Do you run an ecommerce business? Odds are you are investing in Google ads. But do you know about the best Google ad extensions for ecommerce companies?
A survey done in Clutch showed that 65 percent of small-to-midsize businesses (SMBs) invest in pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.
But here’s the problem!
These ads are a bit frustrating with their highly inconsistent returns and low performance or wait for Scratch that: It’s enormously frustrating!
You obviously want your ads to:
- Increase its level of CTRs.
- Boost its conversions rates.
- Attract attention.
- Reach your target audience.
- Have a high rate of ROAs (Returns on Ad spends) and ROIs (Returns on Investments).
- Increase your brand awareness.
- Take more real estate on SERPs.
But you don’t pay enough attention to this incredibly powerful feature that can level up your ad campaign game; Ad extensions!
Yup! You are sleeping on the impact these ad extensions can have on your ads.
What Are Ad Extensions?
Ad extensions are network campaign options that maximize the effect of business advertisements, through the addition of specific features to make ads more compelling on SERPs and boost conversions.
If you are running AdWords without including ad extensions then you are not maximizing your ad potential.
Ad extensions boost the performance of your ads and increase their CTRs.
According to Google, they experience a 10-15% CTR uplift from implementing a new ad extension on average.
Without ad extensions, your conversion rates will dip and your ad strategy will take a hit. The use of ad extensions is the best way to contextualize and personalize your reach to customers.
And here’s even the best part, it doesn’t cost you a dime. So, no excuses then, right?
There are lots of Google ad extensions, but the following are the best for you to consider for your ecommerce business.
They present the opportunity to properly optimize your ads to suit your potential buyers with a few tweaks here and there.
They essentially make your potential customers’ decision and buying experience seamless, engaging, and beneficial.
It is also important to know that there are automated and manual extensions, most of the extensions mentioned here are manually set up.
You can remove any automated extension you feel is useless for your ad campaign.
There are two types of Google ads that currently exists:
- Google search ads and
- Google shopping ads or PLAs
Google Search Ads
They are considered the most popular type of ads considering its effectiveness and longevity.
Google is the top PPC ad network with a market share of over 54%. Research shows that 49% of people are most likely to click on text paid search ads instead of shopping/product listing ads and video ads.
You need to take your next decision based on how your campaigns are performing or have performed in the past. Data science will help you to defeat your competitors and prepare user-focused ads.
Google processes over 3.5 billion searches a day and owns over 92% of the search engine market share.
Search ads appear on the SERPs when someone types a search query that matches the keywords of your ads.
Here’s an example of a search ad:
A 2018 study revealed that 75% of users say paid search ads make it easier to find information
You can use it to advertise your entire brand or a particular product.
They are also considered text ads, where the effect of your keywords come to play and have your text displayed.
Google Shopping Ads
This is based on your product feed, so instead of displaying plain text, the images and description of that product are displayed.
So, it’s more focused on specific products that a customer is interested to buy. And it requires a great deal of optimization to match the right search queries.
It is the best fit for when people are Google shopping for particular products, and they get to find what piques their interest and fits their needs.
They also appear on SERPs matching a search query.
Here’s an example of a product ad;
According to 2018’s Mary Meeker report, 85% of product searches are made on either Amazon or Google, with Google making up to 36% of product discovery.
Google shopping ads display the image, pricing, deets, specs, and sometimes rating reviews of a product.
So, now that we have covered the types of Google ads let’s move on to their extensions.
Both Google search and Google shopping ads each have their extensions.
Here are the best Google search extensions for ecommerce brands:
Sitelink Extensions
Sitelink extension highlights words with clickable links through the use of particular keywords, to describe links that drive you to any pages linked within a website on an ad.
Sitelink example:
It gives you the opportunity to drive site visitors not just one static landing page, but to other pages that might be of use to your potential customers.
This helps your ads take up real estate and dominate the SERPs to enable web searchers to focus on your ad and pay attention to CTAs.
