Getting Started With Google AdWords Ad Extensions

Does your business currently have a Google AdWords campaign set up? Are you looking for ways to fine tune your account and improve its performance? Google AdWords ad extensions can have a significant impact on interaction and conversions if you aren't already using them.

They make your ad stand out amongst the crowd of your competitors, helping you beat them to the click, the conversion and the customer!

Let's get started with some of the main AdWords ad extensions that you need to be using...

1) Sitelink Extensions

Okay, so the reason I'm kicking this article off with sitelinks is that, in my opinion, they are one of the most effective ad extensions available. They are definitely the most versatile out of all extensions as they can be used for all different types of accounts across any industry.

Sitelinks basically allow you to add links to more pages on your website beneath your ad copy, helping your ad stand out that little bit more in the search results.

If you implement sitelink extensions today and don't see an increase in your ad click-through rate then I'll eat my hat! Also, according to Google themselves, the simple presence of this ad extension generally lifts click-through rates by 10-20% and by 20-50% on branded searches.

Here are a few best practices for sitelink extensions:

• Keep them short and to the point! Although you get 25 characters to use you don't need to use all of it. For desktops, anything between 18-20 characters is said to be ideal and on mobile anything from 12-15.
• Use the sitelink description as well. Adding the sitelink description allows you to get more information across to searchers and also helps you stand out.
• Make sure you check them and review them. Once a month, have a look through your sitelinks, ensure they are all working and check each one for click-through rate, impressions and conversions. Pause any that are underperforming or test something different!

2) Call Extensions

Call extensions are another top ad extension that you need to enable in your AdWords account. They are another way to help make your ad stand out. The AdWords call extension allows you to add your phone number to your Google ads so that people can call you directly if they don't want to click. This makes it particularly useful for searchers on mobile devices. Also, Google themselves have claimed that adding call extensions to your ads can further increase click-through rates by 6-8.

Here are a few best practices for call extensions:

• Encourage people to call you. If you really want to improve your campaign performance and get more conversions, getting more calls could definitely be one way of doing this and could work wonders for your business. Simply, show your ads more on mobile devices and add a call to action to the second line of your ad copy that says “call us” or “call now” etc.
• Track them. Make sure you select the option when setting up your call extensions to track them by using a Google forwarding phone number. This will help you monitor and see just how effective they really are.
• Test call only ads. Call only ads are where your phone number gets shown instead of the ad headline. This is only limited to mobile devices so impressions will be lower. However, they can help boost the amount of phone calls you get. As with anything in AdWords though, make sure you test both as what works for one business might not work as well for yours.

3) Callout Extensions

Callout extensions are another great extension that allow you to add more to your ad and make it even more appealing! They are a useful component of AdWords and can be extremely useful in helping to describe more about what your business has to offer that may not be clear already. Callouts are short snippets of text that appear below your ad. Some examples of callouts are:

• Next day delivery
• Free shipping
• Free quote
• 100% guarantee

Make sure you add callouts that are unique to your business, products and services to help put you ahead of the competition.

Here are a few best practices for callout extensions:

• Highlight what you offer. Make sure you highlight the services/products you offer and include anything unique that sets you aside from everyone else.
• Don't just create one! Create more than one callout extension. 4 or more is ideal so Google can change between them and you can see which performs best.
• Make sure they're short. Again you get 25 characters for your callout extensions but I would use much less than this. I think somewhere between 12-15 again is a good number. This is because you want them to be eye-catching and easily readable

4) Review Extensions

Review extensions can be extremely effective if you can get them! They are probably one of the harder ad extensions to implement as there are quite a lot of guidelines you need to adhere to.
You also need to ensure that the review you'd like to display with your ad is from a trusted and reputable third-party site. Some of the sites Google accepts are TrustPilot, Forbes etc.  Generally, the content needs to be from an independent third-party.

Here are a few best practices for review extensions:

• Third-party only. Make sure the content is from an independent third-party source and a reputable site.
• Check the guidelines. Make sure that you check over Google's guidelines first for the best chance of approval.
• Your responsibility. Remember that it's your responsibility to be sure that you can use a specific review in your ad.

Time To Start Improving Your Google AdWords Results!

Hopefully, this article gave you a good insight into how you can get started with implementing Google AdWords ad extensions for your business. There are more ad extensions out there but I have just covered some of the most popular ones in this article. The key takeaway is that all ad extensions will add that bit extra to your ads, ensure you stand out and will help increase clicks and drive new leads and enquiries!

If you have any questions about how you can start using the extensions above, please contact our expert team on 01332 343281.