“Ad extensions” today: how ad assets actually influence performance
In modern Google Ads, what most advertisers still call ad extensions are now managed as assets. The concept is the same: you add extra pieces of information (extra links, offers, pricing, images, calls, locations, and more) that can be assembled with your core ad to create a larger, more useful result on the page.
The key performance takeaway is simple: assets don’t just “decorate” an ad. They can change how prominent your ad appears, how likely it is to be clicked, and even how you compete in the auction because the auction considers the expected impact of assets and ad formats.
You can build assets manually (for example, sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, price, promotion, images), and you can also benefit from automated asset generation in a few ways. At the account level, automated assets can be created and shown when they’re predicted to improve performance, and they can serve alongside manual assets. ([support.google.com](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7175034)
Separately, in Search campaigns, the system can also generate additional ad copy assets (often discussed as “text customization/automatically created assets”) that don’t count against your responsive search ad headline/description limits.
How assets impact performance (what changes in the real world)
1) Higher CTR from more “real estate” and better relevance
The most common uplift from assets is improved click-through rate. When you give people more ways to engage—extra links to deeper pages, highlighted benefits, visuals, pricing, or a promotion—your ad becomes easier to choose because it answers more questions before the click. The platform also notes that assets can make your ad more prominent, which generally translates to more clicks.
Some asset types even come with published average lifts when they show. For example, image assets can drive an average click-through-rate increase when they appear with Search ads (results vary by advertiser and situation).
2) Auction advantage: assets are part of Ad Rank (so they can influence position and CPC)
Assets matter because Ad Rank considers multiple factors, including your bid, ad/landing page quality, context signals, and the expected impact of assets and other ad formats.
Practically, this means strong, relevant assets can help you compete more effectively. In some auctions, you can win a better position even against higher bids when your overall package (keywords, ads, landing pages, and assets) is expected to perform better.
3) Conversion rate improvements (because assets pre-qualify clicks)
Assets don’t only increase clicks; they can increase qualified clicks. Sitelinks can push people straight to the page that matches their intent (pricing, services, hours, categories), which often shortens the path to conversion.
Price assets can move prospects from vague interest to action by letting them browse offerings and click directly into the specific item they care about.
Promotion assets can attract deal-driven searches and highlight limited-time offers across eligible formats, which can raise conversion volume when aligned with real demand.
4) Cost impacts: “assets are free,” but CPC and click volume can change
There’s no fee to add assets, but clicks and certain interactions are charged as usual, and the platform charges no more than two clicks per impression on an ad and its assets.
However, don’t assume assets always make traffic cheaper. Ads with more assets can see higher actual CPC due to increased prominence and the thresholds required to show in stronger placements—yet the incremental cost of getting more clicks via assets is often lower than “buying” a higher position purely by bidding up.
Also note: adding assets doesn’t “fix” Quality Score by itself. The platform explicitly notes you shouldn’t expect Quality Score to improve simply from adding assets.
Strategies to maximize performance with assets (a systematic approach)
Start with a baseline “asset stack” for every high-volume campaign
If you want assets to materially improve performance, coverage and relevance matter. Think of it like giving the system enough high-quality options to assemble the best version of your ad for each search.
- Sitelinks: build enough options to cover your primary intents (for example: Services, Pricing, About, Reviews, Contact, Locations). For many accounts, aiming for at least 6 sitelinks (with descriptions where possible) on your high-volume areas is a strong baseline, while also remembering that at least 2 are needed to be eligible to show in common layouts.
- Callouts: add short, non-repetitive value props that aren’t already obvious in your headlines (shipping, warranty, financing, turnaround time, support hours). Callouts can show multiple at once, and their length and performance affect how many appear.
- Structured snippets: use these to show breadth (brands, services, types, models, etc.), and provide enough values to make the snippet meaningful.
- Price assets or promotion assets (when relevant): use price when people commonly compare options; use promotions when you have a real offer with real urgency.
- Image assets (when eligible): when you can add strong visuals, images can lift CTR and help your text ad stand out.
Match assets to intent and landing pages (the most common “silent failure”)
Assets work best when each click path has a clear promise and a matching destination. If your sitelink says “Pricing,” the landing page should actually make pricing easy to find. If your callout says “24/7 Support,” make sure the experience supports that claim (or you risk poor lead quality, refunds, and policy headaches).
Where many accounts go wrong is using the same generic assets everywhere. A better approach is to keep truly universal assets at higher levels (account/campaign) and place more specific assets where intent is narrower (ad group). This hierarchy matters because more granular assets can override higher-level assets for that same branch of the account.
Let automation help—but keep control with guardrails
Automated assets can boost performance by automatically creating and showing additional information when predicted to help. This can include dynamic sitelinks, dynamic callouts, dynamic structured snippets, automated location information, seller ratings, and more.
