How Retailers Can Take Advantage of New Google AdWords Price Extensions
Google AdWords Price Extensions 101
Expanded Text Ads. Imported Call Conversions. AdWords Price Extensions for mobile text ads. Google’s been improving the text ads game, and they aren’t wasting any time.
“Google has seen the impact of Google Shopping Ads, and they know that they need to make text ads more robust to stay relevant. By giving advertisers the option to add in price, they’re making text ads more robust and more useful, ” says Lewis Brannon, Paid Search Manager at CPC Strategy.
We sat down with Brannon, Meghan Parsons (Retail Search Manager at CPC Strategy), and Román Fitch (Retail Search Manager at CPC Strategy), to get an inside look at one of these updates—Price Extensions for mobile.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Benefits of Price Extensions
- Price Extension strategy
- Current limitations (and key metrics to watch)
- Initial setup
- NEW Update: Introducing Price Extensions for Desktop
Which Retailers Will Benefit Most From Google AdWords Price Extensions?
Price Extensions can work for virtually any company. However, there are a few they will work especially well for including:
1. Price-Competitive Companies
“These work best if you’re price competitive,” Fitch said.
Smaller companies will find that Price Extensions offer them the ability to compete from a price standpoint, particularly if they’re not a well-known brand.
“I like to compare price extensions to sitelinks since these are clickable extensions that can direct to another page on your website. When comparing the two, so far I’ve been seeing price extensions get a higher CTR on the actual extensions than sitelinks.”
“Price Extensions will be great for smaller companies that are competing against larger brands in a space, who are really price-competitive. It’s not always easy to be competitive in text ads, but this will give them the edge,” Parsons said.
2. Service-Based Companies
It’s worth noting that both of Google’s examples of Price Extensions are based on services—a salon and an auto shop. We predict Price Extensions will be especially valuable for service-based companies.
“If you are a beauty salon, and your Price Extension shows how much you charge for a haircut or color—it gives you much more control over real estate, and helps potential buyers take action sooner because they don’t have to click through to your site,” Brannon said.
3. Subscription Model Companies
Finally, Brannon and Parsons predict Price Extensions will benefit subscription-models-based companies, as it’s simple to display various price points for subscription packages.
Wondering what else you can get out of Price Extensions?
Opportunities to Win With Google AdWords Price Extensions
Create Upselling Opportunities
This isn’t just an opportunity to appeal to the thrifty—there may be some searching for better value, even if it costs a little more.
“Say someone is searching for a washing machine. An advertiser’s ad group for washing machines can show a Price Extension for three of my basic washing machines, and potentially, I could add on a bundled washer/dryer deal in one of those slots,” Brannon said.
Take Up Space on the SERP
There’s nothing better than dominating the top of the mobile fold.
“If you’re running upgraded Sitelinks with description lines, the description lines don’t always show, but for Price Extensions, you’ll get those extra 25 characters,” says Fitch.
“Also, you can choose which landing page to drive the traffic to for each item. Sitelinks are the only other clickable extension, so this gives you most links on the SERP that can be clicked, and link to a deeper, more specific page on your site.”
Save Money on Unprofitable Clicks
Are you currently getting a lot of clicks but few conversions? Prices at the SERP level means your audience will be informed before they click.
“If your audience is price conscious and your products are on the expensive side, before Price Extensions, you may get a lot of unprofitable clicks,” Parsons said.
“But if those same customers can see the price before they click on the ad, they will be less likely to click on the ad, and that will save the advertiser money.”
This could also mean better leads for advertisers.
“If price is a barrier to entry for some of your customers because you have higher price points or a luxury item—or your offering is more high end than most of your customers would be interested in—you can immediately improve your lead quality by sharing that information up front,” Brannon said.
Your Google AdWords Price Extension Strategy
1. Make Sure Your Site is Mobile Optimized
This one comes straight from Google: “Price Extensions link to your mobile site, so it’s important to make sure your site is mobile-optimized.”
2. Implement Proper Account Structure First
“Price Extensions should have a positive impact if your account structure is built for it. As an agency, we don’t recommend that advertisers apply one blanket extension at the account level. We would recommend aligning your Price Extensions very closely to the keyword theme at the ad group level,” Brannon said.
