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Google's Universal Extensions

Google's Universal Extensions
Mara Heathcote

Increase Your Brand's Visibility and Engagement.

Google is continuously ranking and organizing billions of resources to ensure that relevant information is being shown to the right people at the right times. Nearly 3.5 billion searches are made using google every day, and according to Backlinko, the first search result in Google gets 31.7% of all clicks, but businesses don’t necessarily have to rank first in order to get the results they want. Backlinko recently released a free CTR tool that pulls fresh stats monthly from millions of keywords (try it out!).

The best way to get your brand in front of potential customers starts with creating a Google Search campaign. Google Search campaigns are text-based ads that are shown alongside search results when people are browsing for similar products or services. But how can businesses leverage user intent to benefit their own unique business goals in such a competitive market?

Universal extensions give people more of a reason to choose a business by making it more visible and accessible to whomever may be looking. There are many different extensions that a business may consider to help boost visibility, drive sales, or even encourage conversions by including location information, links to specific web pages, call buttons, and more. With every Search campaign, Google determines which extensions to show in response to any given query in order to maximize ad performance. By adding an extension to a standard text ad, it’s not unusual to see a noticeable increase in clicks, calls, or online/in-store traffic.

Despite all of the different tools Google provides, there are three key extensions that every marketer should consider in order to enhance their text ads. These extensions include: sitelinks, callout extensions, and structured snippets.

SITELINKS

Sitelinks appear underneath the body of a search ad and are used to direct users to specific pages of a business’ website. These extensions are beneficial due to their ability to drive sales, conversions, and brand awareness. Google will either display the most relevant or best-performing sitelink but will only appear if the linked site contains content that is associated with the initial query.

Sitelinks can improve an ad’s click-through rate (CTR) in turn increasing the engagement rate of an ad, as well as potentially driving more conversions by instantly directing users to the exact page they are most likely to be interested in.

CALLOUT EXTENSIONS

Callout extensions (not to be confused with a structured snippet) are made up of short bodies of text that highlight the unique attributes that any given business, service, or product can offer. In just 25 characters, callout extensions are an excellent resource in driving both sales and online conversions.

By providing a brief callout identifying unique features/products, or ongoing offers/promotions, advertisers can easily boost engagement rates and draw attention to their ad at key moments in the decision making process.

STRUCTURED SNIPPETS

Structured Snippets contribute to attaining more qualified leads by providing users with the opportunity of learning about what’s being offered before they click on a Search ad. From hotel amenities, to the thickness of reading socks, Structured Snippets are an excellent way to provide all essential information up-front to increase the probability of a conversion after a user clicks through.

The difference between a structured snippet and a callout extension lies within the details: structured snippets only display crucial information whereas a callout extension highlights a business's unique attributes.

Structured snippets feature amenities or services in a list format, whereas callouts can include phrases or supplemental details.

*Despite the fact that ad extensions provide search ads with greater visibility and prominence over other ads on the search results page, it cannot be guaranteed that an ad extension will be made visible in every search result. Ad position and rank is taken into consideration every time an ad is shown.

Do you want your business to be there at the exact moment when someone is looking for the kinds of products or services that you offer? Would you like to learn exactly what potential customers are searching for and which ads they’re engaging with the most? Let Hotspex Media's Full-Service Programmatic Advertising Services directly address your marketing and business objectives or entirely plan, execute, and measure your media buys so you can continue to serve your business’ best.

Want to Learn More?

Give us a shout and let us know how we can help.

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