October 29, 2013: Last week, Google announced that it was making changes to the way that Ad Rank – the value determining where, at and what price, Adwords ads appear on a SERP — is calculated. Formerly, Ad Rank was computed using just two variables: maximum bid and Quality Score. Going forward, Ad Rank will factor in the expected impact from a given ad’s extensions.
Last Friday, Didit’s Kevin Lee wrote a ClickZ column discussing how these new changes will affect the strategies of Paid Search marketers; we strongly suggest you read it. Kevin strongly recommends that any marketers who are running ads without extensions begin adding extensions to them, because they will make ads more competitive in the auction.
Google’s Ad Extensions include:
Location Extensions
Location extensions, which link Adwords to Google Places, give marketers a way to highlight their geographical location, and can be critically important for mobile users searching for a nearby business and for desktop users surfing through Maps.
Call Extensions
Call extensions let you add your business number to an Adwords ad. Desktop users will see this number prominently displayed; mobile users using iPhone and Android devices can simply click on the Call button to be routed directly to the business.
SiteLink Extensions
Sitelink extensions give you a way to add customized landing pages to your display URL, giving searchers an easy way to navigate to different offerings promoted on your site. Between 2 and 6 additional links will be displayed for desktop users; smartphone users can see up to 4 sitelinks.
Social Annotation Extensions
Provided that you have a Google Plus account, you can add social endorsements to your ad. This may give users another reason to click on it.
Seller Ratings Extensions
Good seller ratings drive e-commerce on sites such as Ebay, and Google will pull seller ratings through its Google Shopping service. Ratings are aggregated from what Google calls “a broad base of sources across the Internet.”
App Extensions
Merchants promoting their apps can use App Extensions to highlight drive downloads. You can move app-seekers to wherever your app lives, on your site, the Apple App Store, or to Google Play.
Review Extensions
Like Seller Ratings, Review Extensions add a social, human element to your ad. If your product or service was raved about somewhere, you can include a review snippet, which functions as a mini-testimonial on the SERP.
Google is pushing Ad Extensions because the resultant ads can appear more relevant, timely, and comprehensive. Now that Google has declared that there will such extended ads will be favored in its auctions, it’s time for marketers to get up to speed with them. Ad Rank will also take into account a third component: the expected impact from your ad extensions and formats.
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