Upgrades to extensions for Google Ads

A 2022 guide to Google Ads extension upgrades

If you have been looking into extensions in your Google Ads account, you may have observed that there are some new options available, which are called upgraded extensions.

In case you haven’t seen these in your accounts just yet, the new extensions upgrade offers a series of new benefits along with some adapted methods you will need to explore in order to navigate to your data.

What new features are available with the upgraded ad extensions?

This Google update forms part of a wider strategic infrastructure migration that is applicable to all Google Ads extensions. Migrating will accommodate for new assets, along with the new features for current extensions.

You may have already spotted some differences during this migration. For example, in the reporting section, you should see be able to see different views for both legacy and upgraded extensions. To make the feature user-friendly, it is possible to switch between the two views. If you would still like to access the stats in relation to any of your legacy extensions, these reports will only be available until August 2022, so be sure to get what you need now. Once the migration process is complete, this legacy data will no longer be available from within the Extensions table view. However, your data is still available to view. The historical data is still maintained, and you can find it in the reports section post-migration.

You may have come across the case where some of your legacy extensions have been automatically switched to the upgraded version already. If you are no longer able to view your extensions, simply check under the legacy extensions section, as it seems like the default display now is the upgraded extensions view.

One handy new additional feature to add to the current extensions takes in having the capability to now pause your extensions. 

Previously, this was not an option, and advertisers were required to remove the extensions as an alternative manually. You should also have the option to view the different accounts, campaigns, or ad groups that removed extensions were previously connected to.

Moreover, some of the previous extension features have now been replaced by newer and more enhanced functions; elements being removed as part of the extensions upgrade include:

• Device choice for mobile view
• Call extension start and end time 
• App extensions ad schedule
• Price and structure snippets start and end time and ad schedule 
• Price and structure ad schedule 

Fortunately, Google has committed to advertisers that these new ad extension upgrades will not impact the performance of any current extensions or ads. It is only the infrastructure of the extensions’ setup that is evolving; however, the behavior will remain the same. Therefore, in theory, the migration from the legacy to upgraded ad extensions should have minimal or no impact on ad campaigns.

Conclusion

By around this time, all ad extensions (with the exception of both image and location) will have already been upgraded. It may be sensible to double-check ad accounts to review that the higher-level extensions are still suitable for all types of ads and ad groups. As a best practice, advertisers should also keep track of the various automated extensions that have been generated as well.

Now would be a good time to review your accounts and ensure that all of your account and campaign sitelinks, callouts, and structured snippets extensions are optimized across all your ads and ad groups.

The new extensions upgrade provides a handful of new benefits. A major benefit that you will be able to see is the ability to pause your ad extensions as required without any performance consequences.

Ad extensions offer a lot more value than simply extending the length of your Google ads. Of course, that is a significant benefit, but they should be viewed more extensively than that. Ad Extensions are one of the most valuable features of Google Ads. Adding Google ad extensions can improve CTR, and increasing your CTR is an effective way to drive more sales and improve your return on investment, so it is valuable to make use of ad extensions in the right way.

If you have any questions related to Google Ads and how to optimize to get the best results, please feel free to contact our expert team at info@relevantaudience.com for more information