Show Your Ads with Google+ Endorsement
Google+ makes it easy for people to share web content. When you link your Google+ page to your ads, Google can show more endorsements for your business from your customers and supporters. This can raise the social awareness of your business and increase its relevance.
To link your Google+ page to your AdWords ads, you’ll use social extensions. Here’s what you’ll need to know to start using them:
- How you can integrate Google+ into your ad campaigns
- How social extensions work with your ads and different AdWords features
- The ad policy guidelines to follow when creating your social extension
- How to set up your social extension
About Google+ and +1 annotations
With Google+, people can click to +1, or endorse, web content wherever they see a +1 button. This can include Google.com search results, a Google+ page, or any post within any Google+ user’s streams (like videos, articles, comments, or photos).
If a person is signed in to Google+ when they click the +1 button, Google shows their endorsement to their other connections across the web as an annotation. For example, someone might see that several of their friends who use Google+ have also +1’d an interesting article. AdWords will show these annotations to help make the content web users see more relevant, whether they’re looking at organic search results, website content, or ads.
Tip
+1 annotations are basically text notations that let you know if someone in your social circle also endorses the web content you’re looking at. If you’re signed out of Google+, or there are people who aren’t in your circle who’ve endorsed the content, you’ll see less detailed annotations.
As an AdWords advertiser, you’re probably also a website owner, so you can take advantage of the social features of Google+ by adding the +1 button to your website pages or creating a Google+ page. Both of these tasks will help increase the social visibility of your business for people browsing the web.
About Google+ Page Endorsements
Google+ pages allow anyone using Google+ to create a profile, which can be especially useful for businesses working to build a brand online throughsocial networking. Once you’ve built a Google+ page, you can link your page to your AdWords account using social extensions.
People on the web can reach your page in any number of ways while browsing or following the social updates you post online. They can +1 the page itself, along with the content you feature within your page. They can also +1 your page if they see it on other sites across the web, or Google search results.
By creating a Google+ page and linking that page to your website and ads, you can maximize the number of times these +1 endorsements appear on your ad creatives.
How social extensions work
By default, AdWords ads that appear on Google or the Google Display Network all have a +1 button. A web user +1’ing your ad endorses your specific landing page, and vice versa.
With social extensions, a +1 on your ad applies to your Google+ page. All +1’s from your Google+ page are also applied to your AdWords ads.
This creates a larger social web presence for both your ads and your Google+ page, making it more likely that someone who sees them will see an annotation. Since annotations make your ads more relevant, they may also increase your overall ad performance.
Example
George creates a Google+ page for his company, Happy Burgers. He also creates an AdWords campaign, some ads, and then a social extension by linking his Google+ page to his campaign. When 32 people +1 one of his ads, Happy Burgers’ page will receive 32 new +1’s. Alternatively, if George connects his AdWords campaign to his Google+ page after it already had 32 +1’s, all of his ads can now have these +1’s as social annotations.
How social extensions work with AdWords features
Here’s how social extensions work with other aspects of your ad campaigns:
- Availability: Social extensions are currently available in all countries.
- Pricing: You’ll be charged for standard clicks on your text ads when users click the ad to visit your site. You won’t be charged when a user +1’s your ad, or clicks a link in a +1 annotation.
- Network: Annotations for ads appear across all AdWords ad formats, regardless of the network. Annotations may not always appear with your ads, but are more likely to appear when you use social extensions and connect your Google+ page to your campaigns.
- Targeting: This feature is compatible with all AdWords targeting options.
- Reporting: To find out how +1 Annotations impact overall ad performance, apply the “+1 Annotations” segment.
- Compatibility with other ad tools: This feature is not yet configurable via AdWords Editor or the AdWords API.
Social extensions advertising guidelines
Be sure to follow the standard advertising policies, including the social interaction incentives policies outlined within the AdWords Policy Center.
How to set up a social extension
You can set up a social extension in a new or existing campaign. After you’ve set up your social extension for one campaign, the extension can be used in your other campaigns.
- Sign in to your AdWords account.
- Click the Campaigns tab.
- Create a new campaign or navigate to an existing one.
- For a new campaign:
- Navigate to the “Ad extensions” section of the campaign creation page and look for “Social.”
- Select “Increase the social relevance of my ads by associating them with my Google+ page.”
- For an existing campaign:
- Go to the Ad extensions tab.
- Select the “View: Social Extensions” option from the “View” dropdown menu.
- Click the + New extension button.
- Enter the URL of your Google+ page.
- Examples
- URL with a number ID: https://plus.google.com/1234567890
- URL with a brand ID: https://google.com/+GoogleBusiness
- Click Save and continue.
Note
How you enter your Google+ page URL and whether you link your Google+ page with your website are essential to getting your social extension up and running.
How to enter your Google+ page URL
How to find the right URL:
- 1. Sign in to your Google+ account.
- Choose Pages from the side menu (Pages may also be listed under More).
- Select the Google+ page you want.
- Copy the URL in your browser’s address bar. This is the Google+ page URL you want to enter when you set up a social extension.
Note
It’s a common mistake to enter the URL of your Google+ profile instead of your Google+ page. Be sure to check that you’re on your Google+ page when you copy the URL. If someone else owns the Google+ page, like a colleague or client who has given you permission to use the page, browse to this page and copy the URL.
How to format the URL
Format your Google+ page URL like the one below, with just the domain (green) and number or brand ID (grey):
https://plus.google.com/1234567890
Remove any extraneous characters like “/” or “/about.”
How to link your Google+ page and website
Link your Google+ page with your website by showing your website’s URL on your Google+ page and adding your Google+ page URL to your website’s homepage. After AdWords confirms that your Google+ page and website are linked, AsWords can activate your social extension. This can take a few days.
How to show your website’s URL:
- Sign in to your Google+ account.
- Check whether your Google+ page is showing your website’s URL.
- If it is, you’re done. If it’s not, click the Edit profile button.
- Click “your primary website” and enter your website’s URL.
- Click Save.
How to add your Google+ page URL to your homepage
Work with your webmaster to add your Google+ page URL to your website’s homepage. You’ll also want to make sure that your homepage is available to appear in Google’s search results. Go to Google’s Webmaster Help Center for detailed instructions.