What is the Google lead for extension?
Google has been testing ad extensions that have the ability to capture leads. After tapping a call-to-action button, users can quickly submit a form that is pre-populated with the contact information from their Google account. One of Google’s extensions is Lead Form Extension which is testing a new way of capturing customers’ information for different businesses. This new extension option helps advertisers capture customer information directly on Google search, bypassing the extra steps of having a customer click the ad, navigate the site, and fill out a contact form.
Ads that use this extension will allow prospects to enter their details in the form of pop-up only on mobile devices or tablets.
Before you get started with LFE, check this page for the requirements. Recent studies have shown that the conversion rate on mobile phones and tablets is lower than on desktop. To combat this barrier and to increase the conversion rates on mobile devices, Google has come up with this feature in the form of a new extension which is currently available only for ads seen on mobile devices. With the help of these new extensions, all users need to do is fill out a form directly on the Google search results page to submit a request for the product or service they are interested in, without spending any time on the website and searching for the contact form.
What do these extensions look like?
The ads that use this extension include a form just beneath the search ads on mobile and tablet devices.
How to setup a lead form extension
For advertisers who are eligible to create a Lead Form Extension, it takes just about 2-3 minutes. Navigate to the Ad & Extensions tab on your account and click on the blue “+” sign. Once you click the blue + sign, a dropdown appears. Here, you can select Lead Form Extension from the list of options.
The extensions ask you to enter all the details, including a call-to-action that will empower people to engage with the business or service.
What information can you ask?
There are several fields that are available, and you’ll want to choose the ones that give you the key information you need to continue the conversation with the prospect.
˜‘ï¸ Name
˜‘ï¸ Email
˜‘ï¸ Phone Number
˜‘ï¸ Zip/Postal Code
Along with these fields, there are options to choose the most fitting call-to-action:
˜‘ï¸ Get Offer
˜‘ï¸ Subscribe
˜‘ï¸ Download
˜‘ï¸ Apply Now
˜‘ï¸ Book Now
˜‘ï¸ Contact Us
˜‘ï¸ Get Quote
˜‘ï¸ Sign Up
The extension also allows to add a background image (with a recommended dimension of 1200 x 628 resolution), description and call-to-action URL.
You can also include a form submission message that users would see once they have submitted the form. Advertisers can use this to message for many purposes, including reinforcing your brand message or encouraging the prospect to visit your website to learn more.
Pros of this Extension:
There are two options to see how many conversions this extension has fetched.
Download leads – Below the extension, you€˜ll see a blue link that would allow you to download the fresh leads. This gives you instant information about the users who showed interest so you can follow up to close the deal ASAP.
Download leads (CRM) – You need to add a webhook URL and key to your lead form extension to feed new leads directly into a CRM. Once everything is set up, you’ll be able to send test data to view testing stats and results.
Note: Google stores these leads for 30 days so it’s important to download these leads and maintain a repository of these leads. While you can set yourself a recurring monthly reminder to download the leads, responsiveness is critical if you want to earn new business. For this reason, you should check in on new leads at least once per day, and more frequently if you have the resources to do so.
Besides downloading the leads, the lead form helps to find and engage users interested in your product to create a new remarketing list and drive leads into your marketing funnel to help get more conversions.
Cons of this extension:
- Lead Form Extensions are only available and accessible on mobile devices right now.
- They only show in search campaigns.
- You can only create this extension at the campaign level and not at the account level or ad group level
- Advertisements for healthcare-related content are not allowed for lead forms. See Google Ads Healthcare and medicines policy for more information.
The conversion data that you see in the conversion column for Lead Form Extensions isn’t true at all times. If you see two conversions registered to the Lead Form, click on a segment and select conversion source. If the conversions show Google-hosted, then it’s actual form fills through the lead form and it gets attributed as Google-hosted source.
Although the cons of Lead Form Extensions win over the pros of this new feature Google has created, it certainly is trying to bring in a solution to help advertisers convert more mobile searchers.
The consumers are spending most of their time on mobile, and they should be willing to purchase and convert if the process is simple.
Having said that, the extension is still in its Beta version and we will hopefully see more options to get more leads in the near future. If you need any help with your Google Ads, don’t hesitate to reach out!