Why? Well, if you have multiple ad groups with slightly different themes and variations, you want to apply Price Extensions the group level so you can provide the most specific results for the user.
For instance, if you have an ad group for women’s haircuts, you’d want to provide the most specific prices for that group because you wouldn’t want men’s haircuts to show up for that female searcher.
3. Combine Price Extensions with Other Text Ad Extensions
Price Extensions used in combination with the right extensions will give searchers the best experience and could potentially boost conversions.
“I’m thinking you can leverage Price Extensions with Sitelinks, Callout Extensions, and Call Extensions. The Price Extension allows you to provide several options that you’re price competitive on and drive users to those category or product pages. Sitelinks allow you to try to cross-sell a different category,” Fitch said.
“Callout Extensions allow you highlight specific features of the product you’re bidding on to help sell the product. Lastly, Call Extensions provide users with ways to take action with your business. If you have brick and mortar stores, then I’d recommend adding Location Extensions too so users can find directions to your storefront.”
How to Set Up Google AdWords Price Extensions
As you can see in the interface below, the setup is pretty simple. Advertisers must add a minimum of three listed prices, but you can add up to eight.
One of the most useful aspects of these ads is the ability to choose an ad “type” ranging from product categories to service categories. Make sure you select the one that best fits your offerings.
As you can see in the example, you have the option to select a price minimum instead of a set price point. This is especially useful if you are, say, a spa and have various spa packages. It also enables you to remain more price competitive and appealing to a broad range of customers.
Ready to set these up? Check out the step-by-step guide to setting up Price Extensions on your AdWords account.
Cost for Google AdWords Price Extension Ads
Here’s how Google breaks down the cost to run Price Extensions:
- Cost of a click on a Price Extension equals the cost of a click on the title or display URL of the ad it shows with
- You’ll be charged the same amount no matter where the user clicks—the ad or the extension.
- You won’t be charged for more than two clicks per impression.
- If someone quickly clicks on more than one link while viewing an ad, this may get treated as a duplicate or invalid click and you won’t get charged for the second click.
Current Limitations and Key Metrics to Watch
A Drop in CTR
Keep a close eye on your account when you implement Price Extensions, because you could show up less for broad keyword searches.
“If you are used to acquiring traffic through very simple text ads, you could be taking yourself out of the market for potential customers at lower price points, and that could hurt your quality score so Google starts serving you less for those broad searches, like “trips to Tokyo,” says Brannon.
“If I say ‘trips starting from 17,000’ then maybe no one will click on my ad anymore.”
A Lower Quality Score
CTR is a huge part of ad quality score. While you would theoretically improve your lead quality, you could potentially see a drop in your quality score if a large percentage of your current market is price-sensitive.
Pro-tip: The key here isn’t to panic if your CTR or Quality Score drops a bit within a couple days of implementing Price Extensions. Wait up to two weeks to measure results, then change your strategy if necessary.
Limits on Language
Keep in mind that Price Extensions are currently only available in English, so if you cater ads to an international audience, you’re out of luck for now. More languages will be coming soon, so stay tuned.
NEW Update: Introducing Price Extensions for Desktop
In February 2017, Google also introduced Price Extensions for Desktop (previously only available on mobile):
So, should advertisers expect similar results from price extensions on desktop?
“I do anticipate that the results will be more positive,” Eliza Cuevas, Sr. Retail Search Manager at CPC Strategy said.
“It’s another feature for retailers to show their pricing for different categories upfront. The retailer (if they have the best pricing) has a big advantage to not only drive more traffic to the site but to see higher CTRs.”
“I’m also wondering if this will open up the doors for shoppers to buy more products and splurge since they have several good deals not just in one area. First thing we know is that desktop converts better than mobile.”
To learn more about Google AdWords extensions, check out these blogs:
- AdWords Sitelinks: What Headline Drives the Most Conversions?
- AdWords Extensions: Add Sitelinks
- The Retailer’s Guide to AdWords Extensions
- How to Add App Extensions to Your AdWords Ads
Have you set up Price Extensions on your AdWords accounts yet? Have more questions about how Price Extensions work? Email [email protected] or comment below.
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