The Complete Guide to Google Ads Lead Forms Extensions
Google Ads lead form extensions are a powerful tool to incorporate to Search, Display, YouTube, or Discovery campaigns. Learn more here.
Mobile activity has overtaken desktop activity in many markets. A business’s success depends on its user experience.
Google originally announced its lead form extensions in 2019, but updated them recently for mobile devices.
I am glad to see Google updates that are beneficial to B2C companies as well as those for B2B.
What are the ways in which you can make the most of the opportunities and benefits provided by Google Ads lead forms? Find out how lead forms work, how to set them up, what you need to get started, and what the pros and cons are.
What are Google Lead Form Extensions?
According to Google, “Lead form extensions help you generate leads by letting people submit their information in a form directly in your ad.”
The lead form extension can be created in your current Google Adwords account and attached to the campaign of your choice.
Rather than being directed to your company website when your audience interacts with your ad that contains the ad extension, they are prompted to input their information in the form.
Who Should Use Google Lead Form Extensions?
Most B2B companies who want to capture user information can benefit from lead form extensions.
In addition, if your company lacks the resources (time, expertise, money) to improve the website experience, Google lead form extensions may be a good option for you.
Pros and Cons of Lead Form Extensions
Whenever a new tool is released, it’s important to weigh its benefits and drawbacks. In this article, we will examine lead form extensions in more detail.
Pros
- Setup is easy.
- Leads can be downloaded directly from the interface.
- This is a great way to gain first-party data for remarketing purposes.
- In the absence of a mobile site, the user experience will be easier.
Cons
- Lead sharing with CRMs is more difficult to automate.
- You don’t get traffic to your website.
- It is not always easy to attribute.
- Ad account must spend more than $50,000 over its lifetime.
Lead Form Extensions Requirements
Lead form extensions are currently available for Search, Display, and Discovery ads. A beta version of Video ads is currently available.
Contact your Google representative to be whitelisted for the Video ad type beta.
In order to qualify for this extension type, you must meet the following requirements:
- A good history of compliance with Google’s policies.
- You need a privacy policy for your business.
- Spending more than $50k on Google Ads over the course of a lifetime.
There are some verticals where Google lead form extensions are not allowed. The following verticals are excluded:
- Verticals with sensitive content (such as sexual content).
- A sub-vertical of a sensitive vertical.
How to Set Up Lead Form Extensions
It doesn’t take a lot of time or effort to create a new lead form extension.
Creating a new extension can be done while creating a new campaign or with an existing campaign.
Click Ads & Extensions on the left-hand side of the campaign page for existing campaigns. Creating a new lead form extension is as simple as clicking the blue “+” sign.
The next step is to add a headline, description, and business name. These fields are required.
From there, you can select the questions you’d like the user to answer. A minimum of one option must be selected to proceed.
Make sure you link to the privacy policy URL!
For qualified leads, Google now allows you to ask qualifying questions.
There are several categories of qualifiers, including:
- Auto.
- Business.
- Demographics.
- Insurance.
- Jobs/Experience.
- and many more.
Lead form extensions for Search require a background image with a 1.91:1 aspect ratio.
Once a user has successfully filled out the form, you’ll need to create the submission message.
Optimizing Your Lead Form
You can optimize your lead form for the following options once it has been created:
- Lead volume.
- Lead qualification.
What is the best way for you to decide between options? Business goals and campaign intentions should be the sole determining factors in this decision.
Optimizing for lead volume would be the best option if the goal is to capture as many leads as possible (top of funnel).
This option may result in fewer qualified leads.
Optimizing for more qualified leads is the best way to spend dollars efficiently to get the most qualified leads.
In this case, you will get higher quality leads at a higher cost per lead (CPL) and fewer leads overall.
Reviewing Lead Form Data
Your lead submission information is read and analyzed in this section, which may be the most important.
In order to capture your leads, Google currently offers two options:
- You can manually download them from the interface.
- Integrate webhooks to automatically import lead information.
When manually downloading leads, keep in mind that Google only allows downloads within 30 days of submission. After that, the data is gone forever. To ensure a prompt follow-up, it’s important to keep an eye on incoming leads.
Creating a Webhook Integration
Rather than manually downloading leads every day, you could spend your time more wisely.
Therefore, I would recommend setting up a webhook integration for your CRM to import data.
However, this option will require some integration time to set up, despite being more valuable and efficient in the long run. You can generate a webhook and key to pass data if your team (or agency) has the ability and resources.
For more information on this setup, visit Google’s official support page.
The basic process looks like this:
In case your team lacks the capability to create a webhook URL and key, you still have options.
Leads can be seamlessly integrated with Google using Zapier, a third-party integration.
With Zapier, you can automate your lead nurturing process without worrying about more complex technical solutions. Visit here to sign up for a Zapier account.
After setting up the webhooks, it’s time to verify the data. Make sure your automated solutions work by completing this step!
After setting up the integration, make sure it’s working for you.
Summary
Give Google Lead Form extensions a try if your company is having trouble getting leads due to a poor user experience.
With so many options, including Search, Display, YouTube, or Discovery, they’re worth exploring.
By introducing a seamless experience, you may see higher conversion rates and more closed deals.