A Call to Arms: AdWords Ad Extensions Can Be Your Greatest B2B Digital Marketing Ally
by MGB2B
HEY YOU!!!
Did I catch your attention? One of the overall goals of any B2B digital marketing campaign is to catch the audience’s eye and stand out from the competition. In a highly competitive arena like Google paid advertising, where our opportunities to attract quality attention are governed by strict rules like not being able to write something cheesy like “HEY YOU!!!” in an ad’s headline, and even stricter character limits, although this is getting a bit better lately with Google’s addition of new Expanded Text Ads, finding a way to separate yourself from the playing field can often be daunting. But fear not: Ad Extensions are here!
Any AdWords marketer worth their digital salt knows about ad extensions. They’re those complimentary bits of information that can show next to or below a text ad. There are a wealth of these extensions, and each allows the marketer the opportunity to give their audience a bit more info connected to their ad. But let’s focus on two that often go overlooked when setting up a B2B digital marketing campaign in AdWords.
AdWords Ad Extensions: Your Greatest Ally in the Fight for B2B Audiences’ Attention
Call Extensions: Call extensions allow you to show the phone number of your company alongside a text ad. This is a great way to improve your audience’s engagement with your ads. If a customer is using a desktop computer, your text ad will show your company’s phone number below the headline. If they’re searching on a smart phone, a “Call” button will show next to the add, allowing the customer to call you directly from the Google search results page with just one touch of their screen. This can be particularly handy in the B2B market, where an on-the-go salesman or contractor is searching for your company’s offerings.
Callout Extensons: Callout extensions run below a text ad providing added details about your company or offers, like the “Free Shipping” etc. in the ad below. These extensions offer you a fantastic way to highlight the key elements of your business in a structured line, and can be set up on an account, campaign or ad group level. And unlike their cousin Sitelink extensions, Callout extensions aren’t a clickable link and don’t require a unique attached URL. This allows you to single out special offers and calls to action, while still directing the audience to the landing page you’d originally chosen for your text ad. When trying to catch the attention of a busy B2B searcher, this can make or break an ad’s performance.
While both of these extensions offer their own specific audience engagement opportunities, they also provide an even more valuable service: they grab the searcher’s attention and make your ad stand out from the rest. On a search results page any available space is valuable, and both of these extensions allow you to take up more space than a stand-alone text ad would. And they add an air of authority and credibility to your ads, encouraging click confidence in your audience.
Historically, ads that show extensions like these can expect to see above average click-thru-rates and lead to conversions with lower cost-per-acquisitions, which are metrics any B2B digital marketer likes to see. Couple Call and Callout extensions with a well written, relevant text ad and you’ll be seeing better return-on-investment in no time.
The B2B paid advertising landscape on Google can often fell like a battlefield. Call on these ad extensions to help you win the fight! Need reinforcements? Drop us a line.
Tags: adwords, B2B digital marketing, B2B marketing, B2B marketing strategy, Google AdWords