A few months ago Google quietly beta tested an innovated new Ad Extension, called “Click-To-Text” to a select percentage of advertisers. The good news is that this extension has been considerd a success and is being rolled out globally over the next few weeks.

Picture this scenario – you want to make quick contact with a business, but the thought of calling them literally makes you want to curl into a ball and hide? Perhaps the prospect of being on hold, or passed around until you finally get to speak to somebody who can help makes you not want to look elsewhere?

If you feel like this at times, then potentially so do your customers – which makes this Ad Extension incredibly appealing for all concerned.

The Ad Extension works by firing the users SMS app when the Click-To-Text icon is clicked on an Ad.

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Google have kindly showed an an example, which reveals that the message extension is served in a card below the main ad which allows advertisers to also include the call extension, giving users the option to call or text their business.

Customisation is available as advertisers can set up initial text that pre-populates in the users SMS, providing them with an opportunity to anticipate what they are likely to be interested in. The user is also able to edit or remove this pre-populated text completely.

Reporting will be available in the extensions tab and click type segmentation – it has not yet been revealed if this can also be integrated with SMS carriers to truly gain an understanding of the level of engagement and success this Extension delivers.

Google has released a best practices guide for advertisers to get started with message extensions.

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