Who doesn’t like to get something extra with everything? Google Ads extensions are that extra something that enhances Google Ad performance. Did you know that since September 2022, Google Ad extensions are referred to as “assets?”
To know why extensions are assets it’s important to understand how they fit into your digital marketing strategy. You want more clicks on your site, no doubt, but you want these to be high-quality clicks, preferably from users who are likely to take action when they come to your landing page.
Now, how can you ensure this? Instead of spending a lot of time and effort on tweaking individual ads, you can take the help of Google Ad extensions.
Google keeps adding more types of extensions each year and these offer you that additional spice that your site needs to become more visible. Bids are necessary for PPC ad performance but simply paying for ads won’t guarantee long-term gains.
Why is Google Ad extensions needed?
Google rewards those ads that have a superior user experience. So, how do you ensure your ads are attention-grabbing? You simply choose the right Google Ad extensions.
When you use the correct ad extensions, your ads come into the limelight. The extensions upgrade the ad experience and improve click-through rates. The best part is you don’t have to spend anything extra from your PPC budget!
As their name suggests, Google Ad extensions “extend” the ad. They attach additional information about your business to the ad’s main text. Your viewers learn more about your products and enjoy a superlative ad experience. For instance, if the ad is about a new software product, it will provide more information concerning the software and its features, pricing, and relevant links.
What benefits can you get from Google Ad extensions?
When these extra bits of information are appended to an ad, it improves its value to users and performs better as it matches signals like device, location, or intent. Here are the biggest benefits of Google Ad extensions:
• Maximized text: Even before buyers click on ads, they may be keen to know contact details. However, your ad shouldn’t contain a bunch of characters simply because you must accommodate such information. Moreover, it’s a waste of time if you have to enter the data manually. Instead, choose ad extensions because you can enter all the details in one go and enable this information for any ad campaign that you feel will benefit from it.
• More space on SERPs: It’s obvious that extensions take up a lot of space on Google. An ad with extensions is longer but will have locations, links, and hours which offer color and variety to it. Extensions take up more real estate on SERPs free of cost and Google uses a maximum of four at any ad auction.
• Increase in quality leads: Since ad extensions provide more information to users, only those people that think these are well-suited for their businesses will ultimately engage with an ad. Poor-quality leads realize that they are not a good match and disqualify themselves. Moreover, users who do click on the extensions are more likely to convert since they know what the site will offer. In short, you can expect empowered user action when extensions are relevant.
• Superior ad quality: Ad extensions are preferred as they improve the quality and rank of the ad. Google tends to favor extensions as it lets it provide a good range of ad formats, providing more information for searchers. Ad extensions are bigger ads designed to be relevant and Google is more favorable to them.
• Cost-saving: Ad extensions can help you lower costs and increase your rank at the same time. When the click-through rate is better, the quality score is higher. It automatically means low cost-per-click (CPC). When CPC is low, it means you pay less for every click and conversion. When you spend less on leads, you end up saving money.
How ad extensions work:
It’s a known fact that extensions are free of cost and may be applied to every search ad in a campaign, ad group, or account. However, it’s Google’s algorithm that decides when the ad will appear before a user. This is dependent on multiple factors like the placement of the ad, other ads featured on that page, extension performance, etc.
19 Google Ad extensions are available, and of these, 8 are dynamic and 11 must be installed manually. Manual extensions require some minutes to set up while Google’s algorithm creates dynamic extensions, using information from your website and account.
1. Sitelink extensions: These are a common type of Google Ad extensions that indicate additional links displayed below your ad on SERPs. Sitelinks work as mini ads because their purpose is similar to that of an ad. You get 4 spaces to fill up; the 1st is an actual link that tells your viewer what they are clicking on. The 2nd and 3rd are description lines containing a maximum of 25 characters that allow you to add more context to the link. The final line is the URL. This is a great option for marketers keen to boost their click-through rate.
2. Location Extensions: These will have your location mentioned in the lines so that users can find you or access a map to reach you. This type of ad extensions may have a call button or phone number in it for mobile users. They are perfect for businesses engaging in in-person transactions, such as retailers, restaurants, and service providers like salons. These are mainly useful for companies that are primarily online as they have physical addresses which help to establish legitimacy and credibility.
3. Product Extensions: When you link Google Ads with your Google Merchant account, extensions can help to improve product listings. This can be beneficial for campaigns whereby you sell goods that are related to keywords.