Furthermore, Sitelinks extensions allow you to give your customers a variety of options to click on, directing them to a page that suits their needs at that time.
Depending on what they require to know of your business, they simply click a corresponding link saving them the stress of looking for them on your website.
This creates easy navigation and seamless searching experience.
Also, the Sitelink extension is limited to just the maximum word limit of 25 characters, so get creative with it.
However, they aren’t useful for websites that contain just one landing page, in this case, Sitelinks have zero use for you.
Get creative with your site links by providing what potential customers are more likely to seek when they visit your website.
You should also avoid repeating the information that you have provided on a different extension.
For example, if your structured snippet(more on that later) is about what your brand services are; then an about us page site link isn’t necessary.
And remember all these additional benefits with no extra cost to you.
App Extensions
Don’t have an app for your eCommerce business yet? Ehm thinks again.
Statista revealed that Mobile apps are expected to generate over $365 billion in revenue by 2023.
Also, experts estimate that US mobile commerce sales will eclipse $420 billion by 2021.
Therefore investing in an app is one huge investment you definitely want to consider, because if you don’t pay attention to mobile shopping, you are focusing on the minority.
Just take a look at the stats:
- In 2017, the US had $156 billion in mobile commerce sales
- Conversion rates from mobile apps are three times higher than mobile sites.
- 79% of smartphone users have made a purchase online using their mobile device in the last 6 months
- Almost 40% of all eCommerce purchases during the 2018 holiday season were made on a smartphone.
- 53% of smartphone users buy from company-specific apps.
So, if you have an app, having an extension for it is going to be resourceful for your business.
This extension only displays for mobile searchers, who according to stats are actually the majority.
It looks like this:
So, if your app is an integral part of your business, you definitely want to include this extension.
Since you have got an app, Congratulations! It is extremely valuable and great for your eCommerce business.
Let potential customers know about it, they will be delighted because they find it easier to shop and make transactions.
About 42% of smartphone users plan to do more shopping from their mobile devices.
Another thing about apps is that you can create long term relationships with your consumers, you can become their go-to brand due to your app on their mobile phone.
I mean an extension of your brand now practically lives in their closest possession.
With App extension, you get to increase your downloads, get a higher rate of ROIs, and boost your App’s visibility.
Call Extensions
Call extensions communicate two major things:
I am only one call away: If your customers intend to get in touch with you, it’s no biggie. You can easily be contacted, with your numbers on display.
I will be there to save the day! If they got any troubles or inquiries to make, you have got them covered.
Your business can be one call away with this extension. Utilizing this extension would help your potential customers make inquiries easier and quickly get in touch with you.
Your response and conversation is also a make or breaks to making sales and creating an impression, so you want to make sure a calling pro is handling that.
This extension prevents the agony and frustration of a customer having to search everywhere for your number.
Or even click on your website to go find your number at the end of your page.
When they can have it on the get-go.
For example, if you want to place quick orders, you don’t want to go through any fancy process, you simply want to place a call.
Since 70% of mobile eCommerce customers place calls through mobile ads, so what’s stopping you from adding that extension?
Call extensions come in two forms depending on the device: if it’s a desktop, your number is displayed while a call button appears if it’s on mobile.
Here’s a Mobile view:
Call extension fulfills the immediate needs of potential customers especially mobile searchers.
Obviously this will be beneficial if you have got someone who takes care of business calls at any time of the day.
If you don’t have provision for these calls then this extension might not be the best for you.
Location Extensions
Is this business legit?
Location extension answers that for you.
And No, it’s not only beneficial for brick and mortar businesses, but eCommerce brands also need them too.
The fact that you run an online business doesn’t excuse the need for the knowledge of your physical location.
Adding a location extension to your ad is important. This way, your customers know that your business is real and involves people and can be easily located.
It builds trust and removes any grain skepticism. You can also create filters to assign specific locations to specific campaigns, for effective optimization.
