Improve Your Calls to Action in Microsoft Advertising with Action Extensions

In April Microsoft Advertising (formerly known as Bing Ads) announced the arrival of new Action Extensions on the PPC platform.

What are Action Extensions?

Action Extensions are designed to improve calls to action by drawing more attention to them. Instead of writing “Call us now” or “Book your table” within your ad text, you can now add a separate clickable link or button to catch the user’s eye, encouraging them to take the action you’d like them to.

Action Extensions can be shown on PC and mobile devices, and there are up to 70 pre-defined actions to choose from, including:

Apply Now
Book A Car
Book A Hotel
Book Now
Browse
Chat Now
Compare
Contact Us
Coupon
Download
Enrol Now
Find Job
Find Store
Free Trial
Get Quote
Join Now
Learn More
Order Now
Play Now
Register
Reserve
Sale
Save Now
See Menu
See More
Shop Now
Showtimes
Sign Up
Start Now
Subscribe
Switch Now
Try Now
Vote Now
Watch

Many of the phrases include the word “now” to add a sense of urgency to the call to action, while others are more specific and could be useful for advertisers in particular industries, to make ads even clearer (for example using “Book A Hotel” instead of “Book Now”). Please note that some of the phrases are not available in all languages. Take a look at this help page to download a full list of supported actions for each language.

What are the benefits of Action Extensions?

Highlighting calls to action in this way doesn’t just mean that users may be more likely to complete these actions. It also means that you have more room within your ad text to talk about your business or offering and your USPs.

Beta participants saw an average CTR increase of 20% when using Action Extensions, so they could be well worth looking into if you advertise on Bing.

How does it work?

You can create Action Extensions in the Ad Extensions tab, using the bulk account management tool, through the campaign management service API, or using the bulk API. They can be added at account, campaign or ad group level.

Creating the extensions is as easy as selecting the action text from a drop-down box and clicking save. For quick implementation, the URL fields are optional, and if no URL is provided the URL for the ad or keyword will be used. You can also schedule the extensions to run on particular days or at certain times.

Any clicks on your Action Extensions will be charged at the same cost per click as clicking anywhere else on the ad. They can also be shown alongside your other ad extensions such as sitelinks. Take a look at the Microsoft Advertising article to see how the ads are laid out on PC, mobile, and when other extensions are present.

These extensions are currently exclusive to Microsoft Advertising, so what better time to try out this platform and find out how advertising on Bing can help you to reach your conversion goals?

If you’d like some help with PPC advertising, get in touch with SilverDisc.