Structured Snippets – The Ultimate Guide

Structured snippet assets allow you to select a header, such as categories, products, brands etc that are relevant to what you are advertising and then the values which will be attributed to them.

They are very similar to callout assets however there are some differences, as seen below.

Google says to use callouts to “highlight what makes your business or products or services unique,” while structured snippets should be used to “highlight a specific aspect of the products or services you offer.”

That’s pretty subtle, but they can be used together, so be sure you’re not duplicating what you’re highlighting in both.

	Callouts	Structured snippets
When to use	Highlight what makes your business, products, or services unique	Highlight a specific aspect of the products or services you offer
Examples	“Save up to 30%” “Free shipping” “24/7 customer support”	“(Amenities)” “Free Wi-Fi” “Pool” “Fitness Center”
Relationship between values	Advertiser defined	Predefined headers
Character limit	25 characters per callout	25 characters per value
Minimum number of values served	2	1
Maximum number of values served	4	Dependent on value length and screen size

Vodafone Case study

Vodaphone used structured snippets in Google Ads with the aim of providing consumers more information about key USPs and the wide breadth of products that Vodafone offers, as well as increasing click-through rate.

The results that they got with Structured snippets were as follows:

• 8% increase in click through rate (CTR) for branded terms
• 1.3% increase in conversion rate for branded terms
• 12% increase in CTR on Sim-only campaigns

How to setup Google Ads structured snippet assets

STEP 1. Navigate to the Assets tab within your Google Ads account.

STEP 2. Select what level you would like to apply your structured snippet asset at. We would suggest setting up some account level extensions that will apply to all campaign and then setting up more granular structured snippet assets at campaign level and ad group level. For your top performing keywords you may want to consider adding structured snippets at ad group level to maximise performance.

STEP 3. Click the plus button, then click Structured snippet

STEP 4. Next you need to choose a header for your structured snippet.

There are a large range of different headers that you can choose from. Here you want to choose the most relevant one to what you are advertising.

Here is a detailed guide as to what you should and what you should not include within your values.

The options of headers currently available are:

• Amenities
• Brands
• Courses
• Degree programs
• Destinations
• Featured hotels
• Insurance coverage
• Models
• Neighbourhoods
• Service Catalog
• Shows
• Styles
• Types

STEP 5. Add the values the coincide with your header. For example if you have chosen the header brands, then you will want to add the brands that you stock as the values. To add additional valued click the blue +add button.

The value can be a maximum of 25 characters and you must enter at least 3 values.

STEP 6. Once you are happy save your structured snippet assets, click save.

STEP 7. You should see that your structured snippet extension has been selected and is over on the right hand side, now click save again.

We would encourage you to add several different sets of structured snippets which can be then ran against each other to see which performs the best. The order of preference for displaying structured snippets is based on the order in which you have them within your account.

Structured Snippet Examples

Styles

🟢 Allowed	🔴 Not allowed
Styles: Wingback, Button Tufted, French Country, Swivel, Nailhead, Scalloped Styles: Flatweave, Jute, Striped, Shag, Solid, Geometric	Styles: Performance Apparel, Yoga Apparel, Running Gear, Athletic Jackets Styles: Mailbox Posts, Cluster Mailboxes, Lockable Mailboxes Styles: Lingerie, Lace Dresses, Two Piece Sets

Here is an example of Misguided using structured snippet assets to display different styles of dresses that they stock. You can see instantly that they offer: Bodycon dresses, midi dresses, party dresses, shirt dress and shift dresses. You will notice here that they probably have the structured snippet assets setup at ad group level to deliver very relevant styles.

Courses

🟢 Allowed	🔴 Not allowed
Courses: Linear Algebra, Creative Writing, Data Structures	Courses: MBA, M.Ed, BS

Here is an example of Academy class using structured snippet assets to display different courses that they offer. This header is best suited to educational establishments such as universities and company training courses.

Types

🟢 Allowed	🔴 Not allowed
Types: Pendant lamps, Ceiling lights, Wall lamps Types: LED, Incandescent, Halogen, Fluorescent, Metal Halide	Types: Red, Blue, Green

This example is from the holiday provider Thomson. They have opted to use Google Ads structured snippets to display the different types of holidays that they provide.

You will be able to see that they offer, All inclusive, Luxury holidays, Family Holidays and Late Deals. Another thing that you will notice is that all of the words are in title case with the first letter of each word capitalised. This is generally best practice, however Google recently published a case study to show that some extensions work best in sentence case so both should be tested.

Degree Programs 

🟢 Allowed	🔴 Not allowed
Degree programs: Accounting, Biology, Psychology	Degree programs: 2 year, 4 year, masters, associates

Here is an example of Northampton university using the degree program structured snippet extension. Instantly you can see that they offer BSc (hons) Psychology, BSc (hons) Economics.

Brands

🟢 Allowed	🔴 Not allowed
Brands: Nest, Nexus, Chromebook	Brands: Over 200 Brand names, Save on Brand names Brands: Cheap Nest, New Nexus phones, Exclusive Chromecasts

Here is an example of Polo Ralph Lauren using the brands structured snippet assets to advertise there different sub brands, Denim & Supply, POLO Ralph Lauren, Black Label, RRL, Collection and Purple Label. This could also be used for retailers carrying several different lines from different designers.

Amenities 

🟢 Allowed	🔴 Not allowed
Amenities: Ski Storage, Swimming Pool, Restaurant Amenities: Wi-Fi, Breakfast, Pool, Gym, Spa	Amenities: Rated most comfortable, 100% satisfaction guarantee

Silversea is a good example of where advertisers should use the amenities structured snippet extension. It is well suited to hotels, cruises, wedding venues where buyers make decisions based on the amenities that the hotel or cruise has for example.