4. Seller Rating Extensions: These help to showcase your business reputation. You can use these extensions for building trust. Google gets ratings from reputed business review websites. It then aggregates these into one rating using a 5-star scale. This type of Google Ad extension shows the overall rating and total reviews but these automated extensions will only be displayed when there are a minimum amount of unique reviews.
5. Callout Extensions: These are the more versatile extensions having multiple uses. They are comprised of 25 characters and highlight product USPs. The idea is to inform viewers about the key points relating to your business and services. So, if you wish to promote a 50% discount or free delivery, for instance, to commemorate your company’s 50th anniversary, you may opt for these extensions. There can be 6 extensions for every campaign, and these must apply to the offers you advertise. You will see that the most effective callout extensions contain specifics and numbers, like, “only 2 left in stock”.
6. Price extensions: Prices are undoubtedly the most important factor when it comes to a buying decision. Price extensions are useful as they allow you to put forward cost expectations. This establishes transparency and promotes credibility and trust among searchers. In short, users will be fully informed about prices and more likely to make a purchase when they arrive at your site.
7. Call extensions: These are super convenient because your searchers can call you directly from the ads. These contain a click-to-call number for consumers using mobile devices. You can track conversions and assess the value of ads depending on the number of calls these produce. The only thing to remember is not to make these extensions sound too repetitive. Since these will show just after the descriptions, they should not come across as too imposing. You won’t want to frustrate your viewers by repeating the same thing. Another important thing is to be prepared to handle calls which come in. Driving calls is more than welcome, but if you cannot attend to these, it results in call abandonment which isn’t desirable at all.
8. Affiliate location extensions: These Google Ad extensions help businesses selling products through third-party retailers. So, they will enable viewers to find nearby places which have your items, and allow them to decide what products to buy and where to buy them from. You will find manufacturers taking help of affiliate location extensions when they work with big retail chains.
9. App extensions: Almost everyone has multiple apps downloaded on his phone. Whether its ordering pizzas or grocery, buying medicines or fancy designer wear, you have an app for practically everything. So, the surest way to reach out to your target customers is to provide a downloadable link on the text ad. App extensions help you do that. Users can download your business app on their phones and you can track the number of downloads based upon keywords.
10. Lead form extensions: These are the latest Google Ads extensions which do away with the requirement for filling out forms on landing pages by users. As a result, now your users can provide their contact details directly on SERPs. When your searchers use their Google accounts, this information can be submitted using a single click only. The biggest advantage of using these extensions is that they push quality leads into the marketing funnel. So, your sales cycle is shortened.
11. Promotion extensions: These help you to get an increased number of clicks from searchers looking for best offers only. Promotion extensions are for highlighting promotions and sales and these are displayed below your ads. They use price tag icons in bold. Not only are these super effective in boosting conversions but also versatile because Google is flexible about their usage. You may even have these displayed on specific dates or days. Businesses must take advantage of starting and ending date options because this type of ad extensions is perfect for short-term deals. Moreover, you can “set-and-forget” these extensions without worrying that they will become outdated.
12. Image extensions: As the name suggests, these are visuals that can complement your text ads and enhance performance. However, not every digital marketer can make use of this type of extensions. They will have to meet specific requirements like a history of policy compliance, active ongoing campaigns, and ownership of a Google Ads account for a minimum of 90 days. Businesses which provide visually-appealing products and services will benefit from this type of Google ad extensions.
13. Video extensions: These types of extensions let you display drive action just under the video ad on YouTube mobile app. You get the chance to extend your message even beyond the main video to keep your viewers engaged further.
14. Structured snippet extensions: These are needed for highlighting particular products and services and are identified by colons. It’s interesting that these extensions are responsible for almost 35% of total number of clicks. Their purpose is to inform the searchers about who you are, what you offer, etc. They boost the number of quality clicks. You can either choose these manually or rely on Google to apply them dynamically. Structured snippets are likely to benefit most businesses but they more often used by marketers trying to promote services because of template heading choices. These include brands, courses, amenities, degree programs, insurance coverage, destinations, featured hotels, service catalogue, shows, types, etc. It’s important to ensure these structured snippets actually convey what you offer.
For businesses that are looking for easy but effective ways to improve click-through rates, and acquire more visitors, Google Ad extensions are an excellent tool. These are designed to convert target customers. You may feel a tad overwhelmed with the number of extension options since there are extensions for all kinds of organizations, regardless of the industry to which they belong to. It’s your job to determine which extensions are suited the best for your company goals.
You can be sure that when applied properly, you are guaranteed to get more quality leads than ever. So, you never have to worry about your PPC budget being misused or wasted.