Google Ads Ad Extensions Strategy Cheatsheet

Google Ads Ad Extensions Strategy Cheatsheet

Running a Google Ads campaign is surely one of the easiest and efficient ways to find and attract potential customers to your business website. However, if you do not optimize your Google Ads campaigns you might never actually tap into its maximum potential.

One of such optimization techniques that a lot of advertisers generally overlook is the usage of a feature called Google Ads ‘Ad Extensions’.

Firstly, what is Google Ads Ad Extensions?

Ad Extensions is a feature in that allows you to showcase extra information about your business along with your Ad text, like an address, phone number, store rating, or even links to specific pages on your website.

Why should we use Google Ads Ad extensions?

Apart from making your Ads stand out on the Search Engine Results Page, Ad Extensions have a few other important benefits which are explained below:

  • Ad extensions expand your Ad copy by allowing you to add extra information to it; this not only gives your ad higher visibility and prominence but it also gives people more reasons to click on your Ad.
  • It increases your Click Through Rate (CTR) by several percentage points by giving people additional and interactive ways of reaching you, as with maps /texts/calls. Thus increasing your Click-through rate.
  • They are Free to Add: You will not be charged to add extensions to your campaign. Only Clicks on your extensions will be charged as usual. For example, you’re charged for a click when someone calls you from a call extension or when someone downloads your app from an app extension.

Google Ads offers several different types of Ad Extensions that you can choose from, but it can be difficult to decide which extensions to focus on, so we’ve created a cheat sheet to help you decide which ad extensions might work best for your business:

1.Call Extension:

Using this you can feature your business phone number along with your ads. When your call extension is displayed on mobile, people can tap or click a button to call your business directly. On a desktop, call extensions will show up as a phone number that users can enter into a mobile device. Call extensions can significantly increase your clickthrough rates.

Example:

call extension

When to use?

Use call extensions when the goal of your campaign is to get people to call your business.

Remember, If you attempt to include a phone number elsewhere in your ad text, it may lead to the disapproval of the ad, so if you would like to include a phone number, it is best to use a call extension.

Note: Google Ads may set up automated call extensions when your website has a phone number and your business goals include getting people to call you.

2.Sitelink Extension:

This extension allows you to add more links to your ads that can redirect people to specific landing pages on your website. These extensions have three components link text (the text displayed to users), Final URL (the specific webpage address you want people to land in when they click on the site link) and a short optional description.

Sitelinks show beneath your text ad in the form of clickable links. When someone clicks or taps on your Sitelink extension, they go directly to what they want to know or buy. Adding a Sitelink to your Ad can increase your CTR by several percentage points (up to 15%) according to Google Ads.

Example:

sitelink extension

When to use:

Sitelink Extensions can be used when you want to link people directly to specific pages of your website (like “About” and “Contact us”) from your Ad. Almost every search campaign can make use of Sitelink Extensions.

3.Structured Snippet Extension:

Structured snippet extensions will help you in highlighting specific aspects of your products and services. They give visitors a preview of the nature and range of your products and services before they click on your ad.

There’s no cost to add structured snippets extensions, you’ll be charged as usual for clicks on your ad.

Structured snippets are displayed beneath your text ad in the form of a header (ex: “Services”) and list of values (ex: “Tech support, E-waste Recycling, Computer Repair”).

Example:

structured-snippets

Image source: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6280012

When to Use:

Use this extension when you want to help people find out more about your products and services even before they click on your ad.

4.Callout Extension:

With callout extensions, you can highlight unique offers, special promotions and even the unique selling points about your business. Callouts boost your clickthrough rate by letting you add additional text to your ad. When callout extensions show, they appear below your ad copy.  

Example:

callout

When to use:

Since your Ad text has a limit on the number of characters, you can use callout extensions when you need to highlight your business USPs, offerings or unique aspects of your business by adding more information.

5.Price Extension:

Using Price extensions, you can showcase your product or service categories along with their prices, this allows people to browse your products/services right from your ad. By linking people directly to what interests them on your site, price extensions can add more value to your Search Network text ads.

Price extensions are displayed below your text ad both on desktop and mobile. They show as a set of up to 8 cards that people can view to see different options and prices. From your price menu, people can go directly to the item that interests them on your site. Price extension clicks are charged when a person clicks on any of the price extension items, the cost of a click being same as the cost of a click on the title or display URL of the ad it shows with.

