A Recipe for the World’s Biggest PPC Ad: Do Too Many Ad Extensions Spoil the Broth?

Google’s launch of the new enhanced ad sitelinks got us talking and led us to ask Google – “How many ad extensions can appear at once in an ad?”

If you use multiple types of ad extensions you’ll be pleased to hear that, in theory, they can all show at once! In the PPC manager’s dream an ad could look like this:

“Fantastic”, you say? It certainly could be (but spare a thought for the SEO troopers who have probably spent years fighting for that top spot in the natural results). An ad of this size means you can probably wave “Bye-bye” to competitors as your CTRs and conversions soar.

Ad Extensions in Reality

Sadly, it seems for the most part you’ll struggle to get more than two of your ad extensions to appear at once. It’s ultimately Google who decides which ad extension will be shown. If one ad is deemed more relevant than another to Google then that ad’s likely to have more extensions within it.

If you’ve built up a good review base and seller ratings appear in your ads then these are likely to show pretty much all of the time along with other ad extensions including location extensions, product extensions or sitelinks.

If Google thinks your ads are really, really relevant to a search query you might be rewarded with an ad that displays sitelinks, seller ratings and product extensions – well done you!

Use Ad Extensions Wisely

Ad extensions can be great for CTRs; ads see an average uplift of 30%. An ad extension can take someone to the most relevant part of your site whether it is a particular product page or your contact details leading to increased conversion rates.

It’s easy to see the attraction of enabling as many ad extensions as possible but before you go too crazy consider their use cautiously. Not all ad extensions are suitable for every business! If they’re not used carefully your potential customers could end up in the wrong place.

More generally, it’s possible that too many different types of ad extensions in Google’s results could cause confusion. A searcher may wonder why ExampleA.com has product images in their ad whereas ExampleB.com may have text links to different parts of their website. Searchers may struggle to decide where and what to click on.

Ad Extensions: Quick Tips

• Ensure the right ad extension is used in the right place. You don’t want a location extension enabled if from your physical location you do not sell the product or service – opt for sitelinks instead
• Where possible highlight offers within sitelinks as this could lead to better CTRs
• Be descriptive within sitelinks and make the best use of the character allowance you have
• If you have a physical location then make sure your Google Places listing is fully optimised! Spelling mistakes, inaccurate information and poor pictures can let you down
• When adding a phone number as part of a call or location extension, where possible use a number with a local prefix. We all know that 0800 numbers are not free from a mobile phone
• For good product extensions make sure your Google Merchant Centre feed is well optimised and that your product info is as up to date as possible. It’s no good showing a fantastic price that is out of date once a person clicks through to your website
• Keep an eye on your competitors and ensure that they are not ahead of your game. If they’re running a fantastic offer in a site link – can you match it or beat it? If not, come up with an alternative offer
• Ensure your Google+ Page looks good if you’ve opted into social extensions. Remember, you’ll need to verify your Google+ Page on your site if you want social extensions to appear in your ads. Click here for more info.

If all this seems too complicated, you could always get SilverDisc to do it for you!