Ad Sitelinks – More than Meets the Eye

Like Optimus Prime from the Transformers, Google is a “powerful, wise and compassionate character (company) that puts all his (their) talent to use to improve the (PPC) universe around him.”  And hence, the embedded format of Ad Sitelinks was born.

Embedded sitelinks offer the chance for PPC Managers to target the proper market even more than before.  There are no additional lines that appear in the ads when the embedded format is used.  So if you cannot see the sitelinks in the ad, how do you know it’s there?

The actual text in the ad that exactly matches one or more of the sitelinks in the campaign will automatically be linked to that sitelink’s destination URL.  This allows potential customers to hyperlink to the exact items they are looking for by simply clicking on the word that best matches their needs.  For example, let’s say a customer is searching for the best place to buy vintage Transformer toys.  The PPC ad might look like this (sitelinks text is written in red):

By clicking on the terms “Optimus Prime” and “Bumblebee” the customer is taken directly to the product page for these items.  Google believes that “these targeted destination URLs may encourage more users to click on your ad and make it easier for them to find what they’re searching for when they arrive on your site.”  By using embedded site links, a PPC Manager would be able to tie together strong keywords and a direct link in one fell swoop.  This could lead to a better site navigation experience for the users, increased relevant click-through rates for the ads and will hopefully assist in increasing conversions.

To engage embedded sitelinks, add the Ad Extensions tab in AdWords and follow the directions for set up within your Google campaigns.  Beware, there are still several requirements that your campaigns must meet in order to utilize this function – so plan accordingly.  You can learn additional information about Google’s different types of ad extensions in Jessica’s overview.

PPC Hero wants to hear from you about sitelinks!  Let us know how this new feature is beneficial to you and how it will improve the health of your accounts.  After all, they are more than meets the eye!