6_Blog_Adwords

Now that you have been shown how to set up a campaign with keywords and Ad copy in previous posts it is time to discover the wonders of Ad Extensions.

Firstly you might ask what are Ad Extensions and why should I care? Well Ad Extensions add an extra level of depth to your ad when it is visible on the search engine results page by providing additional ways to interact with your ad and increasing the space that it takes up which makes it more visible and eye catching. This naturally has a knock on effect of boosting your click through rate for the ad.

Ad Extensions are set at either a Campaign or Ad Group level and they apply to all the ad’s that are in those Campaigns or Ad Groups. The locations for them can be found in the Campaign or Ad Group menu bar next to Audiences.

1

Sitelink Extensions

The most common and one of the oldest forms of Ad Extensions is the Sitelink. This Ad Extension allows up to six additional links to the site to be shown below the Ad. These only appear when your ad is in the top three positions and they have to each link to a landing page other than what the main ad copy is linking to. These can be used to highlight additional products or perhaps links to further information about the service you are offering. The example provided by Google below illustrates how they appear on your ad when visible.

2

Location Extension

This is for a business that wishes to make its address available which can be very useful for a shop or office that offers a service. If you use Location Extensions then it can show your business address, phone number and a map marker with the ad. On mobile ads

this includes a link with directions to your business which can be very useful since it helps customers find you more quickly and easily. To set this up you will need to have a Google My Business account (formerly known as Google Places) already which will need to be linked to your Adwords account.

3

Call Extension

This is a quick extension to setup and it is as simple as entering your phone number. This will display the click to call option on a mobile ad which essentially is a button on the side of the ad that will dial the number on your phone when it is viewed and clicked on your cell phone.

4

App Extension

This is for a business that has a mobile app available for smartphones and you are interested in having customers download it. The link appears directly below your ad and it sends people directly to the app store or begins downloading the app. With more and more business’s looking to create their own apps for smartphones to provide more information for their customers or make their purchases easier this extension is quickly becoming more common.

5

Review Extension

This is a relatively new option and it is a great way to extend the ad copy by quoting a positive comment about your company or product made by a professional reviewer. As you can see in the example it appears below the site and you can use up to 67 characters for the quote along with the name of the source. There are a few rules which need to be followed like how you cannot use individual personal reviews. They have to be from a publication or organisation as anyone could write a personal review of the company. The review needs to be no older than one year and the extension has to quote the review correctly. The extension links to the original reviewer location so that users can read it for themselves.

6

 

These are the most common Ad Extensions currently however Google is always looking to add to these so do keep an eye out for any Adwords updates.

Cheers for now,

Meyrick

Read my other search-related blog posts:

1 : An Introduction to Paid Search Traffic and Adwords

2 : Adwords Campaigns and Keywords

3 : Keywords: Which is the right match type for you?

4 : Creative: why this is important?

5 : Quality Score – What is it Good for?

6 : Google’s tools and what they do

7 : How to use Google Analytics