Visibility-and-Engagement-in-Paid-Advertising

Ad Extensions: Enhancing Ad Visibility and Engagement in Paid Advertising

Learn the benefits ad extensions can provide alongside the 14 types of ad extensions available within Google Ads. Get started now.

When promoting, you want to enhance ad visibility and engagement in paid advertising to get the most from your investment. One important strategy you should be using is ad extensions.

Ad extensions are a valuable Google Ads tool that helps brands improve visibility and engagement. Learn more about the value this tool can provide.

Ad Extension Benefits

Not sure whether spending the time on ad extension copy and setup is worth it? Here’s a look at some of the benefits you’ll likely experience if you put the time into writing quality ad extensions.

1. Better Click-through Rates

Ad extensions allow you to offer more click options and provide more details to prospects. The more click options, the more appealing your ad might be to a viewer. And more click options can also help make the ad more relevant based on various search terms.

2. Better Qualified Leads

You can provide your viewer with more detailed information about your company and what you’re advertising when using ad extensions. This can help make them more prepared buyers. More relevant information can help better prepare prospects for making buying decisions or push them further down the funnel. 

3. More Visibility in Search Results

Visibility and Engagement in Paid Advertising

Because your ads are larger or extended, they are more visible in search results. That means that users have more to consider compared to other ads and regular search results. The sheer size and volume of information can direct the user’s attention to your ad over other information presented.

4. Greater Ad Ranking

When ranking your ad, Google uses a variety of factors. Some of those factors include relevance, click-through rate and landing page experience. So if you’re boosting your click-through rate with ad extensions, you’ll naturally improve your ad ranking.

5. Improved ROI

Using ad extensions can help lower your cost-per-click for your ads, which means greater ROI if you nurture and convert those leads. Ad extensions aren’t a magical fix for ROI, but they can do a great deal for improving your ROI if you have a strong strategy in all other aspects of your campaign.

Types of Ad Extensions

When it comes to ad extensions, you have two main options for how to set them up: manual and automated. Most advertisers choose to use manual ad extensions to pick with absolute certainty what will show to their prospects. 

You can place ad extensions on an ad group, at an account level or for one specific campaign. Take some time to review these various extension options to build out ads that will work best for your business.

1. Location

These extensions show on their own line below the main ad copy. If the user clicks on it, they’ll be able to get directions or see how far it is from where they are to where the business is located. Some location extensions include a phone number to make it simple to get in touch with the business when searching from a mobile device.

Advertisers can choose to have Google automatically apply this extension. It’s a wise choice for businesses that have brick-and-mortar locations, such as a restaurant, spa or other service location.

Other advertisers who have found success with using this ad extension include online businesses that want to provide further legitimacy to their listings to instill confidence in their buyers.

2. Product

Link your Google Merchant account with Google Ads and you’ll be able to include product listings in your ads. If your ad uses target keywords related to specific products that you sell, this is a wise move because it helps show what you’re offering instead of just explaining it in text.

For these extensions to work, you’ll need granular ads that sell a specific product category so that the products shown are highly relevant. This takes a bit more time to set up but will likely have better click-through rates than generic ads.

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3. Sitelinks

Direct users to various pages on your website using site link extensions. That way, the user doesn’t have to visit a generic landing page and can more easily find what they are specifically looking for. This can improve your click-through rates and even conversion rates because they send the user to the specific place they want to go.

E-commerce sites find these beneficial for directing users to specific product category pages. You can use these manually or dynamically on Google Ads.

4. Ratings/reviews

Offer some proof of the quality of your customer interactions by including the seller ratings extension. This pulls together ratings from reputable business review sites and showcases them as part of the ad in the form of stars. You must have a rating of 3.5 stars or better with a minimum number of unique reviews to use this extension. So take some time to do some reputation management if your ratings are low or you have minimal reviews. 

5. Callouts

Add 25-character snippets to highlight selling points for your business. For example, some e-commerce brands list their free shipping, 360-day returns or price-matching services. Or you might use the callout to build awareness for a sale or special that you’re running, such as 25 percent off. Restaurants use them to make users aware that they take online reservations. You can have up to six callouts per campaign. 

6. Structured Snippets

Highlight specific products or product features using structured snippets. This can help users know that they’ve found what they are looking for and entice them to click. Generally, you can identify these extensions by colons.

7. Call

Make it easy to get in touch with your business directly from your ads by using call extensions. These are click-to-call phone numbers that show on mobile ads. Google can track conversions for these phone numbers so you’ll still know how you’re doing with these ads.

8. Affiliate Locations

Many brands do not sell their products in their own stores. Instead, they partner with other retailers to provide their products. In those cases, using affiliate locations that show third-party retailers where users can find the goods is incredibly helpful. 

9. Price

Because price is such a driving factor in whether a user will purchase your products, using price extensions can improve your click-through rates. Set customer expectations upfront and be transparent about what you’re offering. Buyers will feel more informed and you won’t have to pay for clicks on ads where the user decides you’re too far outside their price range.

10. App

Many businesses now have apps for download on mobile devices. Providing a link to the app within Google Ads could help increase downloads while offering users another way to interact with your brand. You can only use this extension on mobile ads.

11. Promotions

When you’re running a special, make searchers aware of it with promotion extensions. These highlight sales or specials, such as a percent off or buy one, get one deals. Show these only on specific days or during specific windows and then tell Google when to stop showing them so you don’t have to recreate your ads during sale windows.

12. Lead Forms

Users who are logged into their Google account when searching can automatically fill out forms from Google Ads when the ad includes the lead form extension. Their information will pre-populate in the form once they click the extension. This can help improve conversion rates and shorten the sales cycle.

13. Video

These are YouTube mobile app ads that allow you to provide more details and messaging below the video ad. This is just one more way to engage users with varying media.

14. Images

Google only makes this ad extension available to some advertisers as you must have a compliant history. But if you have this feature in your account, it can help put a visual with your ad copy to encourage action.

Building a Successful Paid Ad Strategy

There’s more to Google Ads success than including the right ad extensions. Set yourself up for success with help from a team of experts. New Light Digital has experience across many industries with businesses of all sizes. Our team can help build a full digital marketing strategy, including Google Ads that improve your bottom line. Schedule your free consultation now to get started.

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