The world of PPC has been deep in discussion following Google's recent announcement to allow image extensions. Images in search results are not exactly new, and eccomerce sites have been making use of product extensions through merchant centres for quite some time now. But this upcoming change will open up image extensions to all advertisers.
It's still in beta at the moment, and only a small selection of advertisers are able to use it. After the initial tests and tweaks have been made, it won't be too long before paid search results change dramatically.
Although we are a little way off being able to actually test this out for ourselves, there are a number of tips we can dig into, based on what Google has told us already.
When and When Not To Use Them
The first thing to understand is that whilst it is possible to do a number of things within AdWords, it doesn't actually always make sense to do so. The same applies with image extensions. Although they can look great and definitely will boost ROI in some cases, the same is not true for all advertisers across different industries.
There will be cases where a bad image could actually damage ROI and even branding. So you are better off waiting to get your hands on a truly great picture that reflects you and your brand positively. (You need the necessary rights to use the picture)
Here are a few pointers I can give you already:
- You aren't actually allowed to use overt brand images, so you will need to come up with some trickier ways to display your branding.
- Nothing says luxury like a picture of a beautiful sandy beach and a clear blue sea. Well thought out images would work great for industries that want to give off an air of luxury, such as travel.
- Bidding on a keyword for the name of a certain product? Image extensions would work great here as well, as they have been for ecommerce sites for ages.
- This probably won't work well in cases where what you are selling isn't actually a thing. So if you are selling insurance or similar services, you probably want to stay away.
- Image extensions are only available to the top positions. This is probably going to spark massive bidding wars as advertisers compete for image extensions. This could punish smaller brands with smaller budgets, as they struggle to keep up. But on the contrary, this could open up opportunities to differentiate. I predict that the imageless paid results along the sidebar will start looking less like ads, especially to users that are unfamiliar with Adwords.
How To Use Them
This is still in beta, but if you do want to try your luck and start experimenting yourself, you can fill out a form here. Although I expect your chances of getting accepted are pretty slim.
It's always good to get the jump on the competition, so lets take a look at a few pointers for when this goes live.
- Change the way you think about the top position. This is going to dramatically inflate the price for the top spot. With that being said, you need to reevaluate the way you view the top spot. As the shift starts, your current bidding tactics might not remain profitable.
- Clicks on the images themselves are not going to be tracked. So you won't be able to differentiate your data and work out how many people click the image as opposed to the text in the ad itself.
- Make sure you separate ad groups for your image ads. Then you can tailor the ad copy, landing page and image perfectly.
This is a pretty big change, and you will need to stay on top of it if you want to keep up your competition. You probably want to work out if you are going to be using image extensions now, so that you can prepare images and organize your accounts. When this is first launched, those that prepared early will benefit from the change immensely.