Offer Extensions are a new ad format Google is rolling out to AdWords advertisers, who can now add a coupon or discount to their Google search ad, merging special offers with search.
"Offer extensions let you distribute offers to consumers when they’re searching for products, services, or businesses like yours," Google explains.
The new feature, previously available to only select advertisers in Beta format, will be available to all advertisers by the end of February—but some might already have it available!
To check whether you can take advantage of Offer Extensions right now, create an enhanced campaign and go to Ad Extensions > Offer Extensions.
Here's what an offer ad extension looks like:
When users click the "View offer" link, Google explains, "they'll be taken to a Google hosted landing page where they can view the offer and either print or save it online (to their 'My Offers' page at www.google.com/offers) for use in the store."
If you're a PPC marketer ready to take advantage of this new ad option, read these five tips to get the most out of the new Offer Extensions feature.
1. Keep your offers exclusive
Users who take advantage of your coupon should feel special. They want to feel as if they've hit the jackpot with this exclusive deal. Don't put up an offer for "30% off all sportswear" only to have someone print out your coupon, go to your location, and discover that there is a storewide "30% off sportswear" sale.
Offers should promote special savings, and they should always be for a limited group of people, or for a limited time, or both.
2. Provide a significant discount
Your deal should be enough of a discount to give a searcher pause. "10% Off" or "$5 Off a Purchase of $50 or More" won't have people diving for their wallets. The better the deal, the more attention your offer will grab.
Offer extensions are not for promoting regular business offers. You should be providing a discount that can be monetized. Avoid using offers to promote "Fast and Speedy Delivery With Every Order" or "Life-Time Guarantee With 24/7 Call Support."
3. Track offline conversions in your store
Google has used AdWords Offer Extensions to answer an issue many PPC advertisers have dealt with: the inability to measure how online action affects offline action.
Many PPC marketers struggle with how to measure the full extent of their advertising efforts; users may see a Pay-Per-Click ad online, but instead of converting on a website they might visit a business's physical location.
With Offer Extensions, it's possible to track how many offers are printed out and redeemed in your store. PPC marketers can track offline conversions that come as a result of pay-per-click advertising—a huge milestone in conversion tracking!
4. Make your offer stand out
Experiment with your Offer Extensions headline text just as you would with a classic Google Search text ad. Vary punctuation, wording, and discounts—both the actual content of the offer as well as how you phrase it.
Consider trying different deals: offering a percent discount, a certain dollar amount off, or a rebate. Test to find what works best with your audience.
5. Consider who is seeing your offer
Currently, Offer Extensions are visible only for US users, which is something you should keep in mind while crafting your offers. You can set Offer Extensions at the Campaign Level, in which case the offer has the potential to be coupled with all ads under that campaign, or at the Ad Group Level.
Also be aware that your offer won't show up every time your ad does. Offer Extensions appear only when your ad is in one of the top three ad positions, and only if Google thinks that the offer is relevant to a searcher's query.
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Have fun experimenting with this new ad extension. We should be seeing it a lot more in the future. Early adopters will stand out from the pack, so if you see Offer Extensions as an option in AdWords, jump on it!