Structured Snippets
Structured snippets Google ad extension will help you give more context to the ad words displayed on the screen.
Just as the name suggests; it “structures your words in snippets”.
Structured snippets allow you to string a set of related terms or details together to communicate a section of the ad to the reader.
GetResponse, a marketing software, uses structured snippets to highlight what users can do with their tool.
This enables detailed descriptions with defining headers. For example, you can layout your services or your special offers in one snippet.
These snippets tell your target audience how you can serve them and what your business is all about.
This immediately attracts the right audience for your business, and rid your website of visitors that are not interested in your products.
Callout Extension
With the help of Callout Google ad extension, you can give an extra edge to your ads and make it more appealing.
Callout extensions are hyperlinked non-clickable copy that helps you outline
- Your edge over your competitors
- the extra benefits or gains of buying your products or services.
They ultimately help you display your unique selling points (USPs).
In the words of Google ads, “call-outs help highlight specific information about your products and services.
Mercato, an online grocery store, makes the most out of callout extension. They highlight the key things about their services, such as “Personalized shopping. Express checkout. One-click reordering”, that is likely to attract more people.
You have a limit of 3 call-out extensions, so you will want to make the most of it.
Listen to Google itself:
- Provide enough information.
- Increase your options
- Optimize for mobile users
- Keep the character limit in mind (25 characters).
This extension enables you to write great copies that will further entice customers to your brand.
Anything that makes your brand distinct and more appealing should be highlighted with this extension.
This will also help you take up more real estate and give additional valuable information to your customers, valuable being the keyword here, everything should be designed with the customer’s needs in mind.
So don’t just fill up space with words for the sake of words alone, it should increase your CTRs.
Promotion Extensions
You are probably wondering what’s its difference with call-out extensions.
Promotion extensions are copies that can be used for any type of promotion, while promotion extensions are exclusive to specific product discounts.
AskSunday, a virtual assistant service provider, uses promotion extensions to show searchers that they’re offering a discount to attract them.
They also serve the need for promotions of special world events.
Promotion extensions are more direct and specific.
Like
- Special discounts
- Free deliveries
- Extra packages
- Exclusive deals
- Bargains
- Coupon codes and more.
Furthermore, promotion extensions are highly flexible, so you can easily update, tweak, and optimize them to match your preferences.
There are four types of promotion extensions to select based on your needs
- Percent discount (get 5% off)
- Percentage discount (up to 5% off)
- Up to monetary discount (up to $5 off)
- Monetary discount (get $5 off)
Google ads further provide a valuable list of available dates and occasions for promotions.
So if you have an irresistible offer and exclusive discount, plugin this extension for immediate conversions.
Because when people click they have already decided they want to buy.
So, you should include special offers and brand promotions on your ad campaign to step up your competitive game.
For example, consumers are four to five times more likely to make a purchase if you offer free shipping.
All of these grab the attention of people and persuade them into buying.
Price Extensions
Is it in my price range? Or does it fit my budget?
This extension offers answers to these queries.
So instead of a potential shopper clicking on a product link only to find out they won’t purchase it due to the price, you can save yourself money, unnecessary CTRs and let them know if they can afford to buy this product right off the bat.
Here’s an example:
You don’t just need clicks but right clicks. So when one clicks on the product link they are very much likely to make purchases.
With price extension, you can showcase up to 8 products with of course their prices, plus you get to direct your customers to different product pages.
So, price extensions help convert your clicks in a very short period of time. This will be especially valuable if you want to feature some key products,
For example, if you want to buy a tripod and you stumble upon 2 ads, one comes with a price extension while the other has none.
Which would catch your attention? Or which would you take more seriously?
In most cases, the former!
Why?
Because you get to have clarity on what’s best for you in comparison to one which is vague. And it saves your time and prevents you from the frustration of clicking on something you can’t afford.
Which could have been avoided in the first place, if there was a price extension.
Let’s move on to Google Shopping ads Extensions.
