Migrate ad builder and inventory management expanded text ad templates to responsive search ad templates

Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, and Yahoo! Japan Ads will soon end support for creating expanded text ads. Responsive search ads will become the default text ad type for these engines.

To support this change, your existing Search Ads 360 inventory management and ad builder templates must be migrated to generate responsive search ads.

End of support for creating expanded text ads

See the following table for details:

About ETA template migration

Search Ads 360 won’t automatically migrate your inventory management and ad builder ad templates from expanded text ads to responsive search ad templates. You are required to initiate the migration and then review and activate the new RSA templates.

Google recommends that you migrate your expanded text ad templates to responsive search ad templates as soon as possible. Otherwise, on the date that an engine ends support for creating expanded text ads, errors occur in your ETA templates because new ads aren’t generated and edits to ETAs that are generated from the templates can’t be applied.

After your ETA templates are migrated to RSA templates, you are required to manually pause or remove ETA templates.

Summary of steps

Here’s an overview of the steps to migrate your ETA templates to RSA templates.

1. Select the ETA templates that you want to migrate. 
2. Click the Migrate button.
3. Review the new RSA templates and fix any errors.
4. Verify that the templates create ads in ad builder and inventory management plans.
5. Pause or remove the ETA templates.

Migrate your ad templates

Complete the following steps to migrate your ETA templates to RSA templates in ad builder and inventory management.

Ad builder

1. Navigate to an advertiser.
   Steps for navigating to an advertiser

   1. Click the navigation bar to display navigation options.

   2. In the "Agency" list, click on the agency that contains the advertiser. You can search for an agency by name or scroll through the list.

   3. In the "Advertiser" list, click on the advertiser.

   4. Click Apply or press the Enter key.

   Search Ads 360 displays the advertiser page, which contains data for all of the advertiser’s engine accounts.

2. In the left navigation panel, click Templates.
3. On the Ad Builders tab, do any of the following:
   • Click Migrate ad templates to migrate all eligible ETA templates.
   • Select the checkbox for each active Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, and Yahoo! Japan Ads expanded text ad template that you want to migrate to a responsive search ad template and then click Migrate ad templates.

4. In the “Migrate your expanded text ad (ETA) templates” box, click Migrate now.

   A message displays a summary of the migration.

   Search Ads 360 creates new responsive search ad templates in a paused state.

5. Review each new RSA ad template.

   The name of each new RSA template is prefaced with “[Migrated]”{{ETA_template_name}}.

   • Check the ""RSA template migration status"" column for required post-migration actions and fix any issues. For example, RSAs must include a minimum of three headlines and two descriptions.
     1. Click the settings  icon to review a new RSA template.
     2. Click Next and then add up to 15 headlines and four descriptions.
        The headlines and descriptions in RSAs can appear in a different position than the ETA because, by default, headlines and descriptions in RSAs can appear in any position. Learn more about RSAs.
     3. If required, update parameters.
     4. Add or update any other settings that you want, and then click Save Template.
6. Activate the new RSA template.
   You can use the RSA template pre-migration status’ column to filter the list to display the RSA templates that were created from active ETA templates. Then select all of the new RSA templates and activate them.
7. Pause the migrated ETA template.

[Optional] Remove an ETA from ad builder

If you change the status of migrated  ETA template in ad builder, the status of any ETAs that are managed by the template is also changed to match the status of the ETA template. You can pause or remove an ad builder ETA template and retain the status of any existing ETAs generated by the template if you first disable ad builder management for the ETA template. Then you can remove the template.

1. Navigate to an advertiser.
   Steps for navigating to an advertiser

   1. Click the navigation bar to display navigation options.

   2. In the "Agency" list, click on the agency that contains the advertiser. You can search for an agency by name or scroll through the list.

   3. In the "Advertiser" list, click on the advertiser.

   4. Click Apply or press the Enter key.

   Search Ads 360 displays the advertiser page, which contains data for all of the advertiser’s engine accounts.

2. Click the Ads tab.
3. Click the Columns button and add the following columns to the table:
   • Ad builder
   • Ad builder managed

4. Select the checkbox for each ETA inventory template that you want to disable.

   You can filter the list to display only ad builder managed templates.

5. Click Edit, and then click Change ad builder management status.
6. Next to “Change ad builder management status”, click Disable ad builder management.
7. Select any other settings that you want, and then click Save.
8. Navigate to ad builder, and then remove the templates.
   1. In the left navigation panel, click Templates.
   2. Click the Ad builder tab.
   3. Select the ETA templates that you want to remove.

