How do you get the best out of your Google Ads budget? Image/ Wikimedia Commons
Search advertising, particularly Google Ads, is a great way for you to generate leads and revenue for your business. According to Google estimates, you can on average make twice as much as the amount you invest in Google Ads. However, search advertising is becoming increasingly expensive. The pandemic caused a shift in consumer behaviour, forcing advertisers to increase their digital marketing spend. As a result, search advertising bid prices have gone up.
What Are Google Lead Form Extensions?
If you factor in conversion friction such as slow landing pages and hard-to-find forms which drive down your conversion rates, the costs are even higher. Keep in mind that you’ll be paying for the clicks even when they don’t convert. This is where Google lead form extensions come in.
Google lead form extensions are ad extensions that allow you to provide contact information directly through the ad on the search engine results page (SERP). They are usually shown beneath the ads on mobile devices and tablets so users don’t have to click through to your website to convert.
Google lead form extensions, as the name suggests, allow you to directly add a lead generation form to your search ads. This way, you get to deliver your call-to-action (CTA) earlier in the buying process, reduce the steps the user has to take, and therefore increase your conversion rates. They are the latest addition by Google to search ads after sitelinks, one-click calling, structure snippets, and callout extensions.
However, unlike the other extensions, lead form extensions aren’t available on the desktop yet.
Here are a few other quick facts you should know about Google lead form extensions:
Google introduced lead form extensions in 2019.
They are only shown to users who’ve signed in to their Google accounts. Chances are you won’t see them in the Ad Preview and Diagnosis Tool.
The forms are only applied at the campaign level so you won’t be able to create lead form extensions at the account level or ad group level.
Certain categories of ads such as political, healthcare, gambling, and alcoholic ads, aren’t eligible for lead form extensions.
You’ll have to be compliant with Google’s data collection and use policies to be able to use lead form extensions in your ads. The search engine has strict policies on the use of personal information.
Google’s lead form extensions are similar to Facebook lead ads and LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms.
How Do Google Lead Form Extensions Work?
Lead form extensions simplify the process of collecting user information for you. The forms are placed within the ad and prospects are able to commit to your offer instantly. Users who are signed into their Google accounts can tap the CTA and reach a form pre-populated with their information on Google. It turns lead capturing into a single-tap process.
Through lead form extensions, users will only need a few seconds between their initial search and form submission to connect with your business. The extension gives you the freedom to choose what type of information you want to collect from your prospects. Some of them include:
Name
Phone number
Postal code
There are different CTAs you can deploy on the extension. They are:
Sign up
Get a quote
Contact us
Book now
Apply now
Download
Subscribe
Get offer
The extension allows you to add your website link in the submission in case your prospects would be interested in learning more about your business or offer.
You can also add a background image that will appear on the lead form screen. Google recommends a 1200 x 628 dimension and 1.91:1 aspect ratio. You can also create a form submission message such as a Thank You note which your prospects will see after they’ve submitted the form.
Google then gives you two options for reaching out to prospects who submitted their information. You can either:
Download the leads in CSV format: But Google only keeps the leads for up to 30 days so you’ll have to regularly download the leads. The download link gets you the prospects’ contact information from each lead form extension.
Set up a webhook integration: This option allows you to directly enter the new leads into your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. All you have to do is add a webhook URL and key to your lead form extension. Test data will be sent to you once the integration is complete so you can view testing stats and results.
Benefits of Google Lead Form Extensions
There are many benefits to using Google lead form extensions. Some of them are:
High user intent: The extension allows you to generate high-quality leads for your business. The forms are usually completed by users who have strong intentions of making a purchase.
Quick lead capturing: It also eliminates unnecessary steps in the customer acquisition journey. Users don’t have to click your ad and visit the landing page. This makes lead capturing faster. It also becomes incredibly easy for your prospects to get in touch with you.
Moves you to where your users are: Google’s lead form extensions are mobile-ready and optimized for mobile users. Considering that 92.6 percent (4.32 billion out of 4.66 billion active internet users worldwide) accessed the internet via mobile devices as of January 2021, the extension allows you to meet your prospects where they are.
Easy to implement: You can easily create a lead form even without any technical or developer skills. The ads can also go live instantly.
The beauty of Google lead form extensions is that they create a simplified experience for you as an advertiser and your customers as well. It’s a quick, streamlined process for you to find each other.
How To Create a Google Campaign With Lead Form Extensions
As I mentioned earlier, creating lead form extensions is a pretty simple and straightforward task. It can take you as few as five minutes to set up. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to go about it. I’ll start right from creating a new campaign:
Step 1: Create your campaign
First, log into your Google Ads account then select Campaigns on the left of the page menu and click on “Create a New Campaign.” In the campaign objective section, select “Leads” and set “Search” as your Campaign type.
Step 2: Create your lead form extension
After creating your campaign, you can now set up your lead form extension. At this stage, you’ll design how your lead form extension will show beneath the ad. Select a CTA and draft a short message that will appear alongside the extension. I had already given examples of CTAs you can use in your lead form extension.
Keep in mind that message that will appear below your CTA is limited to 30 characters. Ensure that it’s compelling enough to supplement the CTA. For example, the CTA can be “Sign Up” with the message reading “Get free industry insights.”
Step 3: Create your lead form
Now you have to create the lead form that your prospects will see after clicking on the extension. You have the freedom to choose the Kind of information you want to collect from your prospects. This is what’s contained in the lead form:
Business Name: You’ll find this at the top of the form. It’s limited to 30 characters.
Headline: Also limited to 30 characters, this section allows you to serve your primary CTA on the form.
Description: The description makes up the body of the lead form’s content. You should provide additional context and the details of your offer, including the value it will add to your prospects. The description section is limited to 200 characters.
Questions: In this section, you have up to ten fields through which you can ask for contact and work information. The contact information is prefilled from the prospects’ Google accounts.
Privacy Policy: You are required to provide a link to your privacy policy. Google only allows advertisers that are compliant with its data collection and use policy to use lead form extensions.
Background Image: This is optional. The background image will appear on the lead form screen. Google recommends a 1200 x 628 dimension and 1.91:1 aspect ratio.
Step 4: Create your form submission message
This is the final step after you’ve created your lead form. In this step, you have to create a form submission message which users will see after submitting their contact information. There are three sections in this final step. They include:
Headline: Limited to 30 characters, a simple message will do. You can go for “Form Submitted or “Thank You.”
Description: The description is limited to 200 characters. It gives you an opportunity to tell your prospects what to expect next. You can include a CTA encouraging them to continue through to your website.
Call-To-Action: This section is optional. You can choose to include a link to your website or to download something from your site.
Now you’ve set up your Google lead form extension you can collect user information as they interact with your extension. You can reach out to your leads for nurturing by either setting up a webhook integration for Google lead form extension or downloading the leads as a CSV.
We Are Here To Help…
Google lead form extensions are a great way for you to get more mobile leads. You can boost your revenue and grow your business.
Our search advertising experts have helped thousands of businesses like yourself and we would love to show you how Salt Marketing could skyrocket your close conversions through optimized Google lead form extensions. Click below for a free consultation with our experts.
