Google calls them "assets" now, because Google loves a rebrand. Everyone else still calls them ad extensions, and they're the closest thing to free money in PPC. More space on the SERP, higher CTR, better Quality Score, lower CPCs. The only cost is ten minutes of setup. Most advertisers still skip it.
Why extensions matter more than ever
The SERP is getting crowded. Ads, shopping carousels, People Also Ask, local packs, AI overviews. Real estate is precious. An ad with full extensions can take up three to four times the vertical space of a bare ad, pushing competitors further down the page just by existing.
Extensions also feed Quality Score. Google measures expected CTR partly on how much your ad uses the available formats. Thinner ads get thinner auctions.
The extensions that actually move the needle
Not all extensions are equal. Some are essential, some are nice-to-have, some are barely worth the clicks.
- Sitelinks: essential. Four extra links under your main ad, each with their own click-through. Huge CTR lift.
- Callouts: essential. Short non-clickable phrases that reinforce offers. "Free Delivery", "24/7 Support", "Newcastle-based".
- Structured snippets: essential. Predefined categories like "Services", "Brands", "Types".
- Call extension: essential for service businesses. Click-to-call on mobile, end of.
- Location extension: critical for anyone with a physical presence. Links to Google Business Profile.
- Price extension: useful for ecommerce and services with clear pricing.
- Lead form extension: sometimes underwhelming. Test carefully.
- Promotion extension: excellent for sales and limited-time offers.
- App extension: only if you have an app worth promoting.
- Image extensions: newer, increasingly important on mobile.
At minimum, run sitelinks, callouts, and structured snippets on every campaign. That's the non-negotiable baseline.
Sitelinks: the most underused lever
Most accounts have four sitelinks, all generic, all pointing to the homepage or About page. Waste. Proper sitelinks do two things: segment intent and serve secondary offers.
If your main ad is about "dog grooming", your sitelinks might be "Puppy First Cut", "Handstripping", "Nail Clipping", "Book Online". Each catches a different micro-intent. Each is a second chance at the click.
Write proper descriptions for sitelinks too. Google shows them more often when they're descriptive, and they take up significantly more SERP space.
Callouts: free persuasion real estate
Callouts are non-clickable, which is exactly why they work. They let you stack credibility signals without diluting your main CTA. "Newcastle-based since 2015", "4.9-star Google reviews", "No contracts", "Free consultation".
Six callouts per account is fine. Rotate them seasonally. Keep them specific, "Award-winning" is weak, "Winner, North East Business Awards 2023" is strong.
Structured snippets: context on tap
Structured snippets list items under a predefined header. "Services: SEO, PPC, Content, Web Design". "Types: Electric, Hybrid, Petrol". They give the algorithm context about what you actually do, which helps it match you to relevant searches.
Use the "Services" and "Types" headers most liberally. They're broad enough to suit almost any business.
Call and location extensions for local businesses
If you're a service business with a phone, the call extension is mandatory. Click-to-call generates measurable calls, and Google lets you track them as conversions. Location extensions connect your ad to your Google Business Profile, showing distance, hours, and map pins.
Local businesses ignoring these are losing to competitors who bother to spend five minutes in the settings.
Image extensions: the newest lever
Image extensions only launched properly in 2021 and most advertisers still haven't added them. They take your plain text ad and attach a thumbnail image, massively increasing visual weight on mobile.
Use product shots for ecommerce, team or premises shots for service businesses. Avoid stock photography, it looks like stock photography.
Common extension mistakes
- Setting them once and forgetting: extensions need seasonal refreshes like any ad copy.
- Using generic callouts: "Great Service" is noise. "24-hour callout, Tyneside only" is signal.
- Sitelinks all pointing to the same page: defeats the point entirely.
- Ignoring extension-level reporting: you can see which sitelinks and callouts actually drive clicks.
How they interact with Quality Score
Extensions don't directly boost Quality Score in the dashboard number, but they do feed into Ad Rank, which governs where you show and how much you pay. Fully-extended ads routinely pay less per click than bare ones in the same auction. For more on the mechanics, see Quality Score in Google Ads.
Pair good extensions with good copy, and both multiply. For the copy side, ad copywriting for PPC covers the craft.
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Extensions are the easiest performance gain in PPC. They're free to implement, they take up more space, and they quietly undercut competitors who haven't bothered. Do the ten-minute job. Then spend the saved budget on something that actually needs your attention.
