With the constant innovation occurring at Google, you may have noticed some new and exciting changes to Google AdWords. Some recent additions include Ad Extensions such as Sitelinks, Location Extensions, Click to Call Extensions to name a few, and more to come in Australia like Seller Rating Extensions and Product Extensions, all of which give advertisers even more opportunities to enhance their PPC campaigns.
But if we stop getting caught up in the buzz of these new AdWords features for just a moment, you might ask yourself the question – How exactly are these extensions going to benefit my AdWords campaigns?
Utilising ad extensions opens a whole new world for your ads by extending the ad format and helping to make your advertising stand out from your competition. Additions such as Sitelinks and Location Extensions mean that AdWords ads are beginning to look more like the natural organic search results, which is great for us PPC marketers!
However, there are many other advantages and benefits your campaigns could gain through utilising ad extensions.
This article will explore and analyse each of the current available ad extensions and, furthermore, will highlight exactly how you can maximise their performance and better your SEM results.
Sitelinks
Sitelinks are additional links that can appear below your AdWords ad in instances where Google deems your ad to be of ‘high enough quality’. Usually only showing 3 to 4 extra links, you can add up to 10 links in AdWords. The advantage of these extensions is more options for the user. Rather than your ad having one focus, you can now add sitelinks which directs users straight to a special offer page, a specific product page or a contact us page on your website. And how does this help the performance of your campaigns? Firstly, sitelinks are often known to increase the Click-Through-Rate which can help the overall quality of your campaigns. But more so, sitelinks can offer more high quality clicks because potential customers are choosing where they want to go once they click on your ad, and having done this, are less likely to bounce straight off the page.
Location Extensions
Location Extensions add location specific information as a 5th line to your ad. These can include your full business address, and even a drop down function that opens to a Google map. The obvious impact that this extension has on your campaigns is that it makes it much easier for potential customers to find your business! Location Extensions may also save a wasted click from someone who has clicked on your ad, only to realise they are not close enough to your business, or are not willing to travel to where your business is located. For example, utilising location extensions is a great one for car dealerships and other similar businesses where the aim is to get customers through the door. 
Product Extensions
Product Extensions are yet to be released in Australia, but when they do the possibilities will amaze you! This extension allows you to showcase your products before a user has even clicked on your ad. When your AdWords text appears on the Search Network, it will display the product that is most relevant to the user’s query as well as displaying the product’s price. At no extra CPC charge, Product Extensions can also link to a more relevant landing page on your website. For example, the checkout cart for the product on display. Product Extensions allow you to enrich your AdWords Campaigns and can present more relevant and specific information to the user, thus heightening the chance of creating a conversion, increasing the click through rate or realising another goal.
Click-to-Call Phone Extensions
Click-to-Call Phone Extensions make it even easier for potential customers to call your business. Mainly used for a mobile targeted campaign, the Phone Extensions appear as a 5th line to your ad allowing users to click directly on your phone number, and automatically call your business straight from your Google ad!
This extension can potentially increase your conversion rates by making it quick and easy for potential customers to ring your business. And with AdWords, you can even schedule your ads to only run when your business is open! Therefore, your ads will only show when your business is operating, and you can avoid disappointed customers calling an unanswered phone.
Seller Rating Extensions
Although not out in Australia yet, you can see Seller Rating Extensions appear on Google.com and Google.co.uk which include a star rating beneath your ad. The rating is a combination of ‘user-submitted’ ratings and reviews about a particular business. However, once a user clicks on the rating, they are directed to a new page which outlines the reviews, therefore distracting potential customers further away from your website.
On the other hand, this rating extension may be good for a potential customer who wants to choose the highest rated business or product with the most reviews. But, this may become a disadvantage to your ad by giving potential customers evidenced based pre-judgement to not visit your site. It’s a well known fact that one unhappy customer will tell as many people as they can about a bad experience, where as happy customers aren’t always that inclined to tell the world. So how then, are these user reviews actually providing applicable information for potential customers clicking (or not clicking) on your ads? I’ll leave this thought with you.
If there is one thing we know at Reload Media for sure about Google, it’s that change is inevitable and new AdWords ad extensions and features are going to keep coming. So, Google will continue to provide the power for your AdWords campaign potential – you’ve just got to plug in the extension!