Inventory management

1. Navigate to an advertiser.
   Steps for navigating to an advertiser

   1. Click the navigation bar to display navigation options.

   2. In the "Agency" list, click on the agency that contains the advertiser. You can search for an agency by name or scroll through the list.

   3. In the "Advertiser" list, click on the advertiser.

   4. Click Apply or press the Enter key.

   Search Ads 360 displays the advertiser page, which contains data for all of the advertiser’s engine accounts.

2. In the left navigation panel, click Templates.
3. Click All templates, and then click Ad templates.
4. Do either of the following:
   • Click Migrate ad templates to migrate all eligible ETA templates.
   • Select the checkbox for each active Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, and Yahoo! Japan Ads expanded text ad template that you want to migrate to a responsive search ad template, and then click Migrate ad templates.
5. In the “Migrate your expanded text ad (ETA) templates” box, click Migrate now.

   A message displays a summary of the migration.

   Search Ads 360 creates new responsive search ad templates in a paused state.

6. Review each new RSA ad template in your inventory plans.

Review new RSA templates in inventory plans

To view the new RSA templates in inventory management, you’ll need to review the templates within each plan. The name of each new RSA template is prefaced with “[Migrated]” {{ETA_template_name}}.

1. In inventory management, click the Inventory plans tab.

2. Click the name of an inventory plan to view the migrated ETA templates and the new RSA templates.
   • The Responsive search ad migration status columns display information and status of the migration.
   • If the text and responsive search ad templates aren’t visible in the table, click the arrow ▶ next to a campaign template, then click the arrow ▶ next to the ad group template.
3. Check the "RSA template migration status" column for the “Migrated, activation blocked” status to identify new RSA templates that require adjustments to meet RSA minimum requirements of three headlines and two descriptions.
4. Select the RSA template and then change the settings.
   1. Click the settings  icon to review a new RSA template.
   2. Click Next and then add up to 15 headlines and four descriptions. 
      The headlines and descriptions in RSAs can appear in a different position than the ETA because, by default, headlines and descriptions in RSAs can appear in any position. Learn more about RSAs.
   3. If required, update parameters.
   4. Add or update any other settings that you want, and then click Save Template.
5. Activate new RSA templates that display ‘Migrated, ready for activation” status in the “RSA template migration status” column.
   You can use the  "RSA template pre-migration status" column to filter the list to display the RSA templates that were created from active ETA templates. Then, select all of the new RSA templates and activate them.
6. Pause the migrated ETA template.

   The “RSA template migration status” column displays “Migrated to RSA template” if the template has been migrated.

7. Repeat the preceding steps to review the RSA templates in each inventory plan.

[Optional] Remove an ETA from inventory management

If you remove a migrated ETA template, any ads managed by the template are also removed. You can remove a template and retain the existing ETAs generated by the template if you first disable inventory management for the ETA. Then you can remove the template.

1. Navigate to an advertiser.
   Steps for navigating to an advertiser

   1. Click the navigation bar to display navigation options.

   2. In the "Agency" list, click on the agency that contains the advertiser. You can search for an agency by name or scroll through the list.

   3. In the "Advertiser" list, click on the advertiser.

   4. Click Apply or press the Enter key.

   Search Ads 360 displays the advertiser page, which contains data for all of the advertiser’s engine accounts.

2. Click the Ads tab.
3. Click the Columns button and add the following columns to the table:
   • Inventory management enabled
   • Inventory plan
   • Inventory template

4. Select the checkbox for each ETA that you want to remove from inventory management.

   Filter the list to view ads generated by inventory management.

5. Click Edit, and then click Change inventory management status.
6. Under “Change inventory management status”, click Disable inventory management.
7. Select any other settings that you want, and then click Save.
8. Navigate to inventory management to change the status of a migrated ETA template to "removed".
   1. In the left navigation panel, click Templates.
   2. Click the Inventory management tab.
   3. Click the name of an inventory plan to view the migrated ETA templates and the new RSA templates.
   4. In the row for a migrated ETA template, click the arrow next to the status  icon, and then click Removed.

Responsive search ad migration status columns

Issues in RSA templates migrated from ETA templates

The following table describes how to resolve issues that may occur in RSA templates that were migrated from ETA templates.