Ad Extensions: Added Them Yet?

If you’ve been searching on Google.com you’ve probably seen a number of ads including some additional lines of information, such as a phone number, a business address, or even some product images. We’ve added a series of ad extensions in recent months to help users find more useful information on Google.

Today, we’d like to highlight some ways in which non-profits can use ad extensions to create more compelling campaigns and attract users to complete a desired activity. Please note that all extensions we discuss below are set at the campaign level.

Ad Sitelinks

If you’re running the top-ranked ads for a given keyword, you now have the ability to add different links to specific pages or content on your site. Rather than sending all users to the same landing page, ad sitelinks will display up to four additional links for users to choose from, as in the example below.

For non-profits, this means that you now have the opportunity to point folks not only to your homepage but also to other key areas of your site, such as a volunteer opportunities page, a fundraising page, or a page with information on your current projects.

Location Extensions

You’ve probably heard of or seen location extensions on Google in the past year: these are ads which have business addresses dynamically linked to them. For those who have claimed their Google Places listing and synced it with their ads, we recently added the ability to add multiple address listings (US only).

How can non-profits leverage this extension? This is a great tool for organizations looking to attract local foot traffic or promote an event to users in a specific region. For example, a food bank based in San Jose, California may be running ads on general keywords like “San Jose food banks” and have ad text that calls on folks to “donate items today!” Using this extension, the food bank can add its address so that users in San Jose can easily see how far away they’re located, and drop off some goods!

Click-to-Call Phone Extensions

We’re seeing a rapidly increasing number of users search on their mobile phones, and with the click-to-call extension, we’ve given advertisers the ability to connect with potential customers or donors over the phone. If your users have high-end devices with full browsers, you can display your local phone number to nearby users through a location extension that the user can click to dial. For all other phones, you can display your national or vanity phone number for people to get in touch with your non-profit over the phone.

How does this help your organization? This is the ideal way to put potential donors, volunteers, and other stakeholders in touch with your non-profit over the phone. For example, an organization responding to a natural disaster may be accepting donations over the phone; adding the phone extension when someone enters “donate to XYZ” on the phone gives the person an opportunity to click on your number, call, and donate immediately.

To learn more about these extensions and other new ad formats (display formats not available to grantees), visit the Ad Innovations page.

Posted by Sonja Lee, Account Manager, Online Sales