Assets, formerly known as Ad Assets provide the opportunity to add more information to your ad than the primary headline, URL, and ad copy you are traditionally able to use. This extra information helps your ad to stand out and get clicked, which in turn will lower your cost per click and in many cases improve conversion rates. Assets formats include a call button, links to specific parts of your website, location information, additional text, and much more.
With assets, ads with more information, get a more noticeable listing and often perform better because of it. This gives your ad more value and increases the number of clicks.
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Google Ads Ad Extensions are of two types:
- Manual Assets
- Automated Extensions
Manual Extensions are extensions, which require a bit of manual set-up. You have to set it up yourself. Google-based on which extensions might improve your ad’s performance predicts automatic extensions. These, naturally, are set up automatically and require no extra work from the advertiser.
How to add an Ad Extension?
Firstly, you need to create a Google Ads Campaign. After creating a campaign, click on the Ads & assets section and select Assets.
Click on the + sign you will see all assets (extensions). From here you can select your suitable asset.
To check automated extensions added by Google Ads click on AUTOMATED EXTENSIONS.
Google Ads Manual Extensions
Before you begin
Keep these best practices in mind as you choose and set up your extensions:
- Use every extension relevant to your business—extensions are free to add and they’ll only show if they’re predicted to improve your ad’s performance.
- Consider adding 4 or more extensions. For example, you could add site links, callouts, structured snippets, and one additional extension of your choice.
- If it makes sense for your business, create extensions at higher account levels (for example, at the account or campaign level, when available).
Here are the different manual ad extensions that can support users to achieve their goals:
⇒ Sitelink Extension
Sitelink extensions can add more links to your ad, which can take more customers to the specific pages of your website. When someone clicks on your links, it takes them right to that page, which contains what they want to know or buy.
Sitelinks will appear differently, depending on the device; like mobile, tablet, and computer.
On a mobile or tablet device, the Sitelink extension can show up to 8 links, which appear side-by-side on a single line. Here is an example of what the extension can look like with the site links inside the red box on a mobile or tablet:
You can include 2 to 6 site links, which can sometimes also include short descriptions. On a computer Sitelink extension shows 2 to 6 links, which may appear on the same line or with a description of up to two lines like:
⇒ Callout Extension
Callout extensions are used to promote additional product features, business highlights, or services.
Any short phrase that describes something special about your service or offers can be added as callout extensions to help your ad stand out. They can also be used to highlight special offers and promotions. For example:
You can add up to 2 to 6 callouts in addition to the text of your ad. On the computer, the callout extensions are separated by dots and listed on a single line. On mobile and tablet devices, it is wrapped in paragraph form.
⇒ Structured Snippet Extension
Structured snippet extensions, allows you to highlight specific features of your products or services with a header and list of values.
On the computer, structured snippet extensions can show up to 2 headers with text. On mobile and tablet, it shows only one header with text.
⇒ Call Extension
Call extensions can be used to add a phone number to your ads. They give mobile users or devices with a calling facility, the option to click to call directly to your business. This can significantly increase the click-through rates of your sites.
Remember that, Ads may set up automated call extensions when your website has a phone number and your business goals include getting people to call you.
Placing a phone number in ad text is against Google policy, which may lead to disapproval of your ad. Call Extension is the easiest way to add a phone number to the ad.
Scheduling call Extensions is also important. By scheduling it, you can set your business hours as a specific time to answer the call.
⇒ Lead Form Extension
Lead form extensions are the same as the contact form that you use on your website. Without the hassle of going to the webpage to fill up the contact form, the users can directly share their information and query in the lead forms in your ad.
This extension is one of the best ways to collect leads. But its creation is not as easy as you think. First of all, you need a ‘privacy policy’ page on your website. Then you need to accept the terms of service by Google and proceed to create your lead form.
⇒ Location Extension
Location extensions can show your address in ads to help people find your locations easily by maps or distance to your business. By clicking on your ad extension, people could get details about business locations, hours, photos, directions, etc.
As you can see, this helps the ad stand out, shows that the advertiser is a local business, gives the searcher an idea about where the company is located, and gives directions, in case they would like to visit the person.
Location extensions may also include a phone number or call button so that users can easily call your business. It can show your business location differently depending on the device – mobile and computer also in various formats on Search Network, Display Network, and Google Maps.
⇒ Affiliate Location Extension
Affiliate location extension helps people to find nearby stores that sell your product through retail chains. Hence, if you are a retailer and selling through a retail chain, an affiliate location extension will help people to find stores nearby them that sell your product.
Above is an example of affiliate location marketing. It shows the nearby store location, which sells your product. On mobile, the person can tap to get directions to the store.
⇒ Price Extension
Price extensions can be used to show your offers, services, or list of products with their prices. It appears below your text ad on the search result page, which gives more information to customers without visiting your website. On mobile or computer, it can show up to 8 cards below your text ad.
The price extensions will directly take people to the page on your website when they click on your ad with the price menu.
⇒ App Extension
App extension allows linking your app to the text ad. This can allow people to go to your website by clicking on the headline of your ad and downloading your app with the app extension provided below your text ad.
App extension appears only on devices like mobile and tablets. By clicking on the app link, it will directly take them to the app store, whether it be the Google App store on android or the apple app store on iOS.
⇒ Promotion Extension
Promotion extension can be used in your text ads to highlight your offers, sales, and promotions. It can be used to attract more people to your business by giving the best offers in your ad.
Promotion extension displays up to 2 lines of text that include promotion details.
When someone clicks or taps on the extension, they go directly to the special offer that interests them on your site. Promotion extensions appear on all devices in different formats. On the google search result page, an ad appears at the top and bottom of the page. It can be used on special occasions.
⇒ Image Extension
As its name suggests, an image extension is used to add an image to your ad. Google Ads allows you to share an image up to 5120KB that reflects in square form as shown below.
This extension is most beneficial for businesses that offer products or services that are affected by their looks. Eg. Apparel, electronics, construction, cleaning, etc.
While adding image extension make sure you follow all Google’s guidelines for image extension. Blurry, cropped, and images with text or logo overlays are not allowed.
Google Ads Automated Extensions
Automated extensions or dynamic extensions are similar to manual extensions but as per their name, Google automatically collects the information from your website, landing pages, and data from previous ads to share it in the form of different extensions.
Here are different types of automated extensions:
- Dynamic Sitelink extensions
- Dynamic structured snippet extensions
- Automated location extensions
- Dynamic callouts extensions
- Seller rating extensions
- Dynamic Image Extention
- Longer Headlines Automated Extension
Benefits of Ad Extensions
- More clicks: Ads with extensions take up more space on the search engine results page. If you provide additional relevant info, which will drive more clicks.
- 10-15% Increase in CTR (Click Through Rate) according to Google
- Use the change history report to track how performance has changed since adding or removing an extension.
- Ad extensions on mobile have a huge impact on CTR. The growth of mobile paired with Google’s mobile optimization efforts results in an extremely natural user experience between the searcher and ad extensions.
- Control CPCs with bids, not by removing ad extensions.
- Improve Quality Score and Ad Rank FOR FREE: FREE = enabling ad extensions = improved quality score. This is a free way to improve your quality score.
- Set up as many appropriate extensions as possible. Google chooses the best-performing combinations of ad extensions to display.