Example:

price extension

Image Source: https://searchengineland.com/adwords-price-extensions-now-live-devices-270325

When to use:

Use these extensions when you intend to showcase the prices alongside your products and services in your Google Ads

6.Location Extension:

Location extensions can be used to help people find your location by displaying your address and a map. People will be able to click or tap your extension to get further details about your location on your location page. Location extensions may also include a phone number or call button so that users can easily call your business. These are displayed below your Ad text both on desktop and mobile.

Example:

location extension

Image Source: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2404182

When to use:

Since some people might be searching to visit a business immediately, rather than visiting the website first. You can attract these ready-to-go customers by using location extensions.

These show your address in your advert and give your visitors directions to your business through Google Maps. In mobile advertising, location extensions include a clickable link and on supported devices, can also show how close a user is to your business.

7.Message Extension:

When you use Message extensions, potential customers can send you text messages right from your ad. With one tap on your ad, people on mobile devices can contact you to make a booking or get an appointment and more. When someone taps the message option in your ad from their mobile device, their messaging app will open with a pre-populated message that you create.

Example:

message extension

Image source: https://www.karooya.com/track-messages

When to use:

Message extensions are designed to be shown only to customers on mobile devices. Your business must also have a phone number that is able to receive, process, and send text messages.

Use this extension when you intend to engage with new prospects via messaging.

8.Affiliate Location Extension:

Similar to the Location extension, Affiliate Location extensions are useful mainly for a retail chain of stores and can be used to display nearby stores that sell your products to people along with your Ad text.

The ads will show the nearest store that sells your product, either as an address or on a map and the customer can tap on it to get directions to the store.

Example:

affiliate location

When to use:

If you’re a manufacturer who sells products through major retail chains, you can use affiliate location extensions to help people find nearby stores that sell your product.

9.App Extension:

App extensions are used to redirect people to your mobile or tablet app right from your text ads. You can showcase your app by displaying a link to it below your text ad. When someone clicks on this link, they are redirected to your app’s description in the app store either Google Play or the Apple App Store. However, Clicking on your ad’s headline will still lead them to your website.

App extensions are free to add, and you’re only charged for clicks. Clicks on an app extension of an ad cost the same as clicks on the headline of that ad. In other words, you’ll be charged the same amount no matter which link is clicked on the same ad.

Example:

app extension

When to use:

It’s best to make use of App extensions when you want to redirect people either to your website or to your app, if promoting only your App is the main goal then you may want to use the App Promotion campaign instead of an extension.

10.Promotion Extension:

Promotion extensions can be used to display special sales and offers with your ads. These extensions make your offer stand out helping your potential customers to spot great deals which in turn can help your business generate new sales. 

When someone clicks or taps on the extension, they go directly to the special offer that interests them on your site. You can also include any requirements needed for your promotion such as coupon or discount codes for a specified time period or a spending limit.

 Example:

promotion extension

When to use:

  • If your business is running a flash sales or if you have some promotion running on your website, use promotion extensions to attract customers that are searching for special offers and sales relevant to your business.
  • Holidays or special events are really good times to use the promotion extensions.
  • Promotion extensions can be used to include monetary or per cent discounts for your products or services.
  1. Lead Form Extension:

Being one of the latest extensions added to the Google Ads Ad extensions list, Lead form extensions can help you collect leads directly from your ad. It’s designed to attract customers with a compelling call-to-action which in this case is a special offer.  The offer can only be accessed after filling out a lead form. You can customize the lead forms with your own title description, and the type of information you want to ask customers for (Customer name, Email, Phone number, Postcode).

Example:

lead form extension

Image Source: https://searchengineland.com/capture-leads-with-google-ads-latest-ad-extension-test-323803

People interested in your business or service can engage with you by filling out the form which from which you can collect user info and then work on following up with potential customers. You can also receive your leads in real-time, by linking your lead form to your customer relationship management (CRM), through a webhook.

When to use:

If your goal is to generate leads directly from your ads from people searching for products/services related to your business on Google, use the Lead Form Extensions to achieve it.

So that’s it, we have come to the end of our Cheat Sheet, with this we are sure that you will be an expert at using the  Google Ads Ad Extension and gain more conversions through your Google Ad Campaigns.

If you want to be an certified Google ad experts, we at Digital Academy 360 offer complete digital marketing or individual course in Bangalore, Chennai & Mysore offline and online.

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Google Ads Ad Extensions Strategy Cheatsheet