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As you know, Google AdWords started rolling out expanded text ads last month. But Google said the AdWords ranking algorithm will not treat expanded text ads any better than standard text ads.
Cassie from Google said so in a Google AdWords Help thread. She said:
Just to clarify, there will not be a preference given to expanded text ads vs. standard text ads in terms of which ads will win an auction. That's still based on your ad rank (bid + quality score).
Of course, the quality score might favor the user behavior around one or another but that is something you need to test.
I guess there was some confusion around if expanded text ads get a boost or not - the answer is no, they do not.
Forum discussion at Google AdWords Help.