In mature accounts, I typically keep automation enabled unless there’s a brand/legal reason not to, then actively monitor what is being generated. If something is inaccurate, off-brand, or pushing traffic to the wrong parts of the site, it’s better to replace it with strong manual assets (and selectively turn off specific automated asset types when needed).
Measure correctly: asset-level metrics are useful, but don’t over-interpret them
Use the Assets reporting to understand which asset types and specific assets are being served and what performance they’re associated with. You can also segment performance to see click behavior (for example, sitelink vs. headline clicks).
For responsive search ads, the ad-level asset details reporting now provides full performance statistics per asset for dates on or after June 5, 2025 (and older “performance label” benchmarks have been deprecated).
One advanced nuance: asset-level impressions/clicks/cost can be “non-summable” in the way you might expect, because multiple assets can earn an impression within the same single ad impression. Treat asset-level ratios as directional, then confirm decisions at the campaign/ad group level before making big changes.
Quick diagnostic checklist: why assets don’t show (or don’t move results)
- Ad Rank isn’t high enough in the auctions you care about: assets typically show when predicted to improve performance and when your position/Ad Rank supports showing them.
- Assets are disapproved or limited: assets can be approved/disapproved like ads and won’t serve if disapproved.
- You don’t have enough eligible assets: for example, sitelinks commonly need enough coverage to serve (and at least 2 to be eligible in many cases).
- Assets are too generic or redundant: if multiple assets say the same thing, you’ve reduced the system’s ability to assemble a better ad for different intents (and you may “waste” the limited space you earn).
- Mismatch between asset promise and landing page: this often shows up as higher CTR but flat or worse conversion rate, especially on sitelinks, price, and promotions.
One final “expert” mindset shift
Stop thinking of extensions/assets as an optional add-on and start treating them as part of your core ad product. Because assets influence both user response (CTR and conversion behavior) and auction dynamics (expected impact within Ad Rank), the advertisers who build deep, intent-matched asset libraries almost always create a compounding advantage over time—more engagement, better learning signals, and a stronger ability to scale without simply “paying more” for the same results.
Let AI handle
the Google Ads grunt work
| Section | Core Idea | Performance Impact | Key Google Support Link(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Ad extensions” today: assets and performance | What used to be called ad extensions are now managed as assets. They add extra information (links, offers, images, prices, calls, locations, etc.) that can be combined with core ads. | Assets don’t just decorate the ad; they influence how prominent it looks, how likely it is to earn clicks, and how it competes in the auction via the expected impact of assets and formats. |
About assets in Google Ads About Ad Rank |
| Manual vs. automated assets | Advertisers can create manual assets (sitelinks, callouts, snippets, price, promotion, image, etc.), while Google can also generate automated assets at the account level when they’re predicted to improve performance. | Automated assets can enhance existing manual assets and expand coverage, increasing the chance that high‑performing combinations show for relevant queries without extra manual work. |
About automated assets Automatically created assets for Search |
| 1) Higher CTR from more “real estate” | Adding more ways to interact (extra links, benefits, visuals, pricing, promotions) answers more questions before the click and makes the ad more prominent. | Typically improves click‑through rate (CTR). Image assets in particular are documented as driving average CTR lifts when they appear with Search ads (results vary by advertiser). |
About assets and performance About image assets |
| 2) Auction advantage: part of Ad Rank | Ad Rank evaluates bid, ad/landing page quality, context, and the expected impact of assets and other formats. | Strong, relevant assets can help win better positions and sometimes beat higher bids, because the overall expected performance package (keywords, ads, landing pages, assets) is more competitive. |
About Ad Rank About how the Search Network auction works |
| 3) Conversion rate improvements | Assets like sitelinks, price, and promotion pre‑qualify traffic by aligning the click path with the user’s actual intent (e.g., pricing, specific item, deal). | Can increase conversion rate and conversion volume by sending users directly to the most relevant page or offer, often shortening the path to conversion. |
About sitelink assets About price assets About promotion assets |
| 4) Cost impacts of assets | There’s no extra fee to add assets, but clicks on the ad or its assets are charged as usual, with a limit of two charged clicks per impression. | Assets can increase CPC in some cases due to higher prominence and Ad Rank thresholds, but they often deliver cheaper incremental clicks than simply raising bids. Assets alone don’t fix Quality Score. |
About assets and costs Assets and Quality Score guidance |
| Baseline “asset stack” strategy | High‑volume campaigns should start with a robust, intent‑aligned set of assets: sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, price/promotion, and image assets where eligible. | Broad, relevant coverage gives the system more high‑quality options, increasing the chance of showing strong combinations for each query and improving CTR and conversion performance. |
Sitelink assets Callout assets Structured snippets Price assets Image assets |
| Match assets to intent & landing pages | Assets should accurately reflect what the user sees after the click (e.g., “Pricing” goes to a pricing‑focused page, “24/7 Support” matches real support availability). | Improves conversion quality and avoids scenarios where CTR rises but conversion rate falls due to mismatched expectations. More granular assets at the ad group level can override generic higher‑level assets for better intent matching. | Asset levels and hierarchy |
| Use automation with guardrails | Dynamic/automated sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, location info, and seller ratings can be allowed to run while being monitored for accuracy and brand fit. | Can capture incremental performance gains with less manual work, but requires regular review. Inaccurate or off‑brand automated assets should be replaced with strong manual assets and, if needed, disabled selectively. |
About automated assets Control and review for assets |
| Measure correctly: asset‑level reporting | Use the Assets reports to see which assets serve and how they perform, including click behavior by asset type. RSA asset‑level reporting now shows full stats for dates on or after June 5, 2025. | Asset‑level metrics are directional because multiple assets can show in a single ad impression, making counts non‑summable. Confirm optimization decisions at campaign/ad group level rather than over‑reacting to individual asset stats. |
View asset performance reports Report on responsive search ads assets |
| Why assets don’t show or don’t move results | Common issues: insufficient Ad Rank, disapproved or limited assets, too few eligible assets (e.g., not enough sitelinks), overly generic or redundant messaging, and mismatches between asset promise and landing page. | These problems reduce asset impression share and can lead to wasted clicks or poor conversion rate even when CTR rises. Fixing eligibility, quality, and intent alignment is required before expecting assets to materially improve performance. |
Troubleshoot asset serving Sitelink requirements |
| Expert mindset shift | Treat assets as part of the core ad product, not optional add‑ons. Build deep, intent‑matched libraries rather than minimal or generic setups. | Over time, this creates a compounding edge: more engagement, stronger learning signals for the system, and more scalable growth with better auction performance—without relying solely on higher bids. | Ad auctions and performance |
If you’re evaluating how extensions (now “assets” in Google Ads) influence results through added ad real estate, auction impact via Ad Rank, and better intent matching that can lift conversion rates, Blobr can help you turn those ideas into practical, account-specific improvements: it connects to your Google Ads, monitors performance continuously, and uses specialized AI agents like the Sitelink Extension Optimizer and Headlines Enhancer to spot what’s missing, what isn’t serving, and which assets to refresh so your ads stay relevant, consistent with landing pages, and easier to measure over time.
“Ad extensions” today: how ad assets actually influence performance
In modern Google Ads, what most advertisers still call ad extensions are now managed as assets. The concept is the same: you add extra pieces of information (extra links, offers, pricing, images, calls, locations, and more) that can be assembled with your core ad to create a larger, more useful result on the page.
The key performance takeaway is simple: assets don’t just “decorate” an ad. They can change how prominent your ad appears, how likely it is to be clicked, and even how you compete in the auction because the auction considers the expected impact of assets and ad formats.
You can build assets manually (for example, sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, price, promotion, images), and you can also benefit from automated asset generation in a few ways. At the account level, automated assets can be created and shown when they’re predicted to improve performance, and they can serve alongside manual assets. ([support.google.com](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7175034)
Separately, in Search campaigns, the system can also generate additional ad copy assets (often discussed as “text customization/automatically created assets”) that don’t count against your responsive search ad headline/description limits.
How assets impact performance (what changes in the real world)
1) Higher CTR from more “real estate” and better relevance
The most common uplift from assets is improved click-through rate. When you give people more ways to engage—extra links to deeper pages, highlighted benefits, visuals, pricing, or a promotion—your ad becomes easier to choose because it answers more questions before the click. The platform also notes that assets can make your ad more prominent, which generally translates to more clicks.
Some asset types even come with published average lifts when they show. For example, image assets can drive an average click-through-rate increase when they appear with Search ads (results vary by advertiser and situation).
2) Auction advantage: assets are part of Ad Rank (so they can influence position and CPC)
Assets matter because Ad Rank considers multiple factors, including your bid, ad/landing page quality, context signals, and the expected impact of assets and other ad formats.
Practically, this means strong, relevant assets can help you compete more effectively. In some auctions, you can win a better position even against higher bids when your overall package (keywords, ads, landing pages, and assets) is expected to perform better.
3) Conversion rate improvements (because assets pre-qualify clicks)
Assets don’t only increase clicks; they can increase qualified clicks. Sitelinks can push people straight to the page that matches their intent (pricing, services, hours, categories), which often shortens the path to conversion.
Price assets can move prospects from vague interest to action by letting them browse offerings and click directly into the specific item they care about.
Promotion assets can attract deal-driven searches and highlight limited-time offers across eligible formats, which can raise conversion volume when aligned with real demand.
4) Cost impacts: “assets are free,” but CPC and click volume can change
There’s no fee to add assets, but clicks and certain interactions are charged as usual, and the platform charges no more than two clicks per impression on an ad and its assets.
However, don’t assume assets always make traffic cheaper. Ads with more assets can see higher actual CPC due to increased prominence and the thresholds required to show in stronger placements—yet the incremental cost of getting more clicks via assets is often lower than “buying” a higher position purely by bidding up.
Also note: adding assets doesn’t “fix” Quality Score by itself. The platform explicitly notes you shouldn’t expect Quality Score to improve simply from adding assets.
Strategies to maximize performance with assets (a systematic approach)
Start with a baseline “asset stack” for every high-volume campaign
If you want assets to materially improve performance, coverage and relevance matter. Think of it like giving the system enough high-quality options to assemble the best version of your ad for each search.
- Sitelinks: build enough options to cover your primary intents (for example: Services, Pricing, About, Reviews, Contact, Locations). For many accounts, aiming for at least 6 sitelinks (with descriptions where possible) on your high-volume areas is a strong baseline, while also remembering that at least 2 are needed to be eligible to show in common layouts.
- Callouts: add short, non-repetitive value props that aren’t already obvious in your headlines (shipping, warranty, financing, turnaround time, support hours). Callouts can show multiple at once, and their length and performance affect how many appear.
- Structured snippets: use these to show breadth (brands, services, types, models, etc.), and provide enough values to make the snippet meaningful.
- Price assets or promotion assets (when relevant): use price when people commonly compare options; use promotions when you have a real offer with real urgency.
- Image assets (when eligible): when you can add strong visuals, images can lift CTR and help your text ad stand out.
Match assets to intent and landing pages (the most common “silent failure”)
Assets work best when each click path has a clear promise and a matching destination. If your sitelink says “Pricing,” the landing page should actually make pricing easy to find. If your callout says “24/7 Support,” make sure the experience supports that claim (or you risk poor lead quality, refunds, and policy headaches).
Where many accounts go wrong is using the same generic assets everywhere. A better approach is to keep truly universal assets at higher levels (account/campaign) and place more specific assets where intent is narrower (ad group). This hierarchy matters because more granular assets can override higher-level assets for that same branch of the account.
Let automation help—but keep control with guardrails
Automated assets can boost performance by automatically creating and showing additional information when predicted to help. This can include dynamic sitelinks, dynamic callouts, dynamic structured snippets, automated location information, seller ratings, and more.
In mature accounts, I typically keep automation enabled unless there’s a brand/legal reason not to, then actively monitor what is being generated. If something is inaccurate, off-brand, or pushing traffic to the wrong parts of the site, it’s better to replace it with strong manual assets (and selectively turn off specific automated asset types when needed).
Measure correctly: asset-level metrics are useful, but don’t over-interpret them
Use the Assets reporting to understand which asset types and specific assets are being served and what performance they’re associated with. You can also segment performance to see click behavior (for example, sitelink vs. headline clicks).
For responsive search ads, the ad-level asset details reporting now provides full performance statistics per asset for dates on or after June 5, 2025 (and older “performance label” benchmarks have been deprecated).
One advanced nuance: asset-level impressions/clicks/cost can be “non-summable” in the way you might expect, because multiple assets can earn an impression within the same single ad impression. Treat asset-level ratios as directional, then confirm decisions at the campaign/ad group level before making big changes.
Quick diagnostic checklist: why assets don’t show (or don’t move results)
- Ad Rank isn’t high enough in the auctions you care about: assets typically show when predicted to improve performance and when your position/Ad Rank supports showing them.
- Assets are disapproved or limited: assets can be approved/disapproved like ads and won’t serve if disapproved.
- You don’t have enough eligible assets: for example, sitelinks commonly need enough coverage to serve (and at least 2 to be eligible in many cases).
- Assets are too generic or redundant: if multiple assets say the same thing, you’ve reduced the system’s ability to assemble a better ad for different intents (and you may “waste” the limited space you earn).
- Mismatch between asset promise and landing page: this often shows up as higher CTR but flat or worse conversion rate, especially on sitelinks, price, and promotions.
One final “expert” mindset shift
Stop thinking of extensions/assets as an optional add-on and start treating them as part of your core ad product. Because assets influence both user response (CTR and conversion behavior) and auction dynamics (expected impact within Ad Rank), the advertisers who build deep, intent-matched asset libraries almost always create a compounding advantage over time—more engagement, better learning signals, and a stronger ability to scale without simply “paying more” for the same results.
