Expanded Text Ads (or ETAs) are ads that appear near the top of the page for any given search that takes place, just like a standard AdWords text ad. The difference between ETAs and a standard text ad is that ETAs give the advertiser the ability to have 2 headlines (instead of 1) and an 80-character description (instead of 35). This makes ETAs larger and adds more room for text within the ad, hence the word ‘Expanded’ in the ETA name. You can see in the image below the differences between standard ads and Expanded Text Ads. The ads is wider, taller, and contains far more characters.

As a digital marketing agency for golf courses, we welcome the change with open arms! ETAs have been extensively tested and have proven to increase Click-Through-Rates by 20%. That’s a major improvement. The improved CTR when using ETAs is likely due to the large format and the ability to be more descriptive with the ad copy. An issue that AdWords advertisers faced with the standard text ads is writing clear messages, while using such limited space. ETAs give search engine advertisers much more room to provide users with information.

Don’t get us wrong. The standard AdWords text had have performed extremely well. We have clients achieving 28x ROI using AdWords standard ads! However, ETAs are a game changer and have already improved our client’s campaigns virtually overnight. They are larger, more descriptive, and golf courses can benefit greatly by them.

Aren’t using Google AdWords to sell your tee times yet? Learn more about how we can help you yield massive returns on minimal investments utilizing this powerful platform by emailing me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or try our Marketing Grader Tool.