In today’s installment in our series, Fully Utilizing AdWords’ Ad Extensions in Just 5 Days!, I will be reviewing Google’s Product Extensions and how you can use them in AdWords to boost your existing campaign performance. To continue our series’ theme of classic sitcom references, I thought Mallory Keaton would be appropriate for Product Extensions. If there’s someone that would have appreciated enhanced e-commerce PPC advertising, I’m guessing it would have been Mallory!
What Are Product Extensions?
Product Extensions allow you to link your Google Merchant account with your AdWords account to create enhanced ad listings on SERPs. Basically, once your Merchant account is linked to your AdWords account, AdWords will display specific product information for products that are related to a searcher’s query. So, when your text ad is generated on a SERP by a search query and Google determines that you have a relevant product based on that search term, your product image, title and price will be displayed below your text ad.
Here’s what you’ll see when someone expands your Product Extensions plusbox:
A brief side note, don’t confuse Product Extensions with Product Listings. Product Listings display your product information from your merchant feed on Google SERPs and are not connected to your AdWords account. Below is an example of a Product Listing.
The best way to think of the different between Produce Extensions and Product Listings is that Product Extensions allow you to nest your Product Listing under your AdWords text ads. If you want to read more about Product Listings, check out this page from Google.
Why Should You Consider Using Product Extensions?
Product Extensions will give you increased visibility on SERPs, not to mention additional free real page estate. Plus, displaying your product information with your text ads will increase the profitability of your ads, as searchers will be more likely to click and buy a product they can see. Product Extensions give your ads essential information searcher’s need to make a purchasing decision. If a searcher can see your product’s image, name and price before they click your ad, you’ve helped accelerate them further into the buying cycle.
How Do You Implement Product Extensions?
Under the Ad Extensions tab in AdWords, select Products.
Select your desired campaign from the drop-down menu and then check the box to “Extend my ads with relevant product details from Google Merchant Center.”
Select the Merchant Center account you want to associate with your campaign. Please note, however, that you will need to have already linked your AdWords and Merchant accounts. For information on how to do this, here’s an article from Google’s support page. You can also check out our post here on PPC Hero about setting up your data feeds in your Google Merchant account.
Your Product Extensions will take a searcher to the destination page listed for your product in your merchant account, not the destination URL of your text ad. Your Product Extensions will inherit the same CPC as your text ad, but if a user simply expands the Product Extensions plusbox without clicking through to your site you won’t be charged.
Also, once you create your Product Extension, it can be easily shared with any campaign in your account simply be selecting the extension from a drop down list.
Another important thing to note about Product Extensions is that they will not show up on Search Partner or Display Network sites.
What Performance Data is Available for Product Extensions?
You’ll be able to view all your regular account statistics (clicks, impressions, CTR, CPC, cost, average position) for your Product Extensions.
Unfortunately data at the individual product level is not available, and keep in mind that if you activate or deactivate a product extension feed, you will reset its statistics to zero; i.e. AdWords won’t keep historical data for your Product Extensions.
Hopefully this has been a good introduction to Product Extensions if they’re new to you, and if you’re not currently using them in AdWords I hope you’ll give them a try! They’re relatively easy to set-up, and will have a positive effect on your e-commerce related PPC efforts in AdWords.
Questions? Comments? Let us know below!
Stay tuned for another installment in our Fully Utilizing AdWords’ Ad Extensions in Just 5 Days! series from Kayla tomorrow, who will be covering Location Extentions.
