Google said it has decided to retire link ads from March 2021.
This is in order to modernize available ad formats, based on the feedback from users, publishers and advertisers.
Publishers will not be able to create link ad units.
Publishers’ link ad units will be renamed with [previously link ad unit] added to the end of the ad unit name. This will apply to both responsive and fixed-size link ad units.
Responsive link ads will begin to serve display ad units on your site(s).
Fixed-size link ads will stop serving on your site(s).We will collapse each ad unit where possible. In other cases we will show a blank ad.
Google said its experiments show that, for the vast majority of publishers, responsive display ads can perform as well as link ads. Google said it is constantly optimizing responsive display ads to maximize performance. Publishers will be able to monitor the performance of their link units through the ad units report to compare performance before and after.
There is no action required from publishers in relation to your responsive link ads as these will begin to serve display ads from 10-03-2021.
Google recommends that publishers remove the fixed-size link ad units from your site and try out the following ad formats instead.
Publishers can let Auto ads scan site and automatically place ads where they’re likely to perform well. Learn more about how to get started with Auto ads
Display ads work well anywhere on your site. Learn more about how to create a display ad unit
Display ads work well anywhere on your site. Learn more about how to create a display ad unit
If your site is eligible for Matched content, you can replace your link ad units with a customizable Matched content ad unit. Learn more about customizing Matched content
