How Ad Extensions Contribute to Increasing User Engagement

Learn how ad extensions can boost your PPC campaigns and engage users effectively!

Published on Friday, October 25, 2024
A visual guide to ad extensions increasing user engagement

In the competitive landscape of online advertising, maximizing user engagement is key to success. One often overlooked tactic to improve engagement is the use of ad extensions. Ad extensions can play a crucial role in increasing user interaction with your ads, offering additional value to your audience, and even driving conversions. In this post, we'll explore how ad extensions work, the various types available, and how you can leverage them to enhance user engagement. We’ll also touch on how using a tool like ModalCast can complement your ads to keep users engaged after the click.

What Are Ad Extensions?

Ad extensions are additional pieces of information that expand your standard text ads, providing more opportunities for interaction. They appear below the main ad text and can include additional links, callouts, contact information, and even customer reviews. This extra content enhances your ad’s visibility and attractiveness by making it more informative and engaging.

  • Sitelink Extensions: Provide additional links to specific pages on your website, allowing users to go directly to the most relevant section of your site.
  • Callout Extensions: Highlight key features, offers, or services of your business, such as free shipping or 24/7 customer support.
  • Structured Snippets: Give users a preview of specific aspects of your products or services (e.g., a list of product categories or features).
  • Call Extensions: Allow users to call your business directly from the ad, making it easier for mobile users to engage.
  • Location Extensions: Include your business’s location, helping users find your store or office with ease, particularly useful for local businesses.
  • Price Extensions: Display the price of products or services directly within the ad, giving users more information upfront.
  • App Extensions: Encourage users to download your mobile app by providing a link to the app store directly within the ad.

Each of these extensions serves a unique purpose, but their common goal is to provide additional, relevant information that entices users to interact with your ad.

How Ad Extensions Boost Engagement

Ad extensions don’t just add extra information—they increase the size and visibility of your ad on the search results page, making it more likely that users will notice and engage. Here's how ad extensions drive engagement:

Increased Clickability

Ad extensions provide more links and points of entry for users to interact with. For instance, sitelinks allow users to navigate directly to the part of your website most relevant to their needs, whether it's your services page, pricing page, or contact form. The more specific and tailored the sitelinks, the better the user experience, and the more likely users are to click.

Improved Trust and Credibility

Ad extensions can also build trust with your audience. For example, adding your business phone number or displaying customer reviews makes your ad more transparent and approachable. When users see your business’s phone number or location details, they are more inclined to trust your business and engage further, whether by clicking or making a call.

Higher Click-Through Rates (CTR)

Ads with extensions typically see higher click-through rates because they offer more relevant information. With structured snippets or callouts, users get an immediate sense of what your business offers before clicking. This pre-qualifies the traffic coming to your site, meaning users who click are already more engaged and likely to convert.

Enhanced Relevance

Extensions also make your ads more relevant to a user's search intent. For example, if a user searches for "affordable web hosting," a price extension showing your plans can directly address their query and prompt them to click on your ad. By offering more relevant information upfront, extensions make it easier for users to find exactly what they are looking for.

Better User Experience

At its core, user engagement is about providing a seamless, efficient experience. Ad extensions improve the overall user experience by saving users time. Instead of navigating your entire website, they can go directly to the page they need via sitelinks, or call your business with one tap via call extensions. This efficiency increases engagement and, in turn, boosts the performance of your ad campaigns.

Integrating Popups for Post-Click Engagement

While ad extensions can drive users to your site, keeping them engaged once they arrive is equally important. This is where tools like ModalCast come into play. By using popups strategically on your site, you can continue the engagement journey by:

Offering Discounts or Promotions

Popups are a great way to greet users with a discount or special offer once they land on your site. For example, you could trigger a popup that offers 10% off for first-time visitors, increasing the likelihood of conversion.

Collecting Feedback or Surveys

Once users engage with your site via an ad, collecting their feedback with exit-intent popups can help you refine your offerings. ModalCast can help trigger popups asking users why they are leaving the site, or inviting them to fill out a quick survey in exchange for a small reward.

Building Your Email List

Capture leads by offering users valuable content, such as a free ebook, in exchange for their email addresses. Combining ad extensions with effective lead capture forms, such as popups powered by ModalCast, helps you convert clicks into long-term customers.

Encouraging Further Exploration

Use popups to guide users toward other relevant content or products. For example, if someone clicks on an ad for a specific product, you can use a popup to suggest related items or content they might be interested in.

Why You Should Combine Ad Extensions with On-Site Engagement

Ad extensions are a powerful way to enhance user engagement within PPC campaigns, expanding your ads' size, relevance, and interactivity to drive higher click-through rates. However, engagement shouldn’t stop once users land on your website. That’s where tools like ModalCast come in.

Using popups can boost on-site interaction, creating a seamless engagement strategy from the ad to the website. Whether promoting a sale, gathering leads, or preventing cart abandonment, combining ad extensions with targeted popups will maximize your campaign’s impact.

Ad extensions are essential for any PPC campaign, offering a simple yet effective way to improve visibility and engagement. To unlock their full potential, integrate on-site engagement tools like ModalCast to keep users connected after they click.

By delivering timely, relevant content before and after the click, you’ll increase engagement, conversions, and customer satisfaction—driving results across every part of your campaign!