Over a million businesses rely on Google Adwords for a number of reasons. Some choose pay-per-click advertising because their companies are brand new and need to build exposure. Others stick with it because they see a consistent influx of new website visitors and online sales. The best perk about Adwords? You can target your ads to customers in certain countries, regions and cities or within a set distance from your business or store. As with any tool that helps improve marketing reach and ROI, there’s always a feature that’s often overlooked and quite valuable. In this case, I’m talking about PPC ad extensions.
 
Ad extensions have always been a good idea, but recently they’re becoming an essential piece to help businesses stand out and gain higher click-through-rates (CTR). If you’re not using ad extensions, it’s time to get them running! Ad extensions, by definition, provide additional information (“extending” from your text ads) to searchers about your business. This can include the company phone number, links to other pages within the site, special offers and more. And by taking up additional space, they make ads more prominent in results. Including just one type of extension immediately earns a better placement in ad ranks!
 
Too many businesses are not using PPC ad extensions, but it’s not necessarily because they don’t want to. Some advertisers genuinely don’t know anything about extensions, while others believe the basic setup is good enough because they’re too busy to fine-tune their accounts. Extensions essentially get left out of the process because they’re seen as a hassle. But if you were to take that additional step and add them in, you’ll soon see the rewards can be well worth the time. All you have to do is decide which ad extensions are most beneficial to your business goals.
 
Ad Extensions Options

Sitelink extensions. Links that help people find what they’re looking for. Say your business owns a shoe store. If your ad is targeted to a specific landing page such as men’s shoes, it would be beneficial to include other important links for customers such as store hours, women’s shoes and children’s shoes. Sitelinks can also include short descriptions of what each page is about. By showing additional information with sitelinks, ads can be more relevant to customers. The example below of a Nike’s Adwords ad shows how sitelinks and brief descriptions appear. Keep in mind that the number of sitelinks seen on search results differs on search platforms. You can have up to six sitelinks shown on desktops and tablets, but only four through mobile. 


Call extensions. Provides the company phone number in ads. Adding your business phone number encourages potential buyers to make a call – this example is very straightforward. And if users are searching by phone, all they have to do is click the number and it instantly dials. Phone numbers can be shared across ads within an ad group or an entire campaign. According to Google Adwords, call extensions typically increase CTR by 6 to 8 percent. Sticking with our Nike example, the ad below displays a call extension for a local shoe store that sells the brand. 

Review extensions. Showcases positive, third-party reviews from reputable sources. Reviews are more important than ever because consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Adding a quote from a positive review gives your ads one more reason for consumers to click. Google announced in the beginning of July that PPC ads can now show ratings and reviews from Google Business listings on desktop devices and tablets. Previously, ratings came from third-party sites and they could only be used if a business had accumulated more than 30 reviews. Since Google+ Business location information is already automatically linked to Adwords, all you have to do is enable location extensions. Though I could not find a shoe-themed review extension, this is what to expect from Google+ review extensions.

The four options I mentioned are the most popular ad extensions used for Adwords, but there’s plenty more your business might excel with, including app extensions, customer ratings, previous visits and more. If you want to improve upon your PPC advertising or get a campaign started, we can help. Contact Sage Island and we’ll make sure your ads are getting the traffic you want and the sales your business needs.
 
Mike Duncan co-founded Sage Island in 1997, and since then has evolved the agency’s scope to include marketing strategy, creative design, technical development and a wide range of digital marketing services. With an integrated approach that leverages the power and measurability of the internet, the savvy Sage Island team develops strategies, builds brands, writes killer copy and delivers to clients all over the world. And they have an awesome time doing it. Sage’s collaborative working environment keeps creativity and innovation at the heart of the concept. With a 17-year history in Wilmington and beyond, Sage Island shows no signs of slowing down. To learn how Sage Island can grow your business, check us out at www.sageisland.com. To stay updated on the latest in digital marketing, follow Sage Island on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SageIsland, and on Twitter at twitter.com/SageIsland.