Ad assets are extra pieces of information that Google Ads can attach to an ad, such as additional links, a phone number, an address, prices or images. Google called them ad extensions until 2022; the idea has not changed, only the name. They make an ad bigger and give the searcher more reasons, and more ways, to act.
How ad assets work
You create assets once and attach them at account, campaign or ad group level. The most specific level wins, so ad group sitelinks replace campaign sitelinks for that ad group. The main types for a search campaign are:
- Sitelinks: extra links to specific pages, such as pricing, a service or a contact page.
- Callouts: short, unlinked phrases such as “Same-day call-outs” or “Free written quotes”.
- Structured snippets: a header such as “Services” followed by a list of values.
- Call assets, location assets, price assets, promotion assets, image assets, lead form assets and the business name and logo.
Adding an asset does not guarantee it will show. For each auction Google decides which combination of assets is likely to help, given the device, the space available and your ad’s position. Assets show more often for ads in the top positions, because there is more room there. Google also counts the expected impact of assets as one input into Ad Rank, so a well-equipped ad can win a better position for a similar bid.
Google may also generate assets automatically from your website and landing pages, which you can switch off at account level if the results are not accurate.
Why it matters
A search ad with sitelinks, callouts and a phone number takes up far more of the screen than one without, and that space is not available to a competitor. More importantly, assets let people go straight to what they want. Someone searching for an emergency plumber in Croydon wants to ring now; a call asset lets them do that from the results page during your working hours.
For a UK local business, the location asset linked to your Google Business Profile shows your address and distance, which builds trust before anyone has clicked. Price assets set expectations in pounds before the click, filtering out people looking for something much cheaper and saving you the cost of their clicks.
Common mistakes
- Adding the minimum and never coming back. Many accounts have two sitelinks, both pointing to the homepage.
- Sitelinks that repeat the main ad’s landing page instead of sending people somewhere genuinely different.
- Call assets that run around the clock for a business that only answers the phone 9 to 5.
- Promotion assets left running after the offer ended, which can cause a misleading advertising complaint under the CAP Code as well as a disappointed customer.
- Letting automatically created assets run without checking what Google has written on your behalf.
How to act on it
For each search campaign, aim for at least four sitelinks, four callouts, one structured snippet and, where relevant, call, location and image assets. Write sitelinks around the questions people ask before they buy: prices, reviews, areas covered, how it works.
Schedule time-sensitive assets, such as call assets and promotions, so they only appear when they are true. Review the asset report every month to see which ones actually earn clicks and replace the ones that never show. Building a full set of assets for each campaign is part of how I set up Google search ad campaigns.