CTR: The longer ad format generates more interest, enticing more customer traffic and increasing engagement.
- Consistency across all devices: The ads will work seamlessly across mobile, tablet and desktop.
- Parity between Google and Bing: The ability to import from Google AdWords will provide a seamless parity between the two platforms.
- Lower CPCs across Bing than on Google: Advertisers can take what’s already working on the Google platform and easily apply it to Bing, with the extra perk of Bing’s typically lower CPCs.
Final Thoughts
Just because support for Bing ETAs isn’t yet released doesn’t mean advertisers shouldn’t prepare for them. With Google delaying their timeline for when they will pull the plug on standard text ads, advertisers now have more time to experiment with different ETA variations across Google. Seeing which ad versions perform better than others and comparing results across standard and ETAs will help advertisers make more educated decisions when Bing ETAs do eventually come around. And with the updated capability of importing from AdWords, integrating ETAs into Bing should be simple and seamless and hopefully produce positive results.
