Google has been sending emails to AdWords advertisers informing them that call extensions will be automatically included in mobile ads beginning February 6, 2017.
Not all advertisers are receiving this notice, only those whose landing pages prominently feature a phone number. Google will pull the phone number from the landing page and include it in the advertiser’s mobile ads as a call extension.
Google is taking the liberty of making this change by default, while emphasizing that mobile search is predicted to drive 19% more calls to businesses than using landing pages alone.
However, there are several reasons why advertisers may not be in favor of this change. Some may not want to pay for calls being placed to their business through mobile search ads, and some may not even want to encourage phone calls if they’d prefer to capture leads in otherwise.
If for whatever reason, you do not want call extensions to be automatically added to your mobile ads you will have to opt out manually. You can opt out by following these steps:
- Navigate to the Ad extensions tab
- Select “View: Automated extensions report”
- Scroll down to “Automated extension options (advanced)”, then click on “Edit”
- Select the option that says “Do not use specific automated extensions for this account”
If you’re in favor of having call extensions automatically added to your mobile ads then you can simply do nothing and let the change take effect when it rolls out next month. If you already have call extensions in place, then this change will not affect you at all.
