Google Ads Lead Form Extension: Essential Knowledge

There’s an exciting development on the horizon for everyone in pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. We’re talking about the Google Ads lead form.

As Google Ads lead form is available to everyone, you should get the essential knowledge now. That way, you’ll be ready to hit the ground running before your competitors.

In this article, we’ll find out:

1. What is the Google Ads lead form extension?
2. How does the lead form extension work?
3. Is it a new concept?
4. Who should use the Google Ads lead form extension?
5. How does it benefit advertisers?
6. How do you set up the lead extension in Google Ads?
7. How Do You Perform Conversion Tracking In Lead Forms?
8. Does Google Allow All type of Lead Capturing with this extension?
9. Is there any drawback of the Google Ads Lead extension?

Read on to discover all the answers.

What is the Google Ads Lead Form Extension?

The lead form extension is a Google Ads feature that helps PPC advertisers capture the interest of more potential customers whenever they are searching for your business, products, or services on Google.

Advertisers can specify which information fields to target, and the lead extension will capture the information, such as the consumer’s name, email etc.

How Does the Google Ads Lead Form Extension Work?

This lead form is set up to make lead generation easier for advertisers and consumers. All of the fields are pre-filled with placeholder text, effectively streamlining the user journey.

All it takes is two clicks and a few seconds to fill out the boxes so that advertisers can capture a lead quickly.

Every time a Google Ads lead form extension is opened, the platform tracks a lead form click. Whenever a user submits the form with their information, it counts as one lead conversion.

You will be able to view your click and conversion performance data in your Google Ads account dashboard when you segment your performance report by Click and Conversion type.

Is it a New Concept?

While a lead form is not a groundbreaking concept in marketing or advertising, this is a new addition to Google Ads.

Popular social media channels, including LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram, all use lead forms. However, none of these have the same potential as Google, where user intent is much stronger. As such, there is more chance of generating quality leads with Google.

Some time ago, Google Ads released the Contact Form Extension, which collected leads and sent them by email. Now, the improved Google Ads lead form extension is expected to take lead generation to another level.

Who Should use the Google Ads Lead Form Extension?

So, you may be wondering if this lead form is worth using. After all, Google Ads already has a wide range of extensions, not to mention a confusing myriad of metrics to consider. The idea of experimenting with more new features may seem easier to avoid.

Before ruling it out, you should know that the lead form extension is compatible with Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP). Your audience can immediately provide the vital information you need to turn a lead into a conversion, regardless of which device they are using.

You can make good use of this extension if you want to collect registrations for an event or if you want to promote an offer and contact customers later with information.

What are the Benefits of the Google Ads Lead Form Extension for PPC Advertisers?

Here are several benefits of using the Google Ads lead form extension:

• High user-intent – By adding the lead form, you can generate high-quality leads as the users who complete such forms usually have strong intentions of purchasing or converting.
• Quicker lead capture – The Google Ads lead form extension eliminates a step in the customer journey, as users won’t have to click your ad and visit the landing page.
• Mobile-ready – Over 80% of user searches are now on mobile. This lead form is optimized for mobile users, making it a win-win situation for marketers and consumers alike.
• Easy implementation – You don’t need to coordinate with a developer or possess any technical skills to create a lead form. Furthermore, your ads can go live instantly.

How to set up the Google Ads Lead Form Extension?

Thankfully, the process to start using these lead forms is quite straightforward. Follow the steps below to set up your lead form extensions in Google Ads.

1. First, navigate to Ad Extensions > Lead Form Extension. If you don’t see it there, you may need to wait until Google has enabled it for your account.

2. Next, you can start creating your extension.

3. Select your Call-to-Action. For example, let’s say you choose “Contact Us.”

4. You can customize the new Google Ads lead form extension to include fields for consumer information, such as name, email, phone number, and zip code. Advertisers may include their titles, descriptions, background images, and post-submission messages. The beta test doesn’t allow you to add custom fields.

5. Once a user completes the form, you can determine whether to direct them to your website or to provide a direct download link. Also, you should create a message to display after the user submits the form.

How to track the leads?

So, it’s time to explain how you get the most out of the Google Ads lead form extension.

While you can set different fields for different campaigns, more often than not, you’ll look to collect the following information for your leads:

• Name
• Email ID
• Phone number
• Gclid (Google Click Identifier)
• Campaign ID
• Ad group ID

Once you have gathered sufficient data, you can download the lead data as a CSV file. It’s important to realize that this data will only be stored on Google Ads for 30 days, so you make regular downloads to ensure no valuable lead data is lost.

Here’s what to do:

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account.
2. Click Ads & Extensions in the page menu, then click Extensions at the top.
3. Below your lead form extension, click Download Lead.

Alternatively, instead of downloading CSV files, you can use a webhook integration to connect Google Sheets or a CRM platform. With this, your Google Sheets file will automatically update with new information every time a user completes the lead form.

How to Setup Webhook Integration for a Google Ads Lead Form Extension

1. Click on Lead Delivery, which is located under Create form submission message. You should now see a new field titled, “Manage your leads with a webhook.”
2. Enter your Webhook URL and Key.
3. Select Send Test Data to view the testing states and results.
4. Check your data management system to confirm you received the test data.
5. Follow the prompts to fill the required fields, then select Add to campaign.

Webhooks: Different Types Of States and Responses

You can receive error states, which depend on your actions after you add the webhook integration.

Here are the different states:

• Error state A is when users save the form, but they don’t successfully send any test data.
• Error state B is data that has not been sent.
• Error state C is when data was sent, but Google did not receive a response.
• Error state D is when data is sent, but Google receives an incorrect response (HTTP 200).
• Success state is when data is sent, and Google receives a correct response.

How to Get An Email Update of the Leads You Receive

This is possible, but it takes a little work.

Here are two methods you can setup:

1. Automate the email address capture process. To do this, link your Google Sheet with the lead extension (e.g through Zapier) , then add the script to the Google Sheet that will automatically send the information to your email address.
2. Call an API URL. When users submit the lead form, your endpoint will receive an object. You can use custom code and parsing to capture the information and direct it to your email address.

Does Google Allow All Type Of Lead Capturing With This Extension?

No, you can’t do all types of advertisement and capture leads by using this lead extensions. There are limitations as long as they follow the Google’s requirements.

You cannot advertise and expect leads for following related content:

• Gambling and Betting!
• Healthcare and medicines Campaigns
• Political Campaigns
• Ammunition and Explosive Materials
• Alcohol or illegal drugs
• Fake Product or Services. etc

Is There Any Drawback of the Google Ads Lead Form Extension?

One notable aspect that is lacking is that you can’t redirect users to your landing page. While the lead form extension eliminates the need for users to visit a landing page, some advertisers may lament this missed opportunity for more targeted content marketing and lead nurturing.

That being said, if your lead form captures lead data without the need for a landing page, it may be that big of a problem!

Wrap Up

Many brands will love the new Google Ads lead form extension. It offers a way of streamlining the customer journey so that you can generate more leads with relatively less effort.

However, you must take time to consider the quality of leads you capture directly from Google’s search engine results page. They will likely have lower purchasing intent than leads who complete forms on your landing pages.

With that being said, this is an exciting development by Google Ads and one you should experiment with soon.

Read our blog to learn more about the big changes in Google Ads in 2019.