What Are Google Ad Assets (previously) Extensions, and Which Might You Need?

When showing your ads on Google, you typically get these components of the ad:

• Up to 3 headings displayed
• Up to 2 descriptions displayed

But Google allows you to add some great extras called "ad assets", previously called extensions.  

Google Ad assets/extensions are the additional elements you can apply to your ads on Google. Helping your clickthrough rate (CTR) and providing extra information to your target audience.

How many types of Google ad assets/extensions are there?

At the time of writing, there are 16 types of ad assets/extensions that Google allow you to use on your ads.

Not all extensions will be needed for every advertiser; it depends on what industry you are in, and what conversions you are tracking, i.e. sales (purchases on your website) or leads.

However, there are specific extensions that Google recommends every advertiser uses. These are called universal extensions, and I have highlighted these with an asterisk below.

What types of ad assets/extensions are there?

Sitelinks*

Site link extensions are additional pages that can be added to your ad. These links will be helpful extra pieces of information that the searcher may find useful.

For example

If I were a garage door company selling various styles of garage doors, I would have the main ad link go to a specific landing page. Then additional site link extensions go to each separate landing page for the different types of garage doors.

So, if the person searching knew for example they wanted a roller garage door, instead of clicking on the primary ads and going to a landing page they could go direct to the roller door page. That's just one option you could take.

When writing this, Google will display up to four site links on your ad. And it's proven that adding site links can help improve your clickthrough rate (CTR), which can help with your quality score.

Callout assets/extensions*

The callout extension is an excellent addition to an ad which every advertiser should use. You get up to 25 characters at the time of writing, including spaces to highlight essential selling points about your products or services.

Structured snippets*

Another great extension that every advertiser should use is structured snippets. They help highlight specific features or benefits a searcher may be looking for.

The great thing about these extensions is that you can select them manually or get Google to dynamically generate them.

Call assets/extensions

Call extensions add your telephone number to your ad, making it easy for the person searching to call your business directly from the ad.

You can track these phone calls as conversions and measure how effective these extensions are for your business.

Lead form assets/extensions (beta)

Lead form extensions are the newest form of extension from Google. The benefit of these extensions is that people can fill out a lead form directly from the ad rather than go to your landing page and complete a lead form.

Another benefit is that if the person searching is logged into their Google account, the information required in the lead form is prepopulated and can be submitted in just one click.

However, I would add that you may want to check the quality of these leads coming through against the leads from your website.

Location assets/extensions

Location extensions add the location of your business to your Google ad. This can help people see where you're located in relation to where they are based.

For example:

If you were a business with several showrooms, you could add a location of each showroom to the corresponding ad so people can see their local showroom nearest to them.

Affiliate location assets/extensions

If you sell products through a third-party retailer, affiliate location extensions would be a good option for your campaign.

They essentially display stores that stock your products and are nearby to their location.

Price assets/extensions

Price extensions are a great pre-qualifier. You can display the price of your product or service within the ads to manage expectations before the searcher clicks on your ad and costs you money.

They benefit advertisers who sell packages or have something like bronze, gold and silver services.

App assets/extensions

If your business has an app, this is an excellent extension.

You can put in a downloadable link directly to your app within the ad to increase downloads and track how many you have had.

Promotion assets/extensions

Use promotion extensions if you're running a promotion and want to stand out from your competitors.

Price is often a significant factor when making a purchase decision. You want to let people know as soon as possible if you're running a promotion rather than waiting until they hit the website.

Image assets/extensions

Image extensions allow you to show visuals to complement your text ads helping drive a better clickthrough rate.

As with other extensions, not every advertiser is eligible. If you are eligible, there are certain restrictions on the images that you can use.

I have been experimenting with clients' logos. You cannot use imagery with any text at this point in time. For example, I have had these rejected, but images depicting a service or a product without writing on it get approved with no issue.

Product assets/extensions

You can link your Google merchant account to your Ads account and enable product extensions. Adding this extension allows you to enhance your product listings.

Seller rating assets/extensions

The seller rating extension is a great way to showcase what others say about your products or services, enhancing trust with potential customers.

This automated extension will typically only appear if you have more than 100 reviews of five stars or better in the last six months.

The reviews can come from other third-party sources, not just Google reviews. The likes of Trustpilot and Feefo will also appear if eligible.

Video assets/extensions

Video extensions enable you to get people to act while viewing your video ad on the YouTube mobile app.

Business name and logo assets

Google now allows you to include your business name and logo within your responsive search ad. You will need to be a verified advertiser to do it, but it will be a great addition to your ad and its credibility.

Benefits of Using Ad Assets/Extensions

As I'm sure you can see from reading the above sections adding assets/extensions to your ad benefits your strategy.

But to recap:

• Improved clickthrough rate
• More traffic
• Calls direct from your ads
• A chance to highlight additional information
• The opportunity to be competitive on pricing
• To quickly show where you are located to searchers
• To get leads directly from your Google ad
• To promote downloads of your app
• Extra space to show potential customers any promotions you may be running
• Show potential customers your products or services visually

How to Create Ad Assets/Extensions

You need to head on to the Google ads platform to create ad assets/extensions.

Select the tab in the light grey menu called ads and assets. Next, click on the tab that says assets, and a small dashboard appears on the right-hand side; this is where you can create your extensions.

You can create most extensions at three levels.

• Ad group level
• Campaign level
• Account-level

It's vital to remember that those extensions will apply across all your campaigns and ad groups if you set extensions at the account level.

So if you do not want every campaign to have the same extensions, for example relating back to my locations of branches section, you will likely need to set up your extensions at the campaign level or even ad group level, depending on how granular you need to get full

To sum up

I hope this guide has helped you see the importance of Google ad assets and how they can help your business and help potential customers make the best choice for them.

I would recommend getting started with the universal assets and then building up to the other extensions, ensuring you're taking full advantage of every option available.

I would love to hear which extensions you have started to use and how they have performed for you so far!