One of the most valuable benefits of Google is that advertisers can provide a good user experience.
Just preparing the advertisement and improving your website is not enough to increase the user experience, though. You need to support it all. Here is what can help you do that: Extensions.
Extensions are add-ons that allow you to expand the space of your ad, offer more information, and make your ads more effective.
Using the right ad extensions in your ads can significantly contribute to your ad performance as it allows you to stand out from the competition by:
- improving the advertising experience of users
- increasing the rate of reaching qualified users
So, you can benefit from all that by having a thorough look at how they work.
Superiorities of Extension
Wider ad space
Google also wants to show the extensions you add to your ads. This allows you to have a much larger advertising space.
Using as many different types of extensions as possible increases your chances of expanding your ad spaces. Therefore, it becomes important for you to make use of them.
More detailed ad content
Your only trump card to impress your potential customers who search on Google is your ad texts.
All advertisers want to make the most of this trump card. So, here is a tip that works well for you: Provide maximum information by using extensions.
Google offers 14 different types of ad extensions and you can easily expand your ad content by choosing the most suitable ones for you. While providing detailed information about your products and services in your extensions, you can also mention your advantages over your competitors, which lets you increase your preferability and click-through rates.
Google can use a maximum of 4 extensions for each ad auction. Make sure to use at least 4 extensions to make a difference here.
Accessibility to more qualified users
Including more information in advertisements increases the rate of users getting information before clicking.
A user does not click on the ads that do not meet the features they are looking for, and so the advertisers do not receive clicks with low probability of conversion.
Let’s see this with an example:
Let’s assume there’s a user who wants to buy sneakers and prefers shops with free returns option. When this person sees the ‘free returns’ phrase in the ads while searching for sneakers on Google, they will have a tendency to click on this ad. So, the advertiser who uses the ‘free returns’ phrase in the ad extension will easily reach his potential customer. On the contrary, if there is an ad text stating that there are no free returns, then this advertiser will be freed from the cost of clicking for a user with low probability of conversion.
To sum up, you can tell the user the advantages you offer, or the ones you don’t, with the extensions in the ad text. That way, you can get clicks from users who want to take full advantage of what you provide.
Higher ad rank and cost advantage
As mentioned earlier, extensions help you convey more information in your ad texts. Giving more information doesn’t just help you express your brand or products well in your ads as it also helps you improve your ad rankings and save money.
So, here is the question: How do they provide these advantages? Actually, the answer is very simple. Your ad rank and cost-per-click are directly related to your quality scores. The only way to have better ad rank with lower bids is to improve your quality scores.
A quality score is a range of metrics from 1 to 10 which takes into account factors including landing page experience, ad relevance, and clickthrough rate (CTR).
Ad rank = Quality score (QS) x Bid
Ad extensions not only improve your ad relevance with broad information content but also increase your expected click-through rates. In other words, you can use extensions to increase your QS. You should take a look at the extensions to improve your ad rankings and provide a cost advantage.
Extension Types
Image extension
Image extensions allow you to enrich your existing text ads with relevant images. With image extensions, you can present your product or service to users by using visuals. It also allows your ad to take up more space on the search engine results page. So, you can make your text ads more interesting with images and improve performance.
To get more details on how you can optimize your image extensions, you can have a look at what Google suggests here.
Sitelink extension
Ads are only directed to a landing page of your choice. However, it is possible to give links to other pages on your site in the ad texts. All you need to do is set up your sitelink extensions. This way, users can choose the exact page they want to visit when they see the ad.
Callout extension
It is a type of extension that lets you provide detailed information about your products and services in addition to the ad text. You can increase your click-through rates and improve your advertising performance by specifying your advantages such as free shipping, 24/7 customer service, free return etc.
Structured snippet extension
You can use the structured snippet extension to highlight some certain aspects of your products or services in ad texts. You can group the information you present in this extension type under certain categories. For example, if you choose the “Types” category, you can add the product types you sell into this section. If you own a business that sells different brand products, you can write the names of them by selecting the “Brands” category.
Call extension
If you own a business that serves customers by phone, you can show your phone number with your ads. With this extension, you can provide your users with an opportunity to reach out by calls.
Location extension
If you are a local store owner and want to show your store’s location information in your ads, you can use the location extension. To use the location extension, you must have a Google business profile and with an admin access to that account.
Lead form extension
It is a type of extension that allows your potential customers who see your ad to contact you by filling out a form without even visiting your website. This form extension can be very useful, especially if you have a sale or service with an offer process.
Price extension
Undoubtedly, price is one of the most important things that get your customers’ attention during the purchasing process. With price extensions, you can let users know about your price ranges before clicking your ad. This way, you can influence users who are not likely to make a purchase because of the price.
Promotion extension
This serves perfectly well if you are offering any promotion for your product or service, letting you highlight it in your ads easily.
App extension
Mobile applications are integral part of today’s businesses. If you own a business that also serves through a mobile application, you can point out your mobile application in your ads. This helps you ensure that your potential customers recognize and use your application.
Affiliate location extension
Affiliate location extension can be quite functional if you offer products through retail chains. By making use of this, you can help your customers with ‘what to buy’ and ‘where to buy’ it as you can provide nearby stores that sell your products.
Creating Ad Extensions
Step 1 Log in to Google Ads
Navigate to your Google Ads account > Choose your campaign or ad group.
Step 2 Click on “Ads & Extensions” > “Extensions” tab from the left menu.
Step 3 Create New Extension
Click on “+” sign for create new extension.
Step 4 Choose Extension Type
Choose the type of extension you want to create.
Step 5 Customize Your Extension
Customize your chosen extension type.
Here is an example:
Step 6 All Done! Click “Save” and you are good to go 🙂
