Google Ads message extensions were rolled out in October 2016 without a lot of fanfare.
At the time, we assessed which of our clients would be a good fit for this kind of extension and approached those clients to see if they’d be willing to give message extensions a try.
But many of them resisted – often with legitimate concerns.
More recently, however, we’re taking another look at message extensions.
Some additional features and options have been added since their initial rollout, making them more flexible and appealing.
Still, I expect to hear many of the same objections.
Therefore, I will use this article to review what message extensions are and address the most common concerns we hear.
What Are Google Ads Message Extensions?
Message extensions allow customers to message you directly from your Google ad.
Customers simply have to click on the call to action, such as “Send us a text” or “Message us for help.”
Then, customers are taken to their messaging app where they can send you a text message.
You can even pre-populate the initial message for customers, such as “Tell me more about your offer” or “I’d like to make a reservation.”
Here’s an example of a message extension (on the left) and a pre-populated message in a messaging app (on the right):
Once you receive the message, someone on your team can respond.
You can add message extensions to your account at the account, campaign or ad group levels, just as with other extensions.
And as with most other extensions, you’re charged whenever someone clicks the messaging extension on your ad.
Now that we’ve reviewed what message extensions are, let’s take a closer look at some of the objections we hear about them – Read more
