Occupying additional paid search real estate is paramount when trying to stand out from the competition. Everything from ad extensions to Shopping ads, to various aesthetics when writing ad copy comes into play. Along these lines, I’ve put together a list of 4 lesser used techniques which help to take up more real estate. These techniques include:
- Review Extensions
- Google Shopping Merchant Promotions
- Dynamic Remarketing Text Ads
- Bing Ads Description Line 1
Review Extensions
I mentioned ad extensions in the opening paragraph, but review extensions are still highly underutilized. We all know what they are and the benefits they provide, however, they can be difficult to implement. Google can be extremely critical when determining what gets approved. However, two forms of recognition tend to get approved most of the time:
- Better Business Bureau Accreditation
- Google Trusted Stores
Here’s an example of a review extension making use of Google Trusted Stores.
In my experience, many companies are BBB Accredited and a growing number of retailers are becoming Google Trusted Stores. As a side note, I’m even beginning to see retailers put both of these trust symbols on their packaging.
Google Shopping Merchant Promotions
Merchant Promotions are additional blurbs of text in Shopping ads that pop-up when users click the “Special offer” link. The promotions are setup directly in Google Merchant Center through manual uploads or promotion specific data feeds. Here’s an example of a merchant who has a promotion running for their line of dress shirts.
Since most retailers have a Google Merchant Center account (and associated Shopping campaigns) and showcase promotions, this feature is an easy win. Merchants will need to provide:
- The title of the promotion
- The actual promotion
- The promotion run dates
- The promotional code
- Whether the promotion applies to all products or specific ones
These promotions can be scheduled and also include a countdown. In the example above, the offer ends in 37 days.
Dynamic Remarketing Text Ads
Many merchants make use of dynamic remarketing ads but tend to only utilize the image version. Dynamic remarketing image ads tend to showcase 1- 8 rotating products. The text version only shows 1 product at a time.
The image ads are eye-catching and I’ve seen them produce great results, but merchants should not forget about text ads. By including text ad versions, you are increasing your impressions share and overall exposure for your ads.
When creating dynamic remarketing campaigns, ensure that image ads and text ads each get their own ad groups. The reason being is that performance can differ greatly and you want the ability to bid uniquely for each ad type (along with the specific audience of the particular ad group).
Bing Ads Description Line 1
Over the last couple of months, the paid search ads above the organic listings in both Bing and Yahoo have been showing double instances of description line 1.
Just like Google, if description line 1 is a distinct sentence, it has the potential to show in the headline. Bing has taken it one step further by repeating description line 1 where it normally shows in the ad. These ads allow for up to 35 characters of additional text and can create more instances of bolded keywords. In the example above, the third ad is barely noticeable when compared to the first 2.
I’ve long followed the principle that at least 1 ad in every ad group should make use of the extended headline. Since I migrate most of my Google campaigns to Bing, these ads are taking advantage of the double description line 1. If Bing continues to show ads in this fashion, it could make sense to write all ads for this platform with the extended headline. Time and results will ultimately determine if this strategy makes sense, but it does add more text to your copy.
Final Thoughts
All 4 of these features are underrepresented in ad copy but are easy to implement. If you aren’t making use of one or more of these features take a look at your campaigns and see if it makes sense to implement. Chances are there is an opportunity. These features won’t make or break your PPC account performance, but they will help you stand out that much more.
