In this blog post we will show you how you can instantly increase CTR (click through rate) and Conversion Rate of your Google Ads by implementing these two simple tactics: image extensions and Responsive Search Ads (RSA).

We will cover the relationship between Google Ads Extensions and Ad Rank, we will see what Google has found when advertisers use extensions for text ads. Then, we will review each type of extensions separately and how implementing those extensions has increased CTR and Conversion Rate for our clients.

Let’s start with the fact that multiple studies show that Google search ads with multiple extensions outperformed the ads with only one extension. The advertising strategy of using multiple extensions has many benefits. It can help you reach a wider audience, as well as improve your returns on investment.

Relationship Between Google Ads Extensions and Ad Rank

Google itself states that you can get the same quantity of clicks on your ads for less CPC (Cost per Click) if you use relevant extensions with your search text ads. The reason is that Google Ads Extensions is one of the Ad Rank components. And this component is as important as your keyword bids, relevancy of your ad to a search term, and your landing page experience. 

The more prospects click on your ad – the more relevant Google thinks it is; the same story with your landing page conversions that came from Google Ads. Everyone is happy: advertisers who get a lot of affordable clicks and conversions from Google Ads (and probably will pay much more to Google next) and customers who clicked on the ads and successfully completed a purchase or submitted a lead form. 

It’s quite logical that if your Responsive Search Ad (RSA) appears on the top of search results, is super relevant to a prospect’s search query, and has a beautiful relevant image appearing right next to it that attracts even more attention – without a doubt it will be clicked much more frequently than just a plain text ad with text extensions or no extensions at all. 

Responsive Search Ads Bring Much Higher CTR (Click Through Rate) and Conversion Rate

It’s not a secret that responsive search ads bring much higher CTR, Conversion Rate, and lower CPC and, in general, Google prioritizes this type of ads over expanded search ads (which are going to be discontinued starting June 30th 2022). Still, a lot of advertisers use expanded search ads for one reason or another (mostly because it’s more time-consuming to create a few responsive search ads over another type).

At Duck Your Agency We observe a 1-2% lift in conversion rate with our clients who switched to  responsive search ads from expanded search ads.

So, if you still haven’t switched to responsive ads format (or didn’t switch all the campaigns or ad groups)  – now it’s time. You will see an almost immediate increase in CTR and Conversion Rate.

Expanding Text Ads With Image Extensions

Now, let’s talk more about image extensions. There are two types of Google Ads Image Extensions you can use at the moment: 

Regular Image Extensions

You either upload your own images for each extension on a campaign, ad group, or an account level, or manually pick which image you want Google to use when showing the extension to your prospective customers.

Dynamic Image Extensions (stricter requirements for approval)

Images are pulled automatically from the landing pages you ads are linking to. You have less control in this case over relevancy of the images or its quality, but it’s a faster way to do it, especially if you have a very complex account structure with multiple campaigns and ad groups. 

That being said, the approval process for Dynamic Image Extensions is stricter with Google Ads. 

Image Extensions Can Significantly Boost Your CTR and Conversions 

Google has found that there is a 10-15% CTR uplift when implementing a new ad extension. For image extensions, some advertisers have even more uplift in terms of CTR and conversions, with some reporting as much as a 15% increase in CTR and conversion rate.

At Duck Your Agency, we observe 2-5% increase in CTR and 4-10% increase in Conversion Rate (varies from a client to client) with image extensions compared to other types of extensions (ex: link, callout, or even promo extensions). 

Google keeps improving the image extensions, a few of the very recent updates (December 2021) were that the extensions now will be available to get displayed on desktop devices (it was only on mobile before), are available in any language, and are compatible with a free selection of Google Ads stock images. Pretty impressive, right? 

Author:

Sergey Izbash

Ducking Marketing Genius & Founder @ Duck Your Agency

P.S. Want to see some impressive results for your company as we showed in this blog post? Contact us today and let’s discuss how Duck Your Agency can help your business grow and get more conversions: