How do you decide which ad extensions to use for different campaigns?

Deciding which ad extensions to use in your Bing Ads campaigns depends on various factors, including your campaign objectives, target audience, and the specific type of product or service you are advertising. Using the right ad extensions can help improve your ad visibility, relevance, and performance by providing more information and additional pathways for users to interact with your brand.

Here's a breakdown of how you can decide which ad extensions to use for different campaigns:

1. Understand Your Campaign Objective
Different campaign goals will influence which ad extensions you should prioritize. Here's how different extensions align with specific objectives:

a. Increase Visibility
Sitelink Extensions: Use sitelinks to direct users to specific pages like product categories, promotions, or featured offers. These extensions help you maximize the real estate of your ad and improve visibility in search results.

Callout Extensions: If your goal is to provide extra information about your products or services without being too specific, callout extensions are a good choice. You can highlight benefits like free shipping, 24/7 support, or limited-time offers.

Structured Snippets: Use structured snippets to highlight specific aspects of your business, such as types of products, services, or special features (e.g., "Services: Consulting, Installation, Maintenance").

b. Drive Conversions
Call Extensions: If your objective is to drive phone calls or contact form submissions, call extensions are essential. They make it easy for users to call your business directly from the search results.

Location Extensions: For local businesses or businesses with physical locations, location extensions are critical. They display your address and phone number, helping users find your business or contact you directly.

Promotion Extensions: If you're running a time-sensitive sale or special offer, promotion extensions can directly highlight discounts, sales, or coupon codes.

c. Provide Additional Information
Price Extensions: If you're selling products or services with specific pricing or tiers, price extensions can showcase your offerings with corresponding prices, helping to attract cost-conscious users.

App Extensions: If your business has a mobile app, using App Extensions encourages users to download the app directly from the ad, promoting further engagement.

d. Enhance Engagement
Message Extensions: If you want users to initiate a conversation, message extensions allow users to text your business directly, which is great for customer support or inquiries about your services/products.

Review Extensions: Use review extensions if you want to showcase positive customer feedback, ratings, or third-party reviews that can help build trust with your audience.

2. Match the Extension to Your Business Type
Certain ad extensions work better for specific types of businesses:

Retail and E-Commerce
Sitelink Extensions: Link to product categories, seasonal offers, or bestsellers.

Price Extensions: Display products with pricing information.

Promotion Extensions: Highlight sales, discounts, and promotions.

Callout Extensions: Emphasize free shipping, return policies, and fast delivery.

Local and Service-Based Businesses
Location Extensions: Show your address, local phone number, and business hours.

Call Extensions: Enable users to contact your business by phone.

Callout Extensions: Highlight local offers or services like free consultations, same-day service, or emergency support.

Message Extensions: Allow potential customers to text you for quick inquiries about services.

Lead Generation
Sitelink Extensions: Direct users to landing pages optimized for lead capture (e.g., "Request a Quote," "Sign Up for a Free Trial").

Call Extensions: Enable calls to action like "Get a Free Consultation" or "Talk to an Expert."

Location Extensions: Help users locate your business if you have a physical presence.

Review Extensions: Showcase testimonials or industry-specific certifications to build trust.

3. Consider User Intent
Think about the searcher's intent and how different extensions can align with their needs:

a. High Intent (Ready to Purchase)
Price Extensions: Show clear pricing to attract users who are looking to compare prices.

Promotion Extensions: Display time-sensitive deals to encourage quick action.

Callout Extensions: Emphasize the key benefits that might drive the user to take immediate action, like free shipping or limited-time discounts.

b. Low Intent (Researching)
Sitelink Extensions: Provide users with links to educational or informational content (e.g., product guides, reviews, or case studies).

Structured Snippets: Highlight specific details like features, types of services, or product categories that might inform the user and push them closer to purchase.

Review Extensions: Build trust and credibility by showing customer reviews and ratings, especially if you're targeting users at the consideration stage.

4. Device Consideration
Mobile users may have different expectations and behaviors than desktop users. Tailor your extensions based on device preferences:

a. For Mobile Users
Call Extensions: Mobile users often prefer quick access to make phone calls. This is especially helpful for local or service-based businesses.

Location Extensions: Help users find your nearest location or get directions with just a tap.

Message Extensions: Enable users to message your business directly from their mobile devices.

b. For Desktop Users
Sitelink Extensions: Desktop users have more space to navigate and may appreciate the extra links to detailed product pages or offers.

Price Extensions: Display price ranges and detailed offers for users who may be comparing multiple products or services.

Promotion Extensions: Highlight promotions or seasonal sales for desktop users who may be browsing your website for longer.

5. Campaign Budget and Structure
Your budget and campaign structure also play a role in deciding which ad extensions to use:

For High-Volume Campaigns: If you're running a large, broad campaign, use Sitelink Extensions to direct users to key pages, and Callout Extensions to give quick, valuable information about your offers.

For Niche Campaigns: If your business targets a specific segment (e.g., high-end products, premium services), use Price Extensions and Review Extensions to highlight quality, trust, and the value proposition.

6. Experimentation and A/B Testing
Different ad extensions may work better for different campaigns, so it's important to regularly test different combinations to see which ones drive the best results. For example:

Test multiple Sitelinks: Try different landing pages or services to see which ones resonate most with your audience.

A/B test Callout Extensions: Experiment with variations of benefit-driven messages like "Free Shipping" vs. "24/7 Support" to see which leads to higher CTR or conversions.

7. Monitor and Optimize Performance
Regularly monitor the performance of your ad extensions using metrics such as CTR, conversion rate, and cost-per-click (CPC). Here's how you can optimize them:

Pause Underperforming Extensions: If certain extensions, like a particular sitelink or callout, aren't driving engagement, consider pausing or tweaking them.

Refine Your Messaging: Adjust the text in your extensions based on performance data. If a particular benefit resonates with users, emphasize it more in your extensions.

Expand High-Performing Extensions: If certain extensions are driving strong results, consider adding them to other campaigns or ad groups.

Conclusion
The right ad extensions can significantly improve the performance of your Bing Ads campaigns by increasing visibility, improving ad relevance, and enhancing user engagement. Deciding which ad extensions to use depends on your campaign objectives, business type, user intent, and device preferences. Regular testing and optimization of your extensions will ensure they align with your goals and drive the best possible results.