Will Google always show my search ad extensions?

Ad extensions are something I get asked about ALL the time. How do they work? When will they show? What do they do? There are a number of different extensions available so I won't go into detail about each and every one but will cover all the most common.

Automated Extensions VS Manual Extensions

Many extension types require a bit of set-up – those are manual and include things like site link extensions, call out extensions and more. Some extensions are added automatically when Google predicts that they’ll improve your performance – those are automated. No setup is required for automated extensions, so they don’t show up among your options when you’re creating manual extensions.

See below some examples of manual extensions:

Will my extension always show?

Not always, no. Google will determine when to show your extensions and which ones to show based on historical data. In addition to if your extensions show, Google will also decide WHICH ONES of each type it shows. Take callout extensions for example; you might put 7 different callouts within the account. Google may only show 3 or 4 on the ad and they will determine which ones get shown.

Google state:

“Adding an extension won’t guarantee that it will appear with your ad all the time. Extensions appear with your ad when:

• The extension (or combination of extensions) is predicted to improve your performance.

• Your ad’s position and Ad Rank is high enough for extensions to appear. To show extensions, Google Ads requires a minimum Ad Rank. Ad Rank calculations are a factor in your extensions.”

Be careful with headlines and descriptions too …

Just as is with extensions, Google won’t always show both of your ad descriptions and all 3 of your headlines. They may only show 1 description and 2 headlines for example. Be careful when writing your ads not to make descriptions continue on from each other. Both of your descriptions should work as a stand-alone description incase one is shown without the other. Take a look at this ad where it seems the company have set the descriptions up to follow on from each other but on this occasion only the first description has shown.

What do Google automate and how much control do you have?

The answer to this question depends on a few factors. By running smart campaigns Google automates virtually the whole process for you (we don’t recommend these). We advise running full standard search campaigns.

Similarly, within your search campaign, you can set up “dynamic ad groups”. Dynamic Search Ads use your website content to target your ads and can help to fill in the gaps of your keyword-based campaigns. Dynamic Search Ad headlines and landing pages are also generated using content from your website. So again, we have a lot of automation here.

We avoid automation as much as possible but with Google’s HUGE push on their automated strategies we have given them a go with mixed results. My advice? Trial them and see how they work for you.