Google AdWords – Third Party Sitelinks

One of the most exciting (and frustrating) parts of PPC marketing is that it’s a constantly changing landscape. A big part of anyone’s job when working in PPC is to keep up on the latest changes to the systems you’re using.

The only problem is that Google releases roughly five billion changes to AdWords every day or two (a rough guesstimate on my part). With only so many hours in the day to watch Twitter for new product announcements, it’s really easy for something to go unnoticed or slip through the cracks every now and again.

For instance, I was rather surprised one day when, while doing research for a client, I did a search on Google and found this.

Search Results for Third Party Sitelinks

Did you catch that? No?

Third party sitelink like on Facebook

How about now?

So am I the only one who missed this one?* You can target sites like Facebook, Google+, and Twitter in your Sitelinks Extensions!

*I’m totally not by the way, I asked all of my coworkers and they hadn’t heard either.

Third Party Sitelinks Policy in AdWords

Third party sitelinks still need to follow the same rules as normal sitelinks (unique pages, accurate descriptions, no linking to downloads, etc.) but can lead to any of the social media properties listed.

You’re not always going to want to direct users away from your main site, but third party sitelinks can be an extra tool in your PPC arsenal. Using them to gain likes or followers is a start, but what about other possibilities? Running a contest on Facebook? Let people searching for your brand know about it. Hosting a branded hangout? Send users to your Google+ page. Customer support search? How about sending them to your Twitter profile?

Enhanced campaigns also add an extra level of versatility and accountability to the equation. Enhanced sitelinks bring with them better reporting and ad group level targeting. You’ll know exactly how well your third party sitelinks are performing and whether the investment is worth it.

How about you? Did you already know about third party sitelinks? How have you been using them?

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Comments

  1. Well spotted Kiko, I wasn’t aware of them either but will definitely be adding them now. For brand bidding especially it seems like the ideal choice, along with email signups, to get users to connect with you.

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