Google Ads asset types, what Google used to call ad extensions before the 2022 rename, are the pieces of additional information you attach to a search ad to make it larger, more specific, and more useful to the searcher. Google selects which assets to show for each individual auction based on predicted performance. You do not control the exact combination, but you do control the library of assets available to choose from. The bigger and better that library, the more Google has to work with.
Most accounts we audit have two or three asset types configured. The accounts that get the most from their ad spend usually have six or more. Below are the eight types worth setting up in every campaign, what each one does mechanically, and how to use it well.
Quick answer:
- Sitelink assets drive traffic to specific pages with up to four additional links below your main ad.
- Callout assets surface short benefit phrases that reinforce trust without taking headline space.
- Structured snippet assets display a labeled list of your products, services, or locations.
- Call assets attach a phone number and enable tracked, click-to-call conversions on mobile.
- Image assets add a visual to eligible search ads, expanding their physical footprint on the page.
- Lead form assets open a native Google form in-ad, removing the landing page step.
- Price assets display products or service tiers with prices, each linking to a specific page.
- Promotion assets highlight a specific offer with a tag-style treatment and scheduled start/end dates.
1. Sitelink Assets for Driving Traffic to Specific Pages
Sitelink assets let you attach up to four additional links below your main ad, each pointing to a different page on your site, so searchers can navigate directly to what they need.
On desktop, a well-configured sitelink row is one of the most visible elements on the search results page. Each sitelink has its own headline and, optionally, two lines of description text. Those descriptions do not always render, but filling them in gives Google more content to evaluate and more context to show when space allows.
The practical rule: make each sitelink destination meaningfully different from the main landing page and from the other sitelinks. If your ad sends people to a general services page, sitelinks to your pricing page, your case studies, your contact page, and a specific service subcategory give the searcher four faster paths. Generic sitelinks like "Home" or "About Us" waste slots.
You can set sitelinks at the account, campaign, or ad group level. More specific sitelinks at the ad group level tend to perform better because they match the intent of the keywords in that group.
Takeaway: Fill all four sitelink slots, write real description lines, and point each one to a page that stands on its own merit.
2. Callout Assets for Highlighting Differentiators
Callout assets are short, non-clickable phrases that highlight specific benefits like free shipping or no long-term contracts, reinforcing trust without consuming headline space.
Callouts are capped at 25 characters each. That constraint is useful: it forces you to distill a differentiator to its simplest form. "No long-term contracts," "Free site audit," "Campaigns owned by you" all work. "We are the best marketing agency in the region" does not fit and does not belong here anyway.
Because callouts are not clickable, they do not drive traffic on their own. Their job is to reinforce the decision to click the main ad. Think of them as bullet points that answer the implicit question: "Why this company over the others on this page?"
Build a library of eight to ten callouts at the account level. Google rotates among them. Review the asset report in your Google Ads account every 30 days, check performance ratings, and pause the ones rated "low" after they have had enough impressions to form a view.
Takeaway: Write callouts around real, specific differentiators, build a bench of at least eight, and prune based on the asset performance report.
3. Structured Snippet Assets for Showcasing Offerings
Structured snippet assets display a labeled list under a fixed header category, things like "Services," "Types," "Courses," or "Brands." You pick the header from Google's approved list and fill in the values below it.
For a Google Ads management client running campaigns across multiple service lines, a structured snippet with the header "Services" and values like "Google Ads Management, SEO, Conversion Tracking, Reporting Dashboards" tells a searcher immediately what the business does before they click. That pre-click clarity filters out poor-fit clicks.
The header category has to be accurate. Selecting "Brands" and then listing services is a policy violation and will trigger a disapproval. Google's full header list covers most B2B and e-commerce use cases.
You can run multiple structured snippets with different headers simultaneously. A service business might run one under "Services" and one under "Amenities" if both are relevant to their searchers.
Takeaway: Match your header to the category Google approves, list your actual offerings accurately, and run more than one snippet set if your business warrants it.
4. Call Assets for Click-to-Call Conversions
Call assets attach a phone number to your ad and enable one-tap calling on mobile, and when call reporting is enabled, those calls count as tracked conversions in your Google Ads account.
This matters because calls are often the highest-value conversion for service businesses. Without call reporting turned on, you can see that a click happened but you cannot tie the subsequent phone call back to the specific keyword or campaign that produced it. Enable call reporting in your conversion tracking settings and set a minimum call duration that filters out wrong numbers and short hangups before counting a call as a conversion.
You can schedule call assets to show only during business hours when someone is available to answer. Showing a phone number when no one will pick up trains searchers to expect no answer, which damages both the user experience and your call conversion rate.
On desktop, call assets display as a phone number. On mobile, they render as a call button. The mobile behavior is what makes call assets particularly valuable for local and home services campaigns where the search-to-call path is short.
Takeaway: Always enable call reporting, set a meaningful minimum call duration, and schedule the asset to show only during your real business hours.
5. Image Assets for Visual Search Real Estate
Image assets add a square or landscape visual to eligible search ads. When they show, they increase the physical size of the ad on the results page and make it more distinct from text-only ads surrounding it.
Eligibility requires that your account meet Google's criteria, which include account history and policy compliance. Not every account or campaign will qualify immediately. Google's image asset eligibility requirements cover the specifications.
Images must meet Google's content policies. Marketing-forward images that clearly represent your product or service tend to perform better than generic stock photos. A roofing company showing an actual completed roof, a SaaS product showing its interface, or a service business showing a real team at work all give the searcher something concrete to connect with.
Upload both the square (1:1) and landscape (1.91:1) formats so Google can use the right version depending on available space. Using only one format reduces how often the asset can serve.
Takeaway: Upload both aspect ratios, use images that actually represent your product or service, and check the asset report to see which images earn "best" or "good" ratings.
6. Lead Form Assets for On-Ad Conversions
Lead form assets open a native Google form directly from the ad, removing the landing page step and reducing friction for top-of-funnel inquiries.
The form lives inside Google's interface. When a searcher clicks the lead form button, a pre-filled form slides up using the contact information already in their Google account. They confirm the details and submit without visiting your site. You receive the lead data via a webhook, a connected CRM, or a CSV download from the Google Ads interface.
This is a genuine tradeoff worth understanding. A searcher who fills out a lead form has not seen your landing page, your proof points, your reviews, or your pricing. The friction is lower, so volume tends to be higher. But those leads arrive with less pre-qualification than someone who read through a real landing page before converting. For top-of-funnel offers, free consultations, and awareness-stage campaigns, lead form assets can work well. For high-ticket or competitive services where buyer education matters, the landing page path often produces better-quality leads even if it produces fewer of them.
Set up a webhook to your CRM so leads flow automatically. Downloading CSVs manually is a process that breaks.
Takeaway: Lead form assets work best for top-of-funnel offers; connect them via webhook to your CRM and monitor lead quality, not just lead volume.
7. Price Assets for Ecommerce and Service Pricing
Price assets display your products or service tiers with individual prices, each linked to a specific page, filtering for higher-intent visitors before they reach your site.
The asset displays as a row of cards, each with a type, a price or "From $X" framing, a short description, and a destination URL. Showing price before the click does something specific: it sets expectations. Searchers who see your pricing and still click are more likely to be within budget range. Searchers who are not a fit filter themselves out. Fewer clicks, but better ones.
This is particularly useful for service businesses with tiered offerings, monthly retainers, or clearly defined packages. A marketing agency showing "Google Ads Management, from $1,500/month" as a price asset will attract clicks from business owners who have already decided that price range is acceptable. That is a different buyer than the one clicking a generic headline with no pricing context.
Price assets require a minimum of three cards and support up to eight. Each card needs a unique destination URL. Sending all cards to the same page defeats the purpose.
Takeaway: Use price assets to pre-qualify for budget fit, build at least three cards with distinct URLs, and review click-through rates per card in the asset report.
8. Promotion Assets for Seasonal Offers
Promotion assets highlight a specific discount or offer. They render with a tag icon that gives them a visually distinct look compared to the standard text elements of the ad. The asset supports a percentage discount, a monetary discount, or an offer-without-a-discount framing, alongside a promotional code and a scheduled start and end date.
The scheduling feature is the practical advantage here. A campaign running a Black Friday promotion can have the promotion asset set to appear on a specific start date and expire automatically, without anyone logging in to enable or disable it manually. That removes a common failure mode: a promotional ad running after the offer has ended, sending traffic to a page where the deal no longer exists.
Google's promotion asset documentation covers the supported occasion types, which include seasonal events and general sales. Pick the occasion that matches your offer or select "None" if it does not align with a specific event.
Promotion assets complement, not replace, a strong landing page that mirrors the offer. If the asset says "20% off this month" and the landing page does not mention it, the disconnect will hurt conversion rates.
Takeaway: Set start and end dates on every promotion asset so it expires automatically, and make sure the landing page confirms the same offer the asset advertises.
Putting the Eight Together
No single asset type does the job alone. The accounts that get the most from their asset configuration typically run all eight types where eligible and review the asset performance report monthly. Google tells you which individual assets are rated "best," "good," "low," or "unrated." The ones rated low after meaningful impressions are candidates to pause and replace.
One important note on Quality Score: assets do not directly change your Quality Score. But they expand your ad, give searchers more reasons to click, and can improve your click-through rate. Click-through rate feeds into Google's expected CTR calculation, which is a component of Quality Score. So while the relationship is indirect, running better assets is part of running better campaigns.
If your campaigns are set up but your asset library is thin, that is one of the faster things to fix. It does not require new landing pages, new budgets, or new keywords. It requires writing good copy in short formats and pointing it at pages that already exist.
Want a review of how your current asset configuration stacks up against what your campaigns could be running? Book a call with RGDM and we will walk through your account.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do ad assets affect Quality Score?
Assets do not directly change your Quality Score. [SPEAKABLE] Assets do not directly raise or lower Quality Score, but they can improve click-through rate, and click-through rate is one of the inputs Google uses when calculating expected CTR, a component of Quality Score. The relationship is indirect: better assets tend to produce better CTR, and better CTR over time contributes to a stronger expected CTR signal.
Are Google Ads assets the same as ad extensions?
Yes. Google rebranded ad extensions as assets in 2022. The functionality is the same; the name changed. Sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, and the rest are all now managed under the Assets tab in Google Ads. If you are reading older documentation that references "ad extensions," it is describing the same features.
Which ad assets improve click-through rate the most?
Google does not publish a universal ranking of assets by CTR lift, and the answer varies by industry, campaign type, and how well each asset is written. That said, sitelinks consistently get attention from practitioners because they visually expand the ad and give searchers multiple paths. Callouts and structured snippets add text that can address objections. The most reliable approach is to run all eligible asset types, check the asset performance report in your account, and see what Google rates highest for your specific campaigns.
Can you control which assets show with your ad?
Not directly. Google determines which combination of assets to show for each auction based on predicted performance and available ad space. You control the library of assets that are eligible to serve, and you can pause individual assets that perform poorly. Scheduling also lets you limit when certain assets, like call assets or promotion assets, are eligible to appear. Beyond that, the selection logic is Google's.
How many sitelinks should I add to a campaign?
Google recommends adding at least four sitelinks so the full sitelink row can appear. You can add more, and Google will rotate among them. More sitelinks give the algorithm more to test and select from, which is generally an advantage. The floor is four; there is no meaningful ceiling as long as each sitelink points to a genuinely different and useful destination.
Do lead form assets replace landing pages?
They replace the landing page step for that specific conversion path, but they do not replace landing pages as a strategy. Searchers who submit a lead form have not seen your proof, your pricing, or your brand story. Lead form assets work well for top-of-funnel captures and simple offers. For high-consideration purchases or services where the buyer needs education before converting, a dedicated landing page typically produces higher-quality leads even if the volume is lower.
Can I use image assets on any campaign type?
Image assets are available for Search campaigns, but not all accounts and campaigns are eligible. Google requires the account to meet certain history and policy standards. Check your account's asset eligibility in the Google Ads interface, and review Google's image asset requirements for current specifications and restrictions.
What happens if an asset gets a "low" performance rating?
A "low" rating means Google found that asset performed worse than alternatives in your library over a meaningful number of impressions. It does not mean the asset is disapproved; it is still eligible to serve. The practical response is to pause the low-rated asset and replace it with a new version. Over time, keeping your asset library pruned to "good" and "best" rated assets gives Google a stronger pool to select from at auction.