It’s no secret that smartphones are a key component of this generation and many to come. Just within the last two months, I purchased 90% of my Christmas gifts, set-up multiple appointments, scheduled maintenance for my car and ordered lunch all from my phone. What does this mean as advertisers? It means that, now more than ever, we need to cover as many mobile opportunities as possible.
Below are 4 mobile opportunities we need to cash in on to ensure we are staying up on our mobile game.
Mobile Preferred Ads
The first and sometimes forgotten opportunity is mobile preferred ads. When an ad group contains mobile preferred ad copy, they are given preference over general ad copy. Mobile ads ensure that the most relevant information is included in our ad copy as the engines will often times alter ad text to include relevant sitelinks or remove description line 2 entirely. Below are the various ways mobile ads may be delivered.
In the first ad, description line two has been removed and replaced by top performing sitelinks. In the second ad, the general format applies. In the third ad, description line two has been removed in order to minimize space. In all instances, by writing mobile preferred ad copy with the most relevant information in description line 1, we ensure that our mobile ads are on point.
Call Extensions
Call extensions are basic, yet effective. They not only allow us to occupy additional ad space, but they give a user the ability to easily make a call or proceed to the business website if they would like. On mobile devices, a call button is included in the ad. Users can click on the call button to dial the business phone number or they can still click elsewhere on the ad to be directed to the website. On desktop and tablet devices, the phone number is included in the vicinity of the display URL, therefore allowing the user to manually dial the number.
Call-Only Ads
Unlike your typical search ads, call-only ads are designed for users to call a business rather than going to the website. They are ads that are only shown on mobile devices and do not include additional ad extensions. When a search is performed, the call-only ad will show with a phone number in the headline. Then when users click anywhere on the ad they are prompted with a call button and can proceed with the call. Below is an example of how a call-only ad will appear.
Call-only ads are a great opportunity to prevent users from going to your site and bouncing if the site is non-mobile friendly or doesn’t include a clear call to action.
Mobile Friendly Site
The final mobile opportunity to catch hold of is a mobile friendly and optimized site. It’s important to view how your site appears on various smartphones because if you are having trouble reading the page, chances are your average user is struggling as well. Having a mobile optimized site means that the format, buttons, images and text are all appropriately sized and clear.
Conclusion
There are multiple opportunities that allow advertisers to capture the vast amount of smartphone traffic. By ensuring we have a solid mobile strategy, we will stay ahead in the mobile game and reap the results.