These are the best Google shopping campaign ads extensions for eCommerce Businesses.
- Google Merchant Promotions
- Product Ratings Extensions
1. Google Merchant Promotions
This extension performs what promotion extensions do for Google search ads.
If you have got any special offers, like a discount or free delivery, this extension lets the public know.
The benefits of offering discounts can’t be overemphasized, about 93% of Shoppers use a coupon or discount code throughout the Year.
Discounts boost your conversion rate because obviously everyone wants to save.
Promoting your products with an incentive is a sure-fire way to win. Google merchant promotions also drop your CPA.
Here’s an example:
So if your product is on sale, or its 50% off, Merchant promotion extensions showcase that for you.
It is also ideal for Black Friday deals, holiday seasonal discounts, cyber Mondays, etc
2. Product Ratings Extension
Just like Apps are rated in stores, the same way this extension allows your products to be rated based on a 5-star scale.
Here’s the thing.
People love reviews! They want to be assured they are buying the best product that will serve them.
Studies reveal that 72% of customers won’t take action until they read reviews and 15% of users don’t trust businesses without reviews.
Now, those stats are mind-blowing, it goes to show important ratings and reviews are important for businesses.
Here’s an example:
So having this extension will increase the rate of your sales, that is if it comes with high ratings.
If you have got amazing reviews and love showered on your products, then this extension helps you proudly display the fact.
People will rather buy what has been tested and trusted in comparison to a product devoid of reviews.
The final Google ad extension we will address is an automated one and really useful for ecommerce brands.
Seller Ratings Extensions
The difference between product and seller ratings is that the former is exclusively for products and shopping ads, while seller ratings are for your brand as a whole, the entirety of what your brand offers.
So this rating extension is for your brand image, so if you have got a solid track record with plenty and plenty of reviews this will motivate potential customers to make purchases from your brand.
Because others have testified to how amazing your services and products are, they also on your Google shopping campaign.
This is definitely a huge advantage to an ecommerce brand.
Although you are required to have over 150 reviews with a 3.5 rating star and more for text ads, whilst less than 3.5 ratings can be permitted for shopping ads.
Also, your ad’s visible URL domain must match the domain for which Google has the ratings for eligibility.
This extension has automatically opted in, you can opt-out of it if you think it’s not the best for you at the moment, but definitely consider using it.
These ratings come from an array of Google review platforms like
- Google Customer Reviews
- Power Reviews
- Google customer surveys
- Google Shopping reviews and more independent review platforms.
How to Check and Further Optimize Your Ads?
It is essential to check the status of your ads, how your ads look in real-time, and where it appears on the Google search results. This will help you further optimize your ads and generate a higher ROI.
You can check your ad status on your Google Ads Account. Open your Google Ads account and click on “ads & extensions”. You’ll see a list of ads you’ve run along with their status.
One of the best ways to check your ads is by using Google’s Ad Preview Tool. With the Ad Preview tool, you can see your ads as they appear on a regular Google search results page. All you need to do is enter your keyword, location, and device.
If you are running ads on different locations then you need to use a VPN to check how your ads actually look in the search results without clicking on them. VPNs also allow you to analyze your competitors’ ads in different locations, so you can better optimize your copy.
Tools like OmniConvert can help you further optimize your ads. It’s A/B testing feature allows you to compare different ad copies and draw general conclusions, such as traffic, conversion rate, and CPC. You can even use OmniConvert to gather insight about your visitors from different geolocation and optimize your ad to fit their needs.
Conclusion
We have provided you with quite a long list of useful Google ad extensions for your eCommerce business, but you don’t need all of them.
All the above-mentioned extensions are great for most businesses but not necessarily your business.
Only select extensions that match your business goals, every extension should have a goal to fulfill.
Understand your current business pain points and what’s important for your business at the moment.
Some extensions as explained are there to convert, whilst some are for building better customer relationships.
Google ad extensions are the best ways to skyrocket the effectiveness of your ads without worrying about your money.
