Get Better Conversions from AdWords by Using Extensions
I spend a lot of time putting out blogs about how to maximize your small business advertising online – and in particular how to avoid common mistakes with Pay-Per-Click ads – but for this update, I wanted to look at one feature that can help you make your PPC ads even more effective.
What are AdWords Extensions?
Google AdWords extensions are helpful features that increase conversions by giving your customers more information, access or options when they see your ad in the search engine. For example, businesses can add extensions to their campaign that feature their physical address, the business’s rating on Google, or even a mini-directory of pages within the website.
Depending on how your customers interact with your business, different types of extensions can help make the stage between a view or impression and an actual conversion much shorter. For example, if you’ve got a local business that offers discount vacation packages, and you’re doing Google AdWords as part of your online marketing campaign, a Click-to-Call feature can help convert prospective clients into paying customers. When your ad shows up in the Google Search Page, your customers have a button that allows them to call you directly from their mobile device.
What Can Extensions Feature?
Google AdWords offers several different types of extensions to help increase your website conversions and generate more revenue for you as a business. As of the time of this posting, Google features the following extensions as options for your online marketing campaigns:
App extensions: Display a link below your ad that sends customers to the app store or begins a download on your phone.
Call extensions: Give your customers the opportunity to call you directly from your ad without having to actually visit your website.
Location extensions: Show your customers where you’re physically located within your ad. This is a great option for campaigns that are targeting a limited radius around their storefront location.
Review extensions: Want to showcase some of your best reviews from past customers? This extension lets you include a snippet from your reviews within the ad text.
Sitelink extensions: If your business has several pages that showcase different services, this can help your customers go straight to the pages their most interested in while bypassing your homepage.
Callout extensions: This extension allows you to showcase your best service features that customers will love.
Customer Rating extensions: Maybe you’d rather use your ratings online to demonstrate how great your services are? The Customer Rating extension gives you an option to show your star rating on various review sites.
Seller Ratings extensions: If you sell products online, the Seller Ratings extension lets your customers see real-time ratings for your products before they ever open your ad.
Previous Visits extensions: This extension helps customers remember that they’re familiar with your site already and have visited previously.
Newest Extension Offered By Google
This past week, Google announced they are releasing a new extension from beta and implementing it full-scale. This new extension feature, called the Click-to-Text Extension, allows customers to text directly with the business from the ad.
The benefits for this new extension can be numerous, but the most obvious benefit is the immediacy of interaction between customers and the business. We live in an instant-gratification society, and a majority of people would rather shoot over a quick text message than pick up a phone and contact a business they don’t have any prior experience with.
While this extension would be terrific for helping increase immediate leads, there is also the possibility that it may lead to lower-quality conversions: that is to say that while conversions may go up due to the ease of communication, the quality of the leads may go down. It’s entirely possible that more of the customers who wouldn’t have normally called a business may be willing to text instead. However, since there should be a huge spike in conversion ratio, the likelihood is that the overall closed leads from campaigns that feature this extension in their online marketing strategy will be higher than those without.
Which Type of Extension is Best for Your Business?
Determining which type of extension fits most with your online marketing strategy is almost entirely dependent upon how your customers contact you and how you acquire your clientele. If you’ve got a service-based business that goes to customers’ homes (i.e., an HVAC contractor), you probably wouldn’t do well with an Address extension that showcases your physical address. No one comes to that location, so customers aren’t likely to care. However, an upscale clothing boutique would see an Address extension as being a helpful benefit, since customers come to their actual location to shop their store.
When considering Google AdWords extensions as part of your online marketing strategy, consider what types of features or options will help your potential customers decide to choose your business. Reviews and Ratings extensions are always a good option, because it lets your clients see your great customer feedback before they contact you. Locations extensions are great for brick-and-mortar businesses, and Click-to-Text extensions put your business in direct contact with customers looking for immediacy.
Before choosing any extensions for your online marketing campaign, reach out to the experts at Citywide SEO for a free consultation and advice on which type of extension will have the greatest impact on your bottom line.