Destinations

🟢 Allowed	🔴 Not allowed
Destinations: Las Vegas, New York, Tokyo, Rome, Cancun, Paris	Destinations: Hotels in 200 cities, Visit Paris
Destinations: Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Qutb Minar	Destinations: Taj Mahal tour package, Visit New Delhi

Destinations is a hugely versatile structured snippet extension that is not just restricted to the travel industry, I have seen it used effectively where there are multiple locations for training courses and several other applications. Here is an example of Loveholidays using this extension effectively.

Models

🟢 Allowed	🔴 Not allowed
Models: Corolla, Camry, Prius Models: Corolla L, Corolla LE, Corolla Premium, Corolla LE Plus	Models: 2016 models in stock, Deals on 2015 models Models: Toyota, Honda, Ford, Chevy Models:Corolla 2014, Camry 2016, Avalon 2014
Models: Nexus 5x, Nexus 6P, Pixel, Pixel XL	Models: Great deals on Pixel, Buy Pixel Now Models: Pixel 5.0 inches display, 143 grams, 32 or 128 GB

Featured hotels

🟢 Allowed	🔴 Not allowed
Featured hotels: Luxury Inn, Alpine Lodge, Lakeside Hotel	Featured hotels: 10% off Alpine Lodge, Lowest rate on Lakeside Hotel

This header is very much limited to the hotel industry. Here is an example of hotelscombined.co.uk using this extension effectively.

Neighborhoods

🟢 Allowed	🔴 Not allowed
Neighborhoods: Downtown, Hayes Valley, Mission, Excelsior Neighborhoods: Westminster, Camden, King’s Cross	Neighborhoods: San Francisco, Oakland Neighborhoods: SOMA apartments, North Beach apartments, Pac Heights homes

Service catalog

🟢 Allowed	🔴 Not allowed
Services: Oil change, Smog check, tire alignment Services: Packing, Auto transport, Storage, Debris pickup	Services: Reviews, Quotes, Rankings Services: Top rates, Compare 5 credit cards

Insurance types

🟢 Allowed	🔴 Not allowed
Coverage: Liability, Collision, Comprehensive Coverage: Term life, whole life, universal life	Coverage: Quotes for all coverages, Save now

Similarly to featured hotels this is limited to the insurance companies. Here is an example of Moneysupermarket using it effectively.

Services

🟢 Allowed	🔴 Not allowed
Services: Oil change, Smog check, tire alignment Services: Packing, Auto transport, Storage, Debris pickup	Services: Reviews, Quotes, Rankings Services: Top rates, Compare 5 credit cards

Here is an example of the service Google Ads structured snippet assets being used by Irwin Mitchell.

They could improve by actually listing the services they provide such as “personal injury claims” as opposed to using this extension int he same way that they would use a callout extension.

Shows

🟢 Allowed	🔴 Not allowed
Shows: The Voyage, Knights, American Dancer	Shows: At 10am, 2pm, & 5pm, Tickets required

This structured snippet is mainly for cinemas and theatres that will be putting shows on. Here is an example of London box office using this extension effectively.

How to view the performance of your structured snippet assets

Unlike Sitelinks structured snippet assets do not get clicked, they are purely there to display additional features and benefits alongside your adverts and occupy more Google Ads real estate, resulting in higher click through rates.

You can analyse the performance of ads that have shown structured snippet assets in the ad extensions tab. Here the click data will show you the CTR of the ad headline when the structured snippets were displayed along side them.

To review the performance of your structured snippet assets take the following steps.

STEP 1. Go to the Assets tab at Campaign level and then select structured snippets from the dropdown.

STEP 2. You should see a table showing the performance of each of your structured snippets that looks something like this. You will want to set the loopback window to 30 days or possibly longer provided that you don’t have a seasonal account. You will also want to ensure that you have the following columns, Clicks, CTR, Impr, Avg. CPC, Cost, Conversions, Conv. Rate and Cost per conversion.

If the structured snippet assets are applied to all of the ad groups within the campaign then you can analyse them comparatively.

A/B testing Structured Snippets

When analysing and testing structured snippet assets it is crucial that you have enough data and you are testing based on the correct metrics.

When you are testing anything in Google Ads you must choose the right metrics to reach your goals. Here are the correct metrics to test on based on the most common goals thanks to Brad Geddes.

When it comes to concluding a test its fundamental that you understand statistical significance. Most PPC managers just start a new test once a week or once per month or just guess if they have enough data.

Google Ads is not a guessing game you need to be certain based on the data.

A tool that will help you is called Split tester by Perry Marshall. You can enter the number of clicks that each structured snippet has and the conversion rate, or the CTR and it will tell you if you have enough data to conclude your test.

Conclusion

As vodaphone showed, Google Ads structured snippet assets are a powerful way for any Google Ads user to improve the CTR of their adverts. With the ability to add them at campaign level in a matter of a few minutes there is no longer any excuse for advertisers not to be using them and getting an easy 8-12% increase in CTR.

If you are already using structured snippets then two key takeways from this piece would be to firstly make sure that you have several structured snippet assets that are being tested against each other and that you are split testing them using the right metrics with enough data.

Secondly it would be to get granular, for your top 20% of keywords that account for 80% of your conversions go in and make sure that your structured snippets are closely related to your ads and keywords by adding them at campaign and where appropriate at ad group level to to maximise performance.

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