Google Introduces Review Extensions

Anne Garcia - July 3, 2013

Google has added a new ad extension format called Review Extensions, saying that they are a way for advertisers to incorporate positive endorsements, ratings, or awards from reputable third party sites. The reviews will be scrutinized to confirm their validity and must comply with AdWords policies.

The Review Extension within the ad will link to the third party site, where there must be a reference to the review. Clicks from the Review Extension will not be charged to the advertiser.

Google said that in two rounds of testing, they saw a 10% lift in click-through rate across 250+ advertisers and 50 million impressions.

Review Extensions differ from Seller Rating Extensions in that Seller Rating Extensions are reviews from the advertiser’s customers. Review Extensions should be from publications or other third party reputable sites.

Review Extensions are available via Beta globally, in English only. In order to implement the Beta, advertisers must contact their AdWords representative. There is a 67 maximum character limit for Review Extensions, which includes the name of the publication.

Below is a screen shot that Google provided of a text ad with Review Extensions.