Use Ad Extensions to Improve Your Google Ad Rank and Campaign Performance

On October 22, Google announced it would be changing the way Ad Rank is calculated. Previously, Google had taken a combination of your bid amount and Quality Score to compute this value, which is used to determine your ad position, or where ads are shown on a page. With the update, ad extensions and formats have now been incorporated into the formula.

If you have not been using ad extensions, this is a perfect opportunity for you to catch up and add this feature. The extra business information these extensions display with your ad – such as your address, phone number, more webpage links, or a coupon – increases click-through rate (CTR) and improves overall campaign performance.

Here are a few things to consider:

• If two competing ads have the same Quality Score and bid amount, the one using ad extensions will generally have a higher position.
• Each sitelink extension not only needs to go to a unique URL but also needs to be different from the landing page used in the ad itself.
• You may need to increase bids and Quality Scores for ad extensions to be displayed.
• You may see a change in your costs-per-click (CPCs):
  • You will see lower CPCs if your extensions and formats are relevant.
  • You will see higher CPCs if you raise your bids to match increased competition.
• Add extensions that make sense for your business and campaign goals:
  • Call extensions
    • When you run mobile ads and need to know how many times people clicked-to-call
  • Location extensions
    • If you have several locations and want to include address information with your ads
  • Review extensions
    • To share positive reviews, write-ups, awards, or third-party rankings with customers
  • Social extensions
    • To link your Google+ Page with your AdWords campaign to earn more recommendations for your ads

If you are currently using ad extensions, keep in mind that Google is also using other ad formats in the new calculation. You may be one step ahead, but you still need to optimize sitelinks. On the upside, Google will typically display your best-performing and most useful mix of extensions and formats among those eligible.

Ad extensions are free, so we recommend adding as many as you can and taking advantage of Google’s built-in tools to maximize your Ad Rank. At Search Optics, we always stay ahead of new developments and help you build a paid search strategy that ensures better placement for your ads.

– Jonathan Stepnitz, Tier III SEM Team Lead

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