Last week, Google announced that they are removing Review Extensions from Google AdWords text ads. This change is due to come into place in February 2018.
Review Extensions can be used by all business types. They highlight the best reviews from your customers and can be used to show below Text Ads. Review Extensions do not cost anything to display, however Google state that they can “boost Click-Through-Rate by up to 10%”.
Advertisers were recommended to add reviews from reputable third-party review sites. These include; Feefo or Trust Pilot.
But, in February, these extensions will no longer be an option for advertisers in Google AdWords. They were launched 5 years ago, however, were hard to implement. Yet, advertisers could showcase their top customer reviews, about the business or a certain product.
With the removal of these extensions, any data from these extensions will also be lost. Advertisers are advised to export data if they want to have evidence of data. On the AdWords support page, advertisers are shown this message:
So, what now?
Advertisers can still display more information about their business below their text ads. Sitelink Extensions can be used to take users to other pages on the website. Callout Extensions can be used to highlight key messages about your business, such as ‘Free Delivery Available’. Lastly, Structured Snippet Extensions can be used to show users aspects of your business, for example the brands you sell.
These Ad Extensions are easy to setup and have equally successful outcomes.