Not all Google’s AdWords beta tests make it to public release, but this one caught our attention. Call ad extensions have been available in AdWords for several years; now Google is testing a Click to SMS ad extension that lets people text companies for more details on their products and services.
An example ad with the TEXT icon and new green ad label, found by Barry Schwartz at Search Engine Land.
Clicking on the TEXT icon next to an ad launches your default messaging app, pre-populating the text message with the advertiser’s information.
Why should you care?
If you’re using a mobile device, you don’t necessarily want to go to a website first to look for information when a phone call would be quicker and easier. There are similar benefits for consumers and advertisers alike in enabling people to directly contact an advertiser with a text request for more information.
Google has yet to make any official announcement as to when the new ad extension might be generally available. But while, as we’ve mentioned, not all AdWords beta tests see full release, we’d be surprised if this one didn’t.
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Jeremy is a Partner and Senior Consultant at SureFire. Jeremy has been working in search since 1996, when he joined the Australian search engine, LookSmart. After relocating to San Francisco, he was instrumental in the development of the company’s paid search ad platform. At analytics company Coremetrics (now owned by IBM) he established an in-house search agency managing campaigns for Coremetrics clients such as Macy’s, Bass Pro and Lands End. At Acxiom he managed members of the pioneering SEO firm Marketleap and worked with clients such as Capital One, American General Finance and Kaiser Health. Joining SureFire in 2009, he is the head of Paid Search Advertising and oversees the delivery of AdWords and other PPC campaigns. He also helps clients make sense of their website data.
