What are AdWords Ad Extensions, and How Can They Improve Your PPC Performance?

Google's AdWords algorithms change often; if you aren't using all features to the best of your best advantage, it can negatively affect the results of your campaigns. AdWords extensions allow you to include additional business information in your ads that wouldn’t normally fit in the defined character limits. They are very valuable features available to advertisers on the platform.

What Are AdWords Extensions?

AdWords extensions are additional text fields that can be added to your ads to give prospective customers more information about your business. Failing to use them can seriously hurt your campaigns. Google rewards advertisers with higher Ad Rank when they use them effectively. If you and a competitor have the same keyword, bid and quality score, but your competitor uses extensions and you don't, they'll also get the higher position.

Some extensions are added manually by the advertiser. Others, Google adds automatically when the system predicts the extensions will improve the performance of your campaign. For instance, they might show a searcher the "previous visits" extension if this is someone who has visited your site before.

Choosing the Right Extensions for You

While extensions can give a boost to your Ad Rank and your performance, they only help if they are a good fit for your campaign. In fact, extensions will not show up at all if your bid or ad quality ratings are not high enough. Having trouble picking the optimal extensions from the list? Consider starting with these powerful picks:

• Sitelinks - Is there more than one page on your website that would benefit searchers and provide the content they need? Use the Sitelinks Extensions to help them get where they are going in one click. Good options include linking to your Contact Us page, Buy Now page, About Us page or multiple service offering pages.
• Location – Location Extensions provide your business address right on your ads. A visible local connection will draw more interest to your business, especially being that local searches are happening now more than ever before. Link AdWords to your Google My Business account to capitalize on this functionality.
• Call – Allow people on smart devices to get you on the phone with the click of a single button with the Mobile-Click-To-Call functionality. With mobile search set to outstrip desktop, this is a valuable extension to use. Call Extensions will also show your phone number on desktop searches and track if anyone picks up the phone and dials you directly from the ad.
• Review - Benefit from social proof by allowing surfers to see your positive reviews right in your ad. Review Extensions pull directly from your Google My Business account, so the more active you are at collecting reviews, the better.

The best picks will be different with every business. Choose extensions carefully and analyze their benefits to increase your Ad Rank and get a better return on your AdWords investment.