What Are The Lead Form Extensions In Google?

Google recently announced the release of new lead form extensions that had been in beta since the fall of 2019, as reported by DMS Insights. After users click on ads in search, video and Google Discover, the new (and improved) lead form extensions appear without requiring users to click through to landing pages or websites, as reported by Carolyn Lyden for Search Engine Land (SEL). After a Google lead form extension form is completed, users can opt to keep searching or click through to the advertiser’s website. 

Why Did Google Add New Lead Form Extensions?

According to Google the benefits of the new and improved lead form extensions for advertisers include the ability to:

• Generate leads to drive sales for your business, product or service.
• Drive leads into your marketing funnel to help get more conversions.
• Find and engage people interested in your business, product or service.

Increasing engagement and conversions is the name of the game for advertisers, and consumers are more and more drawn to seamless interactions that can be completed without a lot of navigation required. 

Of course, Google wins with the new Google lead form extensions too. As most digital advertisers know, Google has launched a long list of new features, including recipe cards, YouTube lead forms, product listings and a hotel booking site, designed to keep users within the Google ecosystem. The suite of Google products offering seamless interactions for consumers also provides additional first-party consumer data to Google.

How Will Advertisers Gather The Data From The Lead From Extensions?

The data from the Google lead form extension campaigns can be downloaded into a CSV file or directly into a customer relationship management (CRM) system, and advertisers only have 30 days to download leads from Google Ads. 

Who Can Use Google’s New Lead Form Extensions?

Google explains that eligible advertisers can “create a lead form extension in Google Ads and add it to [search, video and Discovery] campaigns.” In order to be eligible advertisers must meet certain guidelines including prior compliance, a Google Ads account in an “eligible vertical or sub-vertical,” a company privacy policy and, for Video or Discovery campaigns, “$50,000 total spend in Google Ads.”

Google lead form extensions offer convenience to consumers that will likely lead to higher conversion rates. However, advertisers will want to be conscious of whether forgoing a landing or webpage experience is the right choice for their offer and audience before wholeheartedly adopting the new lead form extensions.

Testing is always recommended for new campaigns and new features, and Google lead form extensions should not get a pass. Performance testing should include conversion rates and cost of conversion plus lower-funnel metrics, like sales. The simplicity of Google lead form extensions could result in higher quantity, lower quality leads. Or, it may be the exact right answer to engage more consumers at scale. Likely, the answer will vary from advertiser to advertiser. 

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